ARTIST STATEMENT
Annette Price is a London-based abstract artist who finds inspiration in the fluid and dynamic nature of water. She is intrigued by its shimmering beauty and how water interacts with the soil, silt and rock that it flows over, changing its form and colour depending on temperature and gradient, reflecting light and intertwining with mud and plants.
Her art is an emotional reaction that is inspired by many years of kayaking and photographing water as an editorial photographer, working with a camera from both kayaks and diving.
Price embeds items collected from the water’s edge into her paintings. This collected material; gravel, sand, leaves, twigs etc. creates a rich texture within the painting, which, when side-lit, such as early morning sunlight through a window, throws shadows across the painting, changing as the light changes throughout the day.
Price uses fluid acrylics, high gloss varnish and resin to represent the smooth flowing qualities of water. The watery glossiness of these materials reflects the interconnectedness of land and water and creates an interesting textural contrast within the painting.
Price recognises water's vital role in sustaining life and the importance of clean water in our rivers, lakes and seas. Her work is a celebration of clean water and a healthy environment, but she also wants to bring a greater awareness of the causes of water pollution and the need to keep our waterways clean. She also loves to celebrate the efforts made to clean and support our waterways - some are innovative, creative and not always what you may expect.
BIOGRAPHY
ARTIST
Abstract artist (see above)
In 2020 I returned to painting after a long break, inspired by the events of the pandemic. In 2022 I began prioritising painting in my professional work over photography.
EXHIBITIONS
Elemental
Organised and participated in a joint painting exhibition at The Chelsea Gallery, Old Town Hall, Kings Road, London SW3 5EE.
5th - 17th March 2024.
'Elemental' featured four female artists who expressed their connection to nature through painting, using various mediums and styles. Each painting told a unique story rooted in the effects of elemental forces on nature, inviting viewers to share in the artists' experiences and connections.
The River Within – London
Exhibition at the Riverside Gallery, Richmond-Upon-Thames, UK. 2019.
Solo exhibition of photographs depicting London from the perspective of a tiny kayak, showing the capital from a very different perspective to that which is seen daily by thousands of people.
PHOTOGRAPHER
Between 2000 and 2022, Annette Price worked as a freelance photographer specialising in wild places and adventure sports photography in aquatic environments. Working for editorial and corporate clients she photographed water sports, caves and disused mines, waterways and underwater portraiture. Much of her later photography work was taken from the perspective of a kayak. Price's work was published by a range of publications including, the Daily Mail, The Telegraph, The Financial Times, BBC Science Focus magazine, Diver magazine, in-flight magazines, and water sports organisations, to name a few.
THE PANDEMIC
During the pandemic, Price had two exhibitions cancelled and lost commissioned work and access to her normal photography subjects, but this gave her time to return to drawing and experimentation with abstraction followed. Although she had created very objective, storytelling images, while working as a photographer, the expressive use of colour, light, and composition are equally important to both photography and abstraction and abstract painting became a surprisingly natural extension of her previous work.
ART EDUCATION
BA (Hons) Illustration and graphic design (Kingston University) Price worked as an illustrator for a couple of years before turning to photography.
AWARDS
2005 The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) Price received a scholarship to help develop her underwater photography.
OTHER RELEVANT ACTIVITIES
KAYAKING. 1995 - today. Price is an experienced kayak paddler and has explored rivers, lakes, seas and canals by kayak, often taking underwater camera equipment with her to record the water, landscapes and people that she finds. She a former division one kayak slalom paddler and has spent much time on whitewater both in this country and in France. She used the kayaking skills gained from those experiences to explore watery environments with a camera, giving her a perspective that few people see.
DIVING. In 2004 Price learned to dive and used her diving skills to photograph beneath the sea, both in the UK and abroad, also rivers and even canals and has photographed underwater portraiture in swimming pools too.
The above skills and experiences have nurtured a love of both wild and urban wet places and an appreciation and understanding of the need for clean unpolluted waters for the health and well-being of both wildlife and humans.
ART FAIRS AND ART MARKETS
Parallax Art Fair (London) 2022
Spitalfields Arts Market (London) 2022
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
Premium Membership of the Visual Artists Association (VAA)
Professional membership of the Society for All Artists (SAA)
Membership of a-n The Artists Information Company (SAA)