Deirdre Shepherd

Fellowship: May 2003 – May 2008 The Forge

Artform: Printing/Painting

‘I am a Hertfordshire based painter and printmaker but grew up in Ireland. Although my vision is rooted with the experience of growing up in Ireland, I am attuned to the narratives within the landscape. My painting is a gradual build up of layers, scraping back and drawing into the work. I am not trying to paint a topographical likeness. My aim is to convey an ephemeral quality, a sense of something partly seen or remembered. In this way and using these techniques I hope to encourage the viewer to look close and discover images emerging, portraying hidden depths and complexities. I am suggesting what the place is like through superimpositions of memory and myth and through the elemental use of materials. My work is usually on a small scale. The paintings are tile-like and incorporate media such as gold leaf, which gives the work a kind of preciousness, like contemporary illuminated manuscripts.’

Education:

2006 PG Cert Business and Digital Skills

2000-02 Herts College, Watford PDD in Printmaking, University of Hertfordshire

1996-1999 BA (Hons) Fine Art -University of Hertfordshire

Exhibitions:

2006: Contemporary Printmakers, The Long Room Gallery, Tring

2005: The Affordable Art Fair, Battersea

2004: On The Wall, Grand Hall, Olympia

2003 Fresh Art, Business Design Centre, Islington

2002: R K Burt, Union Street, London ‘Press To Print’-Watford Printmakers

The Museum of Garden History, Lambeth Palace Road,London ‘Bloomin’ Art’

2001: The Place, Letchworth Arts Centre, Letchworth, Herts ‘Homes And Gardens 2’