About Shellie Byatt

Shellie’s images are inspired by many kinds of narrative – poetry, song, folk tales or even overheard conversations. Such stories stand as metaphors for deeper things in our lives and experiences. The story of Adam and Eve for instance, which inspires much of Shellie’s  current work, paints the picture of the common and inevitable process of innocence altered by experience – our childhood freedoms taken from us as we become adults locked into the complexities of life. She searches for the remnants of that magic time... sadly the adult eye cannot help but colour the memories.

 
She trained at Goldsmiths where she was very fortunate to be taught by Constance Howard and Betty Swanwick. Both were extraordinary and inspirational artists in their own right but also possessed great skills as teachers. They encouraged students to find their individual voice, not be swayed by ‘fashion’ and to work extremely hard!
 

Shellie uses an unusual mix of paper, paint and pencil – technically collage but with no imported images. The technique is a hard taskmaster...allowing much freedom to play with ideas in the early stages but unforgiving of any change of mind once paper has been committed to board.  Shellie enjoys this mixture of freedom and discipline, and she delights in colour and pattern which she uses both symbolically and for pure pleasure....

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