Gilly Hemmer
Art Forms
Mixed media, Painting
Artist information
I have a lifelong love of making art and a fascination for finding the deeper narratives that connect a maker to their work. In my early career I was a fabric retailer and knitwear designer. I then studied fashion and textiles at UWE Bristol and later taught fashion and textiles part-time. It was during this period I began to develop my practice in painting and mixed media.
For many years I have worked in acrylics, frequently adding and layering together various media and text. I make still life pieces, landscapes and seascapes – these can often be abstract in style with no intention of being truly representational. For me it’s more about my perception of places and objects as I try to capture the way I feel about a subject rather than express a visual reality. I love birds, trees and nature in general – and this love of the natural world, often mixed with domestic paraphernalia and interiors – and my own emotional and internal view of life, is what inevitably comes out in my work.
My home and studio overlook the lovely Worcestershire Teme Valley, where I live with my husband John, our dear Airedale George, and Mabel our beautiful Romanian rescue dog.