Maxine Hart
“The Cornish landscape has always been my constant inspiration and source from land and from the sea….all is worthy of capture. From the wild weather, the trees, the lanes and beaches always exposing their changing colour, moving line, energy and form. Daily walks are the starting point to my work, immersed in the natural environment, I make sketches and take photos to inform me once back in the studio. It can be a composition I am drawn to; a juxtaposition of textures, subtleties from the coloured sky and land or lines and shapes from the imposing figurative trees. I like to combine my drawing qualities in my paintings, working on a number of paintings at the same time, responding and informing the other – scratching, layering, expressive marks often on board which allows me to etch the charcoal or pencil into the paint, mixing mediums, experimenting and ultimately moving the image on from its own starting point and being directed purely by the painting process and seeking the balance. Plein Air painting is also a way of combining all these processes and unpredictable elements that surround me which takes my practise to another level and is becoming a necessity in my daily routine.”
Maxine Hart was born on the Wirral in 1971 and moved to Cornwall from Cheshire in the Autumn of 2008.
Following an early interest in art, Maxine took her studies to Birmingham Art school and finished her BA honours degree in Fine Art in 1992, subsequently working as a mural artist, as artist in residence in various Cheshire schools and gallery officer for Cheshire Art Advisory service. She has exhibited in Cornwall and at London art fairs and lives with her husband, three children and cocker spaniel near the inspirational Helford River.
