Bryony Freemantle is a London born Artist who has no formal training. She studied her Art Foundation at the Central School of Speech and Drama in 1997, and then went on to pursue art in the main as a hobby, and as a lingering passion.
Her interest in Arts and Crafts was born out of having a mother who studied at the Slade London, and an auntie, (her mother’s identical twin) who would later go on to win the first and second round of ‘Portrait of the Year’ on Sky Television 2018. These two matriarchs of painting inspired her and ignited her to go on a personal artistic quest, which in turn gave her the confidence to believe in her own natural talent. She developed this talent from an early age; starting out with watercolours, and proceeding to work with pastels, acrylics, paper mesh, clay and oils, often mixing the mediums simultaneously.
Most recently, her focus has been on painting the urban landscape.
In her mid-twenties, she outgrew the concrete jungle that was London, and moved to Barcelona Spain; a continuation of a long-standing love affair initiated on an A level Art school trip. She was close to where her artistic heroes came from (Salvador Dali, and Antonio Gaudi).
Initially there only to learn the language for six months, she stayed for four years and began to paint and exhibit work in local bars.
Upon moving back to London in 2009, and experiencing a great sadness due to lack of sunshine, she refamiliarised herself with her own native environment, and began to paint her way back to internal sunshine.
Barcelona provided a landscape of beauty, warmth, and colourful simplicity which London lacked for her. The buildings were alive with delicate artistry, which she recreated in her work.
She started by painting street scenes, apartment blocks, stray cats, and anything/anywhere where life was being lived.
Upon moving back to London in 2009, and experiencing a great sadness due to lack of sunshine, she refamiliarised herself with her own native environment, and began to paint her way back to internal sunshine.
A creative project was born from out of this, and some of the work produced were a series which is aptly labelled ‘The way things were’. This series included Kings Cross scenes before it was rebuilt and whilst it was still a neglected landscape. Paintings included decrepit old bridges, former scenes from Regent’s canal, and the old gas station structures, which have since been replaced by the new and the modern. In theme with this project, she is now working on various London street scenes. An animal lover, she worked with horses and is currently developing a series in oils featuring some of the equine friends she worked with in Andalucía. She found that the vibrant colours of Spain never really left her paintbrush, and she continues to paint animals in mediums as oil and acrylic on wood found from local home refurbishments in skips; this became her preferred medium. Experimenting with textures on interesting surfaces and anything she could lay her hands on.
Bryony currently works on commissions, and divides her time between working at a London university, gardening, and indulging in the joy of painting. She sells her photographic prints and taught life drawing classes from her Kentish Town Studio flat, which she will continue when finally emerging from the pandemic.
Instagram: @bryonyfreemantle
Her interest in Arts and Crafts was born out of having a mother who studied at the Slade London, and an auntie, (her mother’s identical twin) who would later go on to win the first and second round of ‘Portrait of the Year’ on Sky Television 2018. These two matriarchs of painting inspired her and ignited her to go on a personal artistic quest, which in turn gave her the confidence to believe in her own natural talent. She developed this talent from an early age; starting out with watercolours, and proceeding to work with pastels, acrylics, paper mesh, clay and oils, often mixing the mediums simultaneously.
Most recently, her focus has been on painting the urban landscape.
In her mid-twenties, she outgrew the concrete jungle that was London, and moved to Barcelona Spain; a continuation of a long-standing love affair initiated on an A level Art school trip. She was close to where her artistic heroes came from (Salvador Dali, and Antonio Gaudi).
Initially there only to learn the language for six months, she stayed for four years and began to paint and exhibit work in local bars.
Upon moving back to London in 2009, and experiencing a great sadness due to lack of sunshine, she refamiliarised herself with her own native environment, and began to paint her way back to internal sunshine.
Barcelona provided a landscape of beauty, warmth, and colourful simplicity which London lacked for her. The buildings were alive with delicate artistry, which she recreated in her work.
She started by painting street scenes, apartment blocks, stray cats, and anything/anywhere where life was being lived.
Upon moving back to London in 2009, and experiencing a great sadness due to lack of sunshine, she refamiliarised herself with her own native environment, and began to paint her way back to internal sunshine.
A creative project was born from out of this, and some of the work produced were a series which is aptly labelled ‘The way things were’. This series included Kings Cross scenes before it was rebuilt and whilst it was still a neglected landscape. Paintings included decrepit old bridges, former scenes from Regent’s canal, and the old gas station structures, which have since been replaced by the new and the modern. In theme with this project, she is now working on various London street scenes. An animal lover, she worked with horses and is currently developing a series in oils featuring some of the equine friends she worked with in Andalucía. She found that the vibrant colours of Spain never really left her paintbrush, and she continues to paint animals in mediums as oil and acrylic on wood found from local home refurbishments in skips; this became her preferred medium. Experimenting with textures on interesting surfaces and anything she could lay her hands on.
Bryony currently works on commissions, and divides her time between working at a London university, gardening, and indulging in the joy of painting. She sells her photographic prints and taught life drawing classes from her Kentish Town Studio flat, which she will continue when finally emerging from the pandemic.
Instagram: @bryonyfreemantle