Lois Pedley
Lois has been a good friend of ours since we were a fledgling business. I remember really clearly popping over to her studio, having bought some of her original work, and being in awe meeting her.
Her work is, quite simply, beautiful. She has a way with colour that blows you away and she produces pieces that can both challenge the viewer but have a delicacy that puts the mind in to a place of calm, all at the same time.
You will often find Lois at the coast. This is her happy place. A place she can be her authentic self and where she can recharge her artistic batteries, ready for more fabulous work.
Back in the Midlands, you will find her in many a local craft or art fair. Whenever I have seen her at these, she is ALWAYS painting…always…it’s not a job for her…it is a calling.
You will also find her inspiring young artists in some local Primary schools, where she teaches different skills and techniques. We will surely have a growing population of fabulous artists in the coming years. How fabulous!
You might also know that she also exhibited three of her figurative pieces in the XIV Florence Biennale exhibition last year - we framed them and what an honour to be on a part of that adventure with her. She even stayed with us for the day while we did the job and knows how plastic glass can be a bit trying at times!!
Steve Neal
Steve is another fabulous artist who has become a good friend. His abstract work first caught our eyes on Social Media, but it wasn’t until we saw it in all its glory that we knew we wanted to share the talents of local artists with others. So, really, Steve was our inspiration for setting up the art gallery in the first place!
Steve predominantly works in oil and his pictures make a real statement to any wall.
What is wonderful about Steve is his pure love of art and his passion to share his skillset with others. He has been tutoring aspiring artists for a while now, taking them from beginner to hanging work at local exhibitions…what an inspirational gem of a man.
When he isn’t tutoring, he can be found in his studio in Ullesthorpe, where he will be sure to welcome any passing visitor. Many a time we have been to visit him, and we have never failed to come away with great ideas and inspiration.
You might also find that he has popped over to Spain to tutor a group of passionate artists, where they learn yet more skills in fabulous landscapes. Or he might be resting up in Italy, where not on landscapes blow your mind, but there is art around every corner!
Steve is a legend. A great person to be around and he has a way of seeing the world that is awesome on a canvas. The fact that he shares this love of the world around him with others is just brilliant.
Trish Craddock
We first met Trish when she came to have some pictures framed in readiness for a local exhibition, a year or so ago. We had been recommended to her, she came to visit, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Trish has a real love of nature and her paintings really reflect that passion. When you look at any of her paintings you can clearly see that colour, texture and pattern are of the utmost importance to her.
Never one to shy away from different media, she will work in whatever is inspiring her. In the gallery, we have watercolours, acrylics and oils…nothing is off limits. Not only that, she has branched out in to Trish Craddock merchandise, so there is lots to choose from, even if your walls are bursting at the seams with art!
When she isn’t in her gorgeous workshop in her Leicestershire garden, where all that magic happens, she is either in the countryside or travelling to see nature in all its glory. She recently returned from a trip to Canada, where a colossal quantity of photos were taken to be used for inspiration for more of her magnificent pieces.
We love Trish. She is a truly talented and sought after artist, a positive and shining light and a really great friend to have. What lucky people we are!
Helen Soame
Helen is another artist who approached us for some picture framing a little while ago. She blew us away with her detailed watercolours.
Her greatest passion is nature and in particular, birds. Any kind of bird. The ones we know and love, who regularly visit us in the garden, and the ones who aren’t so keen to make an appearance, and would rather remain a little distant from us humans. If you are a keen bird lover, then this is a lady to watch, as her attention to detail is exquisite.
Helen’s ability to capture colour and mood in her pictures is quite incredible. She brings her birds alive in a way which is really rather amazing.
I have never known Helen not be busy. She loves animals and has horses and dogs, so her days are outdoors where she gathers much of her inspiration. I don’t think she lets the grass grow under her feet at all - she is far too busy being at one with nature for that!
Dipa Vaghela
I have known Dipa for a number of years now, since I began teaching her children how to play the piano. It wasn’t long before we started talking about art and she confessed to ‘doing a couple of paintings’. It was a little while before I finally got to see her work, but when I did, it took my breath away.
Dipa’s attention to detail is something else. She works diligently on layering her acrylics, and the final result is something exceptional - you want to touch each one.
Working in both acrylic on huge canvases to make fabulous statement pieces, and also smaller watercolours, Dipa will spend alot of time planning her work before she begins. It comes as no surprise, then, that she has a science background, where planning the finer details are paramount!
She has recently moved in to selling limited editions of her artwork, which I am sure will prove to be a huge hit.
For my own selfish ends, I can’t wait to see what piece comes next - because I visit her regularly, I get the joy of watching a piece evolve, and talking about colour with her - I am one lucky woman!
Lily Walsh
Lily is my daughter. She is 21 and the most amazing person I know.
To say she has been painting forever, is absolutely the truth and I can be honest when I say her talent really doesn’t come from me - even she would vouch for that!
Lily is about to begin her University life, after a little time to consider what avenue she would like to take. She has chosen illustration as her chosen subject, and I know that whatever she does, she will be brilliant at - she has that kind of way about her.
Lily loves drawing people. It started as people from books and films and is constantly evolving. Now she works on designing characters, which, at the moment, is where she sees herself working in the future.
think she would be honest when she says that at the moment, her preferred media is digital - she is always on the I-Pad drawing something! It’s wonderful to see how she does it.
A little while ago, she painted a picture for me, which I really admired in more than the usual ‘Mum’ way. She had captured something - the essence of a woman, in a simple way that I really loved. She then went on to paint a few more, and we just had to display them for her.
She has a true raw natural talent. I know she will fly because she is passionate about what she does!
Sally Ann Dyer
Sally Ann’s work caught our eye when we saw her work on Instagram.
Vibrant. Full of energy. Colourful! And that is before we start thinking about the art! Sally Ann is a beam of light in the world, and her love of life comes through in everything that she does - especially in her art. It shouts her love of life, her connection to the world around her and the way in which she deals with the highs and lows of things.
She began her artistic career going to art classes. Having practised watercolour and acrylic, she wanted to explore further and found herself immersed in the world of abstract. She loved it and flew on from there. She loves using inks, collage, pastel and charcoal to make marks on top of a blaze of colour and if an A2 piece doesn’t look right, she will cut them down to create the right composition.
In her own words, she says that “It’s all play and about finding my joy as an artist, so it’s incredibly satisfying when someone else sees my work and likes it.”
So, play - the key to living, loving and art!
Sally Ann is a wonderful soul and has become a fabulous friend. Her art work continues to grow in popularity, and she has now moved in to producing prints, too, so grab one and you will have your very own shot of energy on your walls!
Mike Gale
I first came across Mike’s art work when I went to the Leicester Art Society Art House exhibition in Leicester during the Summer last year. I looked at it and instantly fell in love with it, but I didn’t finally get to speak to him until later on in to the year.
Mike’s work comes from a love of nature. His observations of light and colour are what draws the eye and his composition of the image pulls you in - you want to be in that wood or walking down that pathway - you can hear the whistle of the leaves in the trees…you instantly bond with it. Although he paints pictures from the Leicestershire countryside, you could be anywhere in England and still identify with his images. They are simply beautiful and we feel honoured to have them on the walls.
He works in oils and watercolours and we have both available to buy in the gallery. He spends all of the spare time that he has painting, and so there are many beautiful pictures we can choose to showcase. We are lucky to have him exhibit in our gallery and I always learn something new about how to approach painting when he pops in for a coffee!
Nigel Smith
Nigel is another fabulous artist I came across on Instagram and I loved his brilliant abstract style. It was a delight when he then got in touch and we got the chance to be able to have some of his art on our gallery walls.
Nigel began painting regularly in about 2005 whilst living in New Zealand and working as a graphic designer. He began to paint for exhibitions, commissions and for illustrations for my design projects from about 2010 onwards until eventually the art took over from the design completely in 2017
He is inspired by nature and particularly with music - sometimes it comes from words - maybe a poem, line in a novel, something he hears or read in the news or sometimes it’s a line in a song. These usually connect somehow with visual ideas he has sketched, photographed or journaled while out walking.
I am always fascinated about the way in which artists approach their work. I think this comes from not feeling at all good at art, a deep yearning to try it, but not being able to let go for long enough to go for it. When he told me that he can be working on up to ten pieces at a time, I was completely surprised - how can you work on ten pieces? I can’t even work on one!
Jackie Terrett
Jackie has recently started exhibiting her work in the gallery and our walls love her for it.
She is inspired by the effect that time has on landscapes that she knows well, and North Wales and Leicestershire are her landscapes of choice. Changes of seasons, weather and light are all things that spark an idea or excite her, and off she will go, painting or drawing - there is no medium that she will not consider - she is drawn to one for each creative idea and works from there.
Jackie has been drawing since she was a small child, and it was this passion that moved her into doing a Fine Art degree at Coventry University, furthering her educational knowledge with a degree in History from Warwick and finishing with a Masters in Art and Design History at Birmingham University. From there, Jackie continued in education, this time as a teacher in schools, colleges and Universities for the whole of her career. She loved it, you can tell, and I am certain that her students loved her, as well.
Once she had retired, she was then in the divine position of being able to focus more solidly on her own work. And she has done that with the same verve and vigour that I am sure she gave her students throughout her career.
She has successfully exhibited work in many galleries including The Royal West of England Gallery in Bristol, Leicester Art Gallery & Museum, The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists Gallery, Rhyl Arts Centre in North Wales, The Lewis Gallery in Rugby, The Atkins Gallery in Hinckley. And now, Lilypad has the honour!