Jacqueline Hammond

I am an artist based in Brockworth, Gloucestershire, enjoying working in a variety of media and subjects. I love to paint landscapes and plants, finding endless inspiration in our local Gloucestershire countryside. Having studied fashion design in my youth and had some fashion illustration work published in those early days, my life then took a different path, working in retail and raising a family. Forty years later, like many others, I was furloughed from my job in 2020 and during that time began walking daily on my local footpaths and I became deeply attached to my local landscape. I have always liked to draw, but in 2020 I began experimenting with oil paints and really fell in love with the medium. I eventually took early retirement rather than return to work and am now immersed in my painting. I am very inspired by the beauty of the everyday world around us, and I try to capture that in my work.

My painting is very much an expression of how I feel about what I see, and as such it is very personal. I am especially excited by the play of light and colour, whether it’s dappled light, shadows, reflections, or interesting contrasts. I also take delight in the unexpected patterns and textures of our environment. Since life has started to open back up, I have recently joined Stroud Artists Cooperative which has been a great way to meet other artists. With them I have been enjoying activities such as sketching en plein air each week in various locations, which usually produces watercolour and pen sketches. These sketches and my photographs from my walks lead me to my oil paintings. I have recently shown a couple of my paintings in local gallery curated exhibitions.

For the month of March this year I had my first solo exhibition, at Painswick Rococo Garden, which was a great experience. I always have a painting or two in progress now that I am fortunate enough to have the time in retirement. I look forward to developing as an artist and am very much enjoying this journey.