VISUAL ARTS - Sonja Benskin Mesher - Abstract, Snowdonia

Course: 2-5 Day

The work with Sonja Benskin Mesher in and around her studio, at the foot of Cader Idris in Snowdonia, will help participants to look at environment in new and original ways. Although the emphasis is on the pleasure and exploration of the work, the aim is to produce final images in the style of the client's choice.

Each day will start with a short walk together to enjoy the surrounding landscape, gather ideas and collect "found media" (leaves, stones, twigs, feathers, mosses).

The studio work commences with quick sketching of ideas with charcoal and pastel, and experimentation with collage and found media. The group will progress onto acrylic-based mixed media paintings or 3 dimensional work.

The work is abstract, and is concerned with layer, texture, gilding, and focus upon the shapes and colours of the environment, affecting the work profoundly.

 
Artist: Sonja Benskin Mesher

A few years ago Sonja made a decision to leave her managerial position with BT plc to become a full-time artist. She moved to her beautiful home and studio in Gwynedd to dedicate herself to a life of total immersion in landscape and art.

Since then, she has held solo exhibitions in a variety of locations in England and Wales, as well as group exhibitions in Canada and the USA. She has won numerous Art prizes such as British Airways Design Prize in 1998, and her work has received media coverage on Channel 4 and in a number of arts magazines.

Her work is in mixed media, drawing inspiration from the countryside surrounding her home and studio, at the foot of Cader Idris. She paints in oils, experimenting with colour and shape, and creates collages from found media. Her work is abstract.

"The place where I work, both the studio and the environment, affect the work profoundly, with its space and sense of freedom."