Saudi Gazette A Yorkshire artist has secured some exciting challenges for herself this year. Landscape painter Lesley Birch from York has a one month solo exhibition in Durham from May 9 to June 10. "It's at Trevelyan College, Durham University, which is really exciting," says Lesley. "I was thrilled to be invited to exhibit and I will be showing a new collection of paintings inspired by time and place." Lesley, who after gaining an MA in English Literature and Music, played keyboards with chart-topping ‘80s band Hue and Cry, will then have a solo residency in Wales for two weeks in July. "It will be at Stiwdio Maelor, Corris, Machynlleth in Snowdonia," explained Lesley, who finds the rugged Welsh landscape really inspiring. She adds: "Since joining Creative Coverage, I was contacted by Helen Westbrook of Lyndhurst Gallery. They are taking my work later this month. I'm really delighted." Lesley Birch was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1958. Her work has been widely exhibited including the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, Cork Street Open and mixed and solo shows across the UK. She reached round two of the Aesthetica Art Prize in 2014 and in 2015 had a painting purchased by the Royal Marsden Hospital Trust Collection, Chelsea, London. She currently lives and works in York, UK as a full-time practising artist. Lesley's paintings are bringing her attention for their evocative sense of timelessness and atmosphere. Her experience of the landscape is her starting point - Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Yorkshire - and then, in the studio, memory and imagination take over. "My paintings strive to make an emotional connection with the viewer. My subjects are time and nature and I'm inspired by land and sea," says the talented artist, who after gaining an MA in English Literature and Music, played keyboards with chart-topping ‘80s band Hue and Cry. "The paintings reflect my feelings as I play with colours, textures, line and form to express a moment in time." www.lesleybirchart.com
