Studio 70 Artists

Ushaw is home to broad spectrum of artists and creative businesses. Studio 70 has been shared by Alison Minney, Denise Smithson and Graham Parker since 2019.

A creative space is not the only thing they share. The work of all three artists is inspired by the land and the sea and each, in their own manner and style, reflects the nature of County Durham and Northumberland.

Alison works in paint and pastel, equally comfortable switching between the different media and working with their respective attributes.

Denise finds inspiration in her native County Durham. She describes her work ‘as an ongoing expressive process in which I experiment with composition and subject matter. Fascinated by the roles that texture and medium play in this process.’ More recently Denise has been experimenting with collage, sourcing a variety of material including hand dying paper to achieve the required subtle tones.

Graham’s particular interest is in the area’s wildlife. His delicately rendered pastel studies reflect the region’s diverse natural history and his affinity with it. The Norwegian fjords also provided a period of reflection and the inspiration to explore different media and techniques while continuing with the more familiar territory of animal and wildlife pastels.

All of the works in the exhibition are for sale.