Contemporary Artist - Anne Poltera 

         Anne was born in Ealing , London, in 1941 and grew up in the New Forest. Art was the subject she excelled in at school. Whilst she is mainly self taught she completed a Professional Development Course in Fine Art at the Kent  Institute of Art and Design, prior to becoming a full time professional artist.

      "Colours and patterns are what excite me", Anne says. "In my work they are both inspiration and tools. That is, in painting I focus on the the pattern element and distort colours to create an effect that pleases me. I am also inspired by the idea of conveying a mood or a particular thought".

        Her paintings in consequence, are abstract and semi abstract. Her love of pattern leads her to experiment with different techniques and mediums. Particularly she loves gouache for its solid colour, acrylic for its quick waterproof quality, and collage for its rich variety. It is the collage that initialy freed her work from conventions. She delights in the variety and colour of papers, scraps of thread, fabric, sequins, glitter,etc, (the list goes on).

      She says, "I get carried away in the collaging, by the rich wonder of so many materials. Now I am focusing more on collaging that is more durable, and is more easily protected by varnishes and glaze mediums. I am colouring a lot of my own collaging paper and still combining the collaging with other painitng mediums. I have added acrylic ink to my list of favourites. I love its brilliance and fluidity". 

     You will see, looking at her work, that whilst some of her original paintings are rendered somewhat fragile by the use of delicate fabrics and threads, always the rich collaging materials lend themselves to the making of giclee prints where the patterns of lace and ribbon in particular show to advantaage, and any sparkling materials have a beautiful reflective quality.

      Anne concludes,"It gives me great joy to paint. I like people to experience that joy in the different combinations of colour and pattern in my work, to feel that connection with the beauty that exists in the world, to explore the link between colour, pattern and emotion.