“I found my two three hour sessions with Vanessa enjoyable and instructive - being not quite a beginner, the tips and advice really helped me remember, and, put into practice my previous efforts at sketching, using and mixing paints - using my sketch book if possible daily is a great tip!”
About Vanessa
Vanessa lives in Rock, North Cornwall. Preferring the medium of oil paint, Vanessa uses expressive marks and bold colour to construct the dramatic vistas which inspire her. Painting nudes and still life is also a favourite outlet for building and revealing form with colour and tone.
As part of her creative routine, Vanessa spends mornings walking the beaches and coastal paths around Rock and Daymer Bay, stopping frequently to gather visual information. Certain things catch her eye, using rapid pencil sketches she records the moment for more intensive development back in the studio. Vanessa draws directly onto the canvas with paint, using energetic motions she is guided by memory and sketches which brings dynamism ad immediacy to each stroke. As an artist, she is driven by colour, form and rhythm and she uses these key elements to create vibrant paintings, which are full of life and atmosphere.
Each painting is a very personal journey, which demonstrates the intense connection between the artist and her subject. Her images reflect this synergy and the spontaneity of brushstrokes, combined with a skilled level of craftsmanship and command of the medium which allows for the artists' memories and imagined moments to fill the picture surface and embellish the finished work.
“Bright yellows, blues and earthy purples work in harmony to create jewel-like paintings which are so evocative of Cornwall and the clifftops - these paintings by Vanessa Fawcett instantly make me feel like going for a long walk in the hazy spring sunshine, to find the Sea Pinks in full bloom.” Collector, 2017
Vanessa finds inspiration in the works of the masters Pablo Picasso, Henry Matisse, Salvador Dali, Ivon Hitchens and Edgar Degas amongst others. You can view a collection of her recent work in the gallery.
biography
Vanessa grew up in North Yorkshire in the 70’s, attending boarding School at Queen Margaret's School, Escrick Park. Vanessa’s parents moved to West Africa when she was 12 years old, and she spent her school holidays there with her brothers. Vanessa is a true creative, and she was comfortably independent from an early age.
After A'Levels Vanessa spent a year at York Technology college studying a foundation course, followed by working closely with a dressmaker creating ball gowns in York. She then spent three years teaching in Tokyo followed by travels to Europe, which included yearly trips to Venice, Italy. Tokyo gave Vanessa an appreciation for sharp lines and futuristic architecture; whilst the stunning Venetian sunsets and old Italian buildings inspired a very different way of seeing.
Aged 40 and with her children in full time education, Vanessa took a second foundation course at Abingdon and Whitney Art College followed by a full time degree course studying Fine Art at Reading University. Vanessa also studied under highly respected artists Ron Freeborn, Annie Newnham and Neil Drury at Sunningwell School of Art in Oxfordshire, where she attended weekly workshops in Life Drawing and Portraiture.
In 2011 Vanessa moved to North Cornwall, there she submerged herself in the daily ritual of art practice, a dream she has always wanted to focus on full time. Vanessa has taught adults, teenagers and young children. Most notably portraiture in the classroom and landscape and seascape 'en plain air’.
Contact Vanessa for more information, to discuss a commissioned piece or to book an appointment at her studio in Rock.
Fundraising for research
Vanessa donates 10% of all her earnings to support research into Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency - a genetic condition that causes serious lung and liver problems. This is a charity close to Vanessa's heart. This rare deficiency revealed in young children such as delightful 3 year old Coco pictured here. Bravely Coco has already survived serious operations, most recently to remove parts of her liver and lungs. Coco is not yet 4 years old, already she is all too familiar with medical procedures.