Our Life in the Village
Jane Amos

Wet and dry needle felt

Bathing At Queen Anne’s Summerhouse
Ian Forrester

Watercolour

Going Nowhere
Tizzie Lambert

Acrylic on canvas

Time for Reflection
Sue Massey

Photograph

My Bloodline and My Husband
Maggie Vantoch-Wood

Wood, oil, acrylic

The Goth
Sue White

Photograph composite

Fish Today at 4pm
Isabel Blincow

Acrylic on canvas

Day 80 Lockdown
Jillian ‘Eva’ Bold

Acrylic on canvas

Self portrait
Angela Gawn

Oil on ply

Off Shore Oil Rig
Lorna Llewellyn

Oil on canvas

Sempiternal
Mustafa Mezughi

Oil on canvas

My Lockdown Pot - 2020
Lindsey Musgrave

Earthenware clay, acrylics

Lockdown
Philip Cuttell

Oil on canvas

Hand Of The Artist
Philip Johnson

Oil on wood

Indian One-Horned Rhino
Marianne Nightingale

Clay

Hellnar Church, Iceland
Peter O’Reilly

Photograph

Sleep
Stan Peach

Mezzotint

Sycamore Gap, Hadrian’s Wall
Geoff Perry

Photograph

Ferry Meadows - Lesley Allen
Travels with my Penfriend - Sheila Barclay
Dressed to Kill - Paul Bland
It's Cold Outside - Christine Boxall
A Ray of Sunlight - Margaret Clark
Canal - Peter Clarke
My Julie - Christopher Cook
Veiltail Goldfish - Dawn Cragg MBE
Cement garden plant pot - Phylis Croasdell
Heaven’s Graffiti - Julie Dore
Hen-Pecked! - Pamela Dowie
Release from Lockdown - Robert Fordham
Home - Ann Foxwell
School Play Time - Paul French
Girl in Lavender Field - Elaine Harris
Sunset at Aberffraw, Ynys Môn - Jill Hughes
Amazonian - Bernadette Humphries
On the Forest Floor - Jane James
Letitia Emerging from Lockdown! - Susan Jefferson
Going for a swim - Jacqueline Kendall
The Church Yard at Malvern Abbey - Cynthia King
Plum tree bowl - Julian Le Vay

The Salmon Leap - Hugh McLellan
Brixham Harbour Lighthouse - Allison McSparron-Edwards
Lake Louise, Canadian Rockies - Anne Moller
Sunbonnet Sue - Oonagh Morrison
Study, with poppy seed heads - Len Nicholls
Pointsettia - Jennie Porter
Magician - Roberta Reilly
An Education - Roger Sharp
Loo Roll Hoard - Pilly Shearly-Sanders
Venice 2 - Anne Smith
lockdown head - Julia Smith
Homeless Man - Mo Stewart
The Sceptic - Judith Stradling
Frozen In Time - Jane Terris
Dappled sunlight through trees, Trent Park - Roy Turner
October Sunrise over Brightlingsea Creek - Bob Walsh
Went to Specsavers - Clive Walters
Woods in Snow - Jeannette Ward
African Nights - Martin Waring
Skeleton Hydrangea Petals - Christina Webb
Pirate - Ian Wells
Playing The Spoons - Susan White
Evening Stroll at Castlerock - Mark Winning

Garden Sculpture - Andrea Allez
Wolf Totem - Caroline Astrop
Old Man of Storr - Bill Bain
No Turning Back (Ready to Prone) - Jan Bastow
Lovely Geeta - Austin Clifford
Mushrooms by Moonlight - Malathie de Silva
In the Snow - Christine Deffee
Pandora Takes a Peek - Franca Douglas
New Lease of Life - Pamela Downes
Me, but on a bad day. - Michael Edwards
IN DISGRACE - D Burton Everitt
African tribesman - Angela Foote
How about? - Antje Gibbs
Last Summer - Teresa Goodbun
Golf Course Wildlife - Jennie Grainger
Flying High - Linda Hall
Jazz Trombone - John Hall
Adam & Eve Tattooed - Frank Harwood
Life Drawing Class - Harold Hewitt
My Muse - Linda Hibbin
All dressed up and nowhere to go 2020 - Hazel Hindle
Born To Be A Jazz Player - Stewart Jones
Bluebirds - Wendy Jones
Moving On - Elizabeth Judge
Listen - Isabel Knowland
Alex - Deidre Leeming

Childhood Memories - Dennis Lewis
Mindfullness - Deena Marcus-Jedamzik
Missing my family I draw them together through my painting - Alexander May
Covid Jab Storyboard - Martin Morley
Barkla to Beacon - Paul Nicholls
The Last Fisherman - Frank Nunneley
Winter Mirror - Nina O’Connell
Coastal Views - Linda Orr
Tiger - David Owen
Refinement - Mike Parker
Reflections on a Lost Cat - Sally Parkin Fitton
One Day Soon - Jill Reynolds
Who Are You - Pauline Russell
Drapes and Grapes - Sushma Sabnis
Dementia Street - Maria Saunderson
Clapped Out. - Steven Sheasby
The Historic Village of Lavenham - David Smeaden
Pumpkin Field - Alan Carlton Smith
West Pier, Stormy Skies - Wendy Standen
Anna - Jetlagged - Helen Stanfield
A Right Character - Elizabeth Taylor
Estella - Annette Tranter
Tall Bottle - Paul Vining
Looks Like It's Just You and Me, Buddy. - Eileen West
Bottle Oven Ghosts - Seven Sisters - Terence Woolliscroft
The past was not in sepia - Ronald Wyld

Jane Amos

Tell us a bit about where you live?

I’m lucky to live in Ffrith, a small village nestled in the hills of North East Wales with my husband Pete and Tess, our springer spaniel.

Why did you enter the King Lear Prizes?

My daughter Katie sent me the details and I thought, ‘why not?’. The King Lear Prizes appealed as they seemed to be for everyone – well all of us over 65! I had been thinking about experimenting with painting with wool and felting. The competition gave me the necessary push to try it for the first time.

What inspired your work?

We have lived in the village for over twenty years building two homes in that time. During lockdown I had plenty of time to appreciate my luck in living somewhere I love. I just wanted to try to capture that feeling in my picture.

Ian Forrester

Tell us a bit about where you live?

Yorkshire born and bred, I moved south to Derbyshire for work and settled in Wirksworth on the edge of the Peak District almost 50 years ago. It was a grey old workaday town then, but most of the quarries are closed now. In recent years, the town has become surprisingly ‘arty’ - although I've been an engineer all my life, having my own industrial water treatment company, hence my particular interest in pipework, as my painting shows!

Why did you enter the King Lear Prizes?

My Dad, an artist and teacher, believed that engineering design was a functional form of Art, and Mum developed extraordinary skill in creative embroidery late in life. So I thought perhaps I'd have a go, and since retiring I've been doing some painting, mostly during holidays. But during the time of Covid the only Art I produced was designing the memorial stone for my parents' grave. Then my wife heard about the King Lear Prizes and urged me to enter, which I did mainly as a spur to get out my paints again.

What inspired your work?

This painting is the bathroom of a Landmark Trust property known as Queen Anne's Summerhouse. We stayed there in 2017, partly because of its proximity to the Shuttleworth Collection of aviation history, a particular interest of mine. The imaginative conversion of this early 18th century building and particularly the basement bathroom with its unusual taps intrigued me. The light through the high window falling on my bath water produced an effect so reminiscent of Hockney's pool paintings that I couldn't resist trying a self portrait including the water and the fascinating taps!

Tizzie Lambert

Tell us a bit about where you live?

I live in Tankerton, part of the lovely seaside town of Whitstable, famous for its oysters and annual Oyster Festival. I have lived here for nearly 8 years and I absolutely love it - even in the winter! Whitstable is a vibrant little town with plenty of live music, art events, independent shops, lovely restaurants and even a little theatre! If you want to move out of the city come to Whitstable.

Why did you enter the King Lear Prizes?

I entered the King Lear Prizes to see if I might be good enough. Then later I looked at some work from last year and thought, ‘Oh dear, what have I done?!’. So I didn’t tell any friends or family to save myself future embarrassment! When you’re older it’s easy to lose your self-confidence but I just thought go for it because if you don’t try you’ll never know. Better to try and fail than never to try at all.

What inspired your work?

That’s a tricky one but probably because the last few years have been very emotionally tough - with the death of my partner, shortly followed by the death of my son. Sometimes, I just felt as though I would walk uphill, along, and then down the slope. Then the whole process would be repeated again. So I wanted to produce a work that was positive, contemporary and perhaps was thought-provoking but also simple and straightforward. I really enjoyed doing it and hadn’t realised how difficult straight lines can be!

Sue Massey

Tell us a bit about where you live?

I live in St Annes, a popular family-friendly seaside resort not far from Blackpool. I grew up in Blackpool, moved to Leicester where I lived for 40 years, and returned to the north west seven years ago. There’s so much to discover when walking in the dunes, scrub, saltmarsh and the vast estuary of the River Ribble. I never leave home without camera and binoculars slung over both shoulders. Retirement couldn’t be better.

Why did you enter the King Lear Prizes?

Searching the internet for something completely unrelated I discovered a link that led me to King Lear Prizes. I love the challenge of a competition, took the plunge and submitted three entries. Retirement buzzes with learning new skills, discovering new hobbies and entering competitions!

What inspired your work?

Long daily walks across wide-open sands of the Ribble estuary have become more meaningful during lockdown. My partner of over 40 years and I don’t see just little grey birds scuttling at the water’s edge, or just wild flowers, grasses, butterflies and insects in the dunes; we’re learning to identify them and our tally is growing. Our regular walks cover the same ground yet are never boring. The seasons, weather, light and tides all play their part in changing what we experience. Steve follows the outgoing tide under a dramatic sky. Perfect conditions for “Time for reflection”.

Maggie Vantoch-Wood

Tell us a bit about where you live?

I live in the Meanwood area of Leeds, having moved to Leeds from London nearly 50 years ago.

Why did you enter the King Lear Prizes?

I started painting these family portraits after doing a short portrait painting course in 2019, and becoming really absorbed in the process. Someone from the U3A sent me a link to your site last year and here we are!

What inspired your work?

About 6 years ago, I decided to research my family tree, as both my parents were immigrants from different parts of the world, both with interesting histories, and arrived in the UK in the late 1940s. In 2019, I started off with a portrait of my husband, then my 4 children, then grandchildren, then anyone I was related to and could get a photo of - past or present. This project may grow as more relatives images emerge. It has been really interesting seeing family likenesses running through the tree.

Sue White

Tell us a bit about where you live?

I live in a village just outside Tunbridge Wells in Kent.

Why did you enter the King Lear Prizes?

I had not heard of the King Lear Prizes until I saw an article about them on Facebook. I have always taken photographs, but it is only since I retired that I have tried to become more creative with my work, and it seemed an ideal opportunity to give it a go.

What inspired your work?

During lockdown I have watched many many videos which have opened up a whole new world of inspiration for my photography. I was particularly drawn to making composite images from a number of different photographs, plus some textures, and layering them together in Photoshop. I found it was much more difficult than I initially thought. The resulting image is made of about 7 different photos, the 'Goth' being my granddaughter.

Isabel Blincow

Tell us a bit about where you live?

I live in Sheffield, on the edge of this big industrial city, but very close to the wonderful Derbyshire Peak District, which I paint often. We also have very
strong connections with the coast, Robin Hood’s Bay and Whitby in
particular, and visit frequently, so coastal subjects provide me with
a great deal of inspiration and opportunity.

What inspired your work?

My grandfather was a commercial artist who painted theatre fire screens and scenery. My father was a painter and decorator, perfecting wood grain and marbling. It was inevitable that I would be obsessed with texture and interesting surfaces. I am in heaven with a good rusty, crumbling door in front of me, waiting to be painted.

Jillian ‘Eva’ Bold

Tell us a bit about where you live?

I live in a canalside village called Rode Heath in Cheshire on the border with North Staffordshire. When not in lockdown, I attend a local art group in the nearby village of Scholar Green, who exhibit their works once a year, as well as a local U3A art group who specialise in acrylic painting. At the age of 56/58 I completed a Fine Art Degree Course at Staffordshire University and achieved 1st Class Honours. Since retirement, I have enjoyed revisiting my love of art and craft and feel inspired by the countryside and heritage where I live.

Why did you enter the King Lear Prizes?

I saw the King Lear Prizes advertised on Facebook and thought what a good idea it was to give our age group an art-related incentive to inspire us to continue to create. Lockdown has meant that creating artworks is mostly a solitary experience with nowhere to exhibit and this seemed the ideal opportunity to work towards a goal.

What inspired your work?

The inspiration for my work was, obviously, lockdown! I had just read the i newspaper that reported on the lockdown and tried to make sense of all the conflicting information.  My artwork/collage was made entirely from the reports taken from that paper on Day 80 of the lockdown. I live on the Staffordshire border where the people are proud of their heritage of making great pottery. Very few pot banks now remain and I wanted to include them in my collage to give some sense of belonging  and grounding in these uncertain times amongst all the trauma.

Angela Gawn

Tell us a bit about where you live?

I live on the outskirts of Old Buckenham village with my husband of nearly two years, who is a sculptor. It’s a beautiful rural area with plenty of wildlife.

Why did you enter the King Lear Prizes?

I decided to enter the King Lear Prizes for a bit of fun and to challenge myself. I was also missing going to my local life drawing group because of Covid.

What inspired your work?

My self portrait came about because I had been shielding for health reasons since the beginning of March 2020. My only trips out were to the hospital for my oncology appointments and to have various scans and blood tests. My mask and hand sanitiser became my safety blanket on such trips, and so were important to me.

Lorna Llewelyn

Tell us a bit about where you live?

I live in West Sussex, just outside Hayward’s Heath with both the South Downs and Brighton a short drive away. We moved down here from London over 20 years ago.

Why did you enter the King Lear Prizes?

I entered the competition last year for the first time and was listed as Highly Commended so I just had to give it another go this year.

What inspired your work?

This piece of work was more of an experiment. I usually do very tight, more realistic drawings/paintings, using gouache and pencils mostly. I’ve only painted a few using oils so I’m still experimenting but really enjoying it. My inspiration came when sorting out some old photos whilst in lockdown. My late husband used to art direct a lot of rig shots, mostly in the Gulf of Mexico; needless to say, some were silhouetted against amazing sunsets. I find them quite fascinating and rather beautiful, so I took one and used the shapes and structures to create a more abstract image of it.

Mustafa Mezughi

Tell us a bit about where you live?

I was born in Tripoli, and currently work as emeritus professor of architecture at the University of Tripoli, but moved to the UK in 2009 and live in London.

Why did you enter the King Lear Prizes?

I found that there were possibilities with the King Lear Prizes that you don’t see in similar competitions. It is open and encouraging, as it does not require professionalism to participate. The practical classification is the level of practice associated with the age group.

What inspired your work?

Often I sit on the roof of my house or balcony and watch the sky, and what I found astonishing is the transformation in its colours and formations, especially when the clouds are trying frivolously to block the sun's rays. Birds are also a realm that floats in the sky; they form magical celestial integration. In short, it is a timeless world ... it is Sempiternal.

Lindsey Musgrave

Tell us a bit about where you live?

I live in the lively village of North Curry on the edge of the Somerset Levels. While this location can have problems with flooding, road closure etc, the levels have a wild beauty, each season bringing its own unique character. I have a small pottery shed in my back garden, overlooking fields, which provides a tranquil haven for creating!

Why did you enter the King Lear Prizes?

A friend told me about the King Lear Prizes and suggested I enter. Encouragement of creativity, in whatever form, is great and should be supported. This was a chance to do that, and display my artwork somewhere other than in my overcrowded ‘home gallery’!

What inspired your work?

When the first lockdown started, I was determined to make every day count. This involved experimentation of different art techniques and a lot of mad projects ranging from a competition with friends to grow the tallest sunflower to attempting to sew a pair of dungarees - made but never worn! After six months, thinking we were heading back towards a more normal life, I decided to make a record and lasting memory of what I’d been doing during this strange and historic time, and this took the form of my large Lockdown Pot!

Philip Cuttell

Tell us a bit about where you live?

I live in North London and I am lucky to have an attic studio with good North facing light. When lockdown permits, I like nothing better than prowling the galleries and there is nothing like painting yourself to learn how the professionals do it. I normally paint with others in classes - lockdown has prevented this, and Instagram contact with other painters has helped.

Why did you enter the King Lear Prizes?

Entering the King Lear Prizes seemed a great way of countering the feeling that the paintings just stack up against the wall in the studio and never get seen. Ultimately like most amateur artists, I must paint for myself. This frees me from the pressure of pleasing the sitter, (I paint mostly portraits), but the corollary is that I am up against my sternest critic, ie myself. Being shortlisted for the King Lear Prizes means a lot in that it provides some external validation of the work and it will also mean it will be seen and hopefully enjoyed by more people.

What inspired your work?

The work was inspired by Artemisia Gentileschi’s ‘Judith and Holofernes’. She is a great painter sidelined for being female. Technically, I was interested to see whether I could render the chiaroscuro of her work which creates intimate drama and renders the viewer complicit, as does the cropping of the image. I also wanted to convey the frustration and fear that lockdown induces. The two female figures subvert the therapeutic image of mask wearing nurses into something much more sinister. However there is no blood and the violence looks staged and not altogether serious, so perhaps lockdown will not be so bad in the end.

Philip Johnson

Tell us a bit about where you live?

I live in the lovely village of Barlaston in North Staffordshire, surrounded by beautiful countryside. My partner and I take great pleasure walking around the surrounding areas including the gorgeous Trentham Gardens and often walking past the well-known Wedgwood pottery factory

Why did you enter the King Lear Prizes?

Despite having studied illustration at The Birmingham College of Art in the late 60's and subsequently illustrating for The Open University, I left my artwork behind for some 40 odd years. However, throughout my working life I promised myself that I would return to artwork in retirement and 7 years ago I finally achieved that ambition. I now value every minute that I spend painting and drawing whatever and whenever I want to. When I saw the King Lear Prizes on the internet one day, I felt inspired to enter my first self-portrait painting.

What inspired your work?

My inspiration was querying why my previous self-portraits didn't look like “me”. Realising our faces are not symmetrical, this time I worked from a photograph to ensure my painting was to be blisteringly honest. However, I wanted my portrait to be more than just a copy of my face. To this end I emphasised the focus of my large hand and tiny brush, together with my bloodshot eyes and broken fingernails. The surprising result has been to give my painting a captivating intensity that was not originally expected.

Marianne Nightingale

Tell us a bit about where you live?

My home and studio are in rural Norfolk surrounded by fields and wildlife. The garden is visited by many species of wildlife, and is a bit shambolic, but with deliberately wild areas for the many birds, insects and animals that find a home here. We have wildlife cameras all around the garden so we can share in the wild world of the animals. We are privileged to share our home and garden with them all.

Why did you enter the King Lear Prizes?

Having been a wildlife artist for 25 years, painting in oils and acrylics, this didn’t seem a challenge any more. I decided to try clay animal sculpture, turning 2D images of animals into 3D sculptures. I am absolutely loving this medium and decided to enter this prize event for the fun of seeing if the work had any merit. My philosophy is that I am a designer who has wandered into ceramics and am totally seduced by the medium!

What inspired your work?

Having spent years travelling abroad to countries including India to draw and paint wildlife, I have been involved with many animal and habitat conservation charities with donations of my artwork for fundraising. These Indian One Horned Rhino fascinate and inspire me as they look so prehistoric, with plates of thick hide like a suit of armour. They are critically endangered and need awareness of their plight as much as their African cousins, so maybe my entry will help with this cause.

Peter O’Reilly

Tell us a bit about where you live?

I live, with my wife and two dogs, in Moray in north-east Scotland, in a house overlooking the waters of the Moray Firth.

Why did you enter the King Lear Prizes?

I guess I entered the competition in order to test myself against other artists, and to get a feel for how my work is progressing.

What inspired your work?

The image of Hellnar Church was taken on my second visit to Iceland. The first was in summer, but I wanted to experience winter conditions there. I was attracted by the red roof and steeple, standing out against an otherwise monochrome landscape, and used the barbed wire fence as a leading line to the church.

Stan Peach

Tell us a bit about where you live?

I live in King’s Lynn, Norfolk with my wife Sue. I have two children and two grandchildren.

Why did you enter the King Lear Prizes?

Following a post on Instagram and reading about the competition I had to submit an image - it’s an excellent idea and competition and well worth supporting. We are all aware of the issues that can come with advancing age and to give the older age group a chance to either show their work or be inspired to get involved in the arts is a something I am passionate about. The benefits of keeping your mind, as well as your body, active is well documented and can be of huge benefit. It does not matter if you’re experienced or a beginner - the arts, in whatever genre, is a wonderful thing to be a part of.

What inspired your work?

A great deal of my work is a representation of dreams that I remember vividly. This piece, ‘Sleep’, is inspired by these, with all the wonderful and sometimes disturbing images that you see. This is about rest and the tranquillity of a good night’s sleep.

Geoff Perry

Tell us a bit about where you live?

I live in Darlington, the birth place of the railways, which is close to the border between Durham and North Yorkshire. From Darlington it is easy to access some of the most beautiful northern landscapes and coastlines in the region which feeds my passion for landscape photography.

Why did you enter the King Lear Prizes?

I’m not one for entering competitions - the last occasion was 2009! However, the King Lear Prizes caught my attention during the pandemic as the arts appeared to have been completely sidelined by most other organisations. I was feeling isolated and caged having received the third letter instructing me to shield. I had been unable to travel and photograph the places that are so dear and inspirational to me. I needed a challenge, something of a kick-start!

What inspired your work?

When considering the submission Sycamore Gap, the appeal of the image was its obvious links to the current climate, a solitary tree with the symbolic rainbow overhead set in a tempestuous sky. I spent over an hour at the location and when the rainbow appeared it was obscured behind the tree. I had to move quickly to higher ground - not easy with full photography kit! From an elevated position on the side of a hill, the rainbow was above the tree which was suddenly lit by the emerging sun. A transitory moment of delight.