About
Allyson was born in the 1950s in the South of England and then lived in various places in England and abroad before settling for the moment in the North of England. She has always enjoyed painting and from an early age she loved to watch and then paint everything around her.
She loves working with fresh, clear colour glazes over detailed pen sketches to create her own unique and often witty style. Allyson takes her inspiration from the people and activities she observes in everyday life, and as she travels around she keeps her sketch book handy to record her impressions of atmosphere, colour and interesting characters along the way.
"I begin with up to 20 resource sketches, depending on the complexity of the painting, and then work out the colour palette according to the atmosphere I want to convey. I gain my inspiration from the world around me, I love to paint people and interactions between people, when they are just going about their daily lives in an unguarded way they are at their most interesting and characterful."
Allyson creates vibrant contemporary narrative artworks that portray moments in time from daily life. For many years she created large dynamic works in an abstract or semi abstract style using acrylics, oils and pastels, but following an accident two years ago which damaged her back she now finds it difficult to paint standing at her easel to create large works on canvas or board.
This initial difficulty has forced her to search for a solution and has lead to her discovering a totally new style of work, and she now creates detailed watercolour paintings with fresh modern colours in a size that can be managed more easily from a seated position.
"I want my paintings to draw the viewer back time and time again, looking at the little details and enjoying the humour of the scene."
When she is not in her studio she loves to grow her own vegetables and fruit, read crime novels and spend time out and about looking for fresh inspiration.