Art / Artist of the Month
Artist of the month: Zoë Power
This month’s featured artist is Zoë Power whose work Nasturtium is exclusively available through our online shop. Prints of one of her other works, At the Lido, are also available.
Zoë Power is a visual artist, working between illustration, murals and lettering.
Originally from Cardiff, Zoë moved to Bristol when she was young. After stints of living in London and across Canada she moved back to her adoptive hometown around four years ago, living on a houseboat in the harbour and in St Werburgh’s for a few years. Zoë recently completed an MA in printmaking at UWE, where she fell in love with block colours and screen printing.
is needed now More than ever
“Moving back to Bristol, the creative community here has been so open, welcoming and supportive,” Zoë says. “There are a lot of people making art, which could create a competitive atmosphere. However, because it’s easy to get to know each other, I’ve found there to be lots of cross-pollination.”
“I’m a keen gardener and have found growing to be very therapeutic. When I had an allotment at Ashley Vale, I mistakenly planted a few nasturtiums, which spread like wildfire! They are resilient, colourful and hardy, which are qualities that I thought I’d like to celebrate through this print.
“For this piece, much like making a screen print, I made each colour layer separately and combined sketching and painting with digital techniques. I then created the layers of pink, blue and yellow, which are overlaid to create tertiary colours like green and orange.”
Zoë’s old use of colour is also evident in the second work she is selling through Bristol24/7: At the Lido. Its summer vibe recalls a brilliant 2018 for Zoë, in which she painted a 23-metre wall at Upfest, as well as designing a sculpture of Gromit that was displayed on Sion Hill in Clifton Village as part of the Gromit Unleashed 2 art trail.
“I’ve been following Upfest for years, so it was a honour to paint on such a huge scale,” Zoë reflects. She was one of only three artists commissioned by Bristol Women’s Voice to paint work at the event which celebrated a centenary of women’s suffrage.
“Seeing the hammer go down on £17,000 for my Bristol Hound Gromit sculpture was also a top moment,” she adds. As for future projects, things are busier than ever for Zoë: “I’ve got a big mural project coming up in Ipswich, where I’ll be working with locals to create a new landmark in the city.
“I’m also lucky enough to have a scholarship to Spike Print Studio, where I’ll be printing like crazy towards an exhibition later in the year.”
Zoë has chosen young people’s mental health charity Off The Record (OTR) to receive profits from her art sold through Bristol24/7.
“When painting at OTR’s head office in Old Market, I was blown away by how dynamic the charity is and how many different activities they were organising every day,” she says. “They provide such a vast range of mental health services to so many young people. The impact of the charity is fundamental to the wellbeing of so many, particularly during times of austerity.”
Profits from artwork sold through Bristol24/7 will be donated to OTR. Buy work from all of our featured artists at www.bristol247.com/shop
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