OAS member Emma Coleman-Jones has been awarded the Swire Ridgeway Art Prize for her drawing ‘Brightwell Barrow: impending Storm’.
From Brightwell Barrow and the adjacent Wittenham Clumps, the long line of the Ridgeway can be seen in the distance to the south and east. The distinctive shape of the barrow and the clumps, topped with Beech trees, can, in turn, be seen from parts of the Ridgeway. This year, as part of a project at The Dorchester Festival, I have been making drawings at Wittenham Clumps each week, aiming, in particular, to capture the dramatic, ever-changing weather and mood in this area over the winter months.
This drawing of Brightwell Barrow from Castle Hill, was made on January 28th 2026 on an unsettled and stormy late morning. The light became particularly dramatic as the storm clouds moved in, illuminating the hill, momentarily, in a dazzle of green against the almost obscured line of the Ridgeway beyond.
Emma shared news of her win on Instagram:
So absolutely delighted and astonished to win the Swire Ridgeway Arts Prize with this small drawing ‘Brightwell Barrow: impending Storm’. Drawn in situ on January 28th this year and exhibited in Uffington this weekend as part of a wonderful celebration of art depicting the ‘shapes and shadows’ for the ridgeway.
Whilst drawing this, the storm clouds moved in and the light became particularly dramatic, simultaneously illuminating the hill in a dazzle of brilliant green and obscuring the line of the Ridgeway beyond.
See Emma’s profile in our Members’ Gallery.