- Tell us something about yourself. I am an artist living and working in the Cotswolds. I split my time between working for exhibitions and working in my large garden.I love cooking, so try to process the fruit and vegetables which we grow organically.
- How long have you been painting? I have painted for as long as I can remember, and as I am now 66 years old, that’s a long time.
- How and when did you start. I can’t really remember not painting and drawing, so at school and at home I painted whenever I could.
- Did any one artist/teacher inspire or influence you? I have always loved the strong colours and brushstrokes of Van Gogh
- Where do you work? I am very lucky to have a studio in my garden; easy to access but away from the house. I also hold exhibitions there during our annual Artweeks festival.
- Tell us something about the different styles in which you work/have worked. I work only in water based media, so have painted exclusively in watercolour in the past, but now use mixed media: a combination of collage, gesso and acrylic paint. I aim to move away from a representationl style of painting toward more of a fee abstract style; still working on it!
- Is any particular style a favourite?
A loose, free semi abstract style, with some elements that the viewer can recognise. Not too challenging.- Where do you get your inspiration? Depending on my mood a number of things inspire me. I love still life painting, so a collection of personal objects can be the start of a painting. If I am out walking, certain landscapes can sow a germ of inspiration, or a particular area of the country, i.e the coast.
- When we had cats, I used to paint them and still include them in some of my garden or interior pictures
. - What do you listen to when you work? Radio 4
- Recently your work has been used in cover designs for books, did this pose any challenges/problems? Not really; the copyright rest with me as an artist. It is lovely to see my work on the cover of books.
- Thank you Anuk. If you want to see more of Anuk’s work her website is
- http://www.anuknaumann.co.uk/landscapes.html
PS Picking up the Pieces is now on special offer on Kindle at 99p
Misha Herwin 