I started painting seriously in my early twenties and encouraged by a string of commissions from work colleagues and friends I started to exhibit paintings in local and National Art Exhibitions; my artwork caught the eye of a renowned publishing house which set me off on a successful illustrating career. Over the next twenty years I produced floral and wildlife watercolours for greetings cards and stationary and worked with many leading publishers including the Medici Society, UK Greetings, Woodmansterne Publications, and Nigel Quiney Publications.

I am now represented by Green Pebble Cards who specialise in fine art by UK artists. They allow me the freedom to paint what I like in my own way and this has allowed me to move forward with my artistic practice and my style has changed accordingly.

I studied botanical illustration with The Society of Botanical Artists and gained a Diploma with Distinction in 2007.

I have had three major one woman exhibitions and On Feb 20th 2020 I was honoured to win first prize for 'The Futures In Our Hands' in Octopus Energy and Artfinder's environmental art competition entitled 'Portraits from the Precipice'.

In recent years I have switched from watercolours to oil paints and my style has moved towards more impressionistic figurative and landscape works. I enjoy the application of loose brush strokes and now find oil paints suit my way of working more than watercolours. I can express myself more freely and enjoy their luscious texture and rich colours. Painting is part of my daily routine and for me it helps keep me happy and grounded. Other people have meditation, mindfulness or the gym but for me painting is my therapy. I feel blessed that I can make a living from what I enjoy most.

I have been influenced by many artists form the 19th century. The colour and pattern of Gustav Klimt and the beautiful luminous paintings of Myth and Legend by John Waterhouse and Sir John Everett Millais. I have also been greatly influenced and inspired by the late impressionist painters Claude Monet, Mary Cassatt and Berthe Morisot.

I now work in an expressive impressionistic style, allowing atmosphere and mood to flow through my practice. I love spending time in quite remote places where I can listen to the bird song, the crash of waves by the sea or the gentle whisper of wind through leaves. Sounds and smells are as evocative to place as the visual stimuli and very important in recalling the essence and soul of a place.

I bring my reference material; sketches, colour studies, photographs and even short films back home to my studio where I work through my ideas to create my finished oil paintings in varying shapes and sizes and often within an ongoing theme or collection of works. One of these collections was inspired by my many visits to Claude Monet's iconic garden in Giverny. The garden was created as an artists muse over 100 years ago and is kept as the artist intended for visitors today. It holds an unending fascination for me and I return to the subject over and over again. I now have a large body of work exploring the subtle changes the garden affords over the seasons and varying light and weather conditions.

I paint over a warm coloured ground with a wet on wet (alla prima) approach which helps me portray the atmosphere and soul of a subject with a sense of immediacy and freshness. I like to see the brush strokes which add texture and movement so do not apply much blending. I love colour and find many different shades and hues that others may miss to give vibrancy and drama to my subjects. My landscape tend to be void of too much human reference instead I like to capture the raw essence of the natural world sometimes inhabiting my paintings with native wildlife or domestic animals. I am always striving to capture the light and beauty that moved me to paint my subject such as morning mist over a meadow of gentle grazing cattle or the glistening water droplets on a cobweb. I am a keen gardener and my training as a botanical illustrator has given me an appreciation and interest in plants and flowers.

I have recently rekindled an old love of Literature in art and have started work on a new series of paintings inspired by ancient British Myths and Legends. These pieces will be more figurative and also allow me to explore my other passion for fabrics textiles and patterns within art.

I invite you to enter my gallery where you can share my love for the natural world, participate In the emotional journey of awe and wonder seen through an artists eye. Each unique piece of art was created with love and dedication and awaits that special place on your wall.

Zoe Elizabeth Norman

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