Christine Bass

I paint contemporary landscapes characterised by strong lines and shapes, flattened planes and the use of saturated colour.  I grew up in
Trinidad and Tobago and the bright light and vivid colours of the tropics still exert an influence in my paintings.

Most of my paintings are inspired by the landscapes of the Ridgeway and the Chilterns. For many years, I lived in a small Buckinghamshire village close to Ivinghoe Beacon at the eastern end of the Ridgeway.  I drew and painted the chalk downland of that area and further afield within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

I now live in Wallingford, an Oxfordshire market town on the Thames and close to the Chilterns.  The Ridgeway remains an important inspiration as it meanders through the Chilterns at Swyncombe Downs, descends to the Thames, and rises again to cross the North Wessex Downs.

My mixed media paintings consist of several layers of acrylic paint on a collaged base.  I begin by drawing the composition onto board before collaging the whole surface with tissue paper.  The drawn composition is important to me; when it begins to disappear beneath the layers of tissue, I
re-draw it.  I then paint in acrylics onto that collage base, focusing on the original drawing but also incorporating many of the shapes that originate from the tissue layer.  My aim is a synthesis between the drawing and the more abstract collage, with the painted layer bringing the two together.

For more information about availability and prices, or about upcoming exhibitions, or to arrange a studio visit, please email me at christinebass.art@gmail.com