Snowflakes		At the Seaside

Born in Hampstead, Gillian Lawson trained at the Camden Art Centre, following a course in silk screen printing. She furthered her skills in etching, working from home and developing her unique style.

Lawson soon became a member of the Hampstead Artist's Council and exhibitions followed at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and the Mall Gallery. She also exhibited in private galleries in South Africa and America and in 1986 she exhibited in the Ninth British International Print Biennale.

Gillian Lawson then moved from etching to watercolour, her pictures being in great demand. Each picture is painted with infinite attention to detail, her people set in colourful scenes and within a special perspective that sets her paintings apart.

Gillian with her grandchild		Flight into Egypt I

         
How did your pictures come to be represented by the Bridgeman Art Library?
My connection to BAL was in 1986 when the offices were in 19 Chepstow Rd and during the years when I was doing a lot of etching at home. I entered the Royal Academy Christmas Card competition and Harriet spotted the etching Flight into Egypt I and later purchased it. I still have the card requesting another print for a friend of hers.

How would you describe your work? 
I describe my work as naive but realistic, building up the picture from sketches and ideas as I work at home. I tend to depict my figures in scenes I remember from my childhood so there is an element of nostalgia too – there are no cars in my paintings. There is also a humorous element with lots of incidental detail and you may notice that most of my figures wear hats!  

Many of your images are of angels or have a Christmas theme. What drew you depicting this type of imagery?
I am a Christian so Christmas is important to me. As children, we always made our own cards. When I was printing it seemed natural to continue with the theme which I enjoyed.    

Chistmas 77		Detail of the Angel Musician, made by William Morris and Co., 1882 (stained glass) Burne-Jones

What present or past artists do you admire?
I have many influences; the earliest possibly stemming from a trip to Italy and being impressed by frescos of Nativitiy scenes. I admire the figurative work of Degas and more recent artists that have been important to me include Lowry, Hockney and Anne Redpath. The angels in my work are inspired by Pre-Raphaelite paintings where the females have a mystic quality.

Flask Walk, Hampstead		Waiting for the Shop to Open by Lowry (1887-976)

What projects are you currently working on?
At the moment I am at rest whilst the builders are in the house but am itching to get back to work. I photographically print scenes of Hampstead and sell these through the Royal free art corridor exhibition run by the Hampstead Artists Council of which I am chairman. I am also involved with Card Aid, helping hospices and elderly people.

What would you say to any other artist who may be considering placing their work with BAL?
I have often suggested other artists go along to Bridgeman, especially the younger ones as it pushes them forward to be seen and gives image buyers a wider range of choice than just the established artists. A credit on the back of the card is also useful as portfolios can be difficult to trudge round galleries with and it proves that the art has commercial value. 

There are currently 64 images available for licensing by Gillian on www.bridgemanart.com and she has advised me that she will be submitting new material to Bridgeman  in 2008. We will keep you posted!

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