Hook Norton artist wins award
08/02/2021
Paintings of North Oxfordshire have been described as “evocative, ethereal, and sometimes unsettling”
A former bookseller who has taken up art as a second career later in life has won an award for her work. Rachel Cronin has been announced as the winner of the 2021 Mary Moser prize by Oxfordshire Artweeks.
Rachel’s work includes paintings of North Oxfordshire which have been described as “evocative, ethereal, and sometimes unsettling”.
The Mary Moser award was established in 2003 to mark the work of a local artist who has taken up art as a second career later in life. Rachel worked first in retail as a bookseller and then in administration and adult education before taking the plunge into art full time.
Rachel said: “When I was small, I always wanted to be an artist (apart from the summer I wanted to be Alexis Colby in Dynasty), and in every picture of me as a child, I am holding a paintbrush.
“I’ve always been drawn to landscapes, seeking out forms, patterns and colours. It’s the countryside that inspires me most and I love the rolling land of North Oxfordshire, woods and trees, and lesser-known spots. I love picking out the man-made elements like gateposts and fences and evidence of ancient ways of life.
“I particularly love the Roman Road from Shutford to Broughton Castle. It’s very flat and straight with some great wide views and passes through little farms and by pretty babbling brooks. Or from Whichford Hill, there’s a wonderful rolling view down to Hook Norton beneath massive skies and, standing at the top, you get such a sense of distance and of the vastness of the land as field patterns stretch into the distance, and of time too, and centuries past.”
Rachel Cronin is holding an exhibition of her work as part of Oxfordshire Artweeks this May. Her exhibition will run from 1st-9th May at 32 Bath Road, Banbury OX16 0TP.
Oxfordshire Artweeks is an annual three-week not-for-profit celebration of the county’s artistic and creative talent encompassing the visual arts in their broadest sense. Each year over 100,000 people visit Artweeks exhibitions and a million pounds of art changes hands.
Published: by the Banbury FM News Team
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