Biography

Born London 1945. Studied at Harrow College of Art and The Royal Academy Schools.

Served as Vice President of the RWS, and is also a member of the RE.

Olwen has enjoyed a very full and varied career in the Arts, not only producing a large volume of her own work but also as a teacher, sitting on several education committees and as an active member of some notable art societies.

Solo exhibitions include: Zydler Gallery, London; John Russell Gallery, Ipswich; Hayletts Gallery, Maldon; Bohun Gallery, Henley on Thames; Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester; Coach House Gallery, Guernsey; Printworks, Colchester and the Chappel Galleries, Essex.

Her work has been shown in many mixed exhibitions in venues including the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition; Modern English Graphics, Moscow; the Barbican Centre, London; the Discerning Eye at the Mall Galleries; Ivor Weiss (1) Gallery, Colchester and Colchester Art Society at the Minories.

Work in many public and private collections including the National Museum of Wales; Museum of London; Department of the Environment; Reading Museum & Art Gallery; Usher Art Gallery, Lincoln; Norwich Castle; Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield; Greenwich Library; Plymouth Art Gallery and Salford Art Gallery.

Commissions include nine mural paintings for Trust House Forte; calendar and prints for the National Grid; paintings for Lloyds of London and freelance illustration and contributions to several art publications.

Olwen was married to the artist Charles Bartlett (2), living together for many years in Fingringhoe, near Colchester.

Statement

“My work is mainly concerned with natural form related to interiors. Complexity of composition and detail, the superimposing of several viewpoints of the same subject, are fundamental aspects of my work. Windows and conservatories are a recurring theme, incorporating diffused light, reflections and the contrasts between natural forms and surrounding geometric structures. My watercolours stem from drawn studies, some of these drawings are complete in their own right. Though I gather information directly from the subject, all the painting is produced in my studio. I usually compose the watercolours from several drawings around the idea, letting my imagination also coming into play. I start by drawing in lightly a few of the main guide lines, then work directly with watercolour very thinly to exploit the luminosity of the medium. By painting in thin layers with other techniques such as stencilling, I aim at a depth of vision which is somewhat between the abstract and the figurative.”

(1) Ivor Weiss (1919-1986) was a member of CAS. His biography and picture Six Rabbis at the Table (CAS 43)   appears in the 2016 Permanent Collection catalogue.

(2) Charles Bartlett RWS, RE, ARCA. (1921-2014) member of CAS. See biography and picture Suffolk Reeds (CAS 63) in the 2016 Permanent Collection catalogue.