Reality to Abstraction Exhibition – A Celebration of Diversity in Art

Three artists who met through their love of art and became good friends are exhibiting at the Old Fire Station Gallery from Friday (9 June) to 13 June in exhibition entitled ‘Reality to Abstraction’.

Nicola Eley, Janet Lancaster and Laura Cramer will be exhibiting a range of their artworks from figurative local scenes to semi-abstract work.

Nicola grew up in Sonning Common and retired from being a GP in 2019.  Nicola said, “I’ve painted really since I was a child. My earliest memory is drawing and my father trying to explain perspective but my parents were not keen on art school, so I studied medicine.  Over the years I’ve enjoyed painting, work permitting because I love it and since retiring in 2019 I have the luxury to be able to paint most days in my studio at home.”

Nicola’s inspiration for art is colour, light and celebration.  Nicola explains, “I love the creative process of trying to capture a scene.  At the moment though I’m drawn increasingly to have a more abstract approach, where the focus is more on sensation rather than the realistic depiction. I’ve done many courses and was lucky to paint with the late well-known artist Ken Howard in Venice and Bruges which was quite special.”

Temple Island and the River Thames are scenes Nicola enjoys to paint.  Two of her paintings have been accepted by the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and has exhibited with the Medical Art Society.

Janet Lancaster met Nicola six years ago on a local oil painting course.  Janet is a keen photographer and took up painting about 16 years ago.

Janet enjoys colour, light, people and architecture and tends to be more of a figurative painter. She was a research scientist for a multinational and then went into business management and sales of industrial products.

Laura Cramer, a professional artist from County Wexford in Ireland who is now based in Bristol has been painting for 30 years.  She did a foundation art course in Dublin and has done life-drawing courses and studied with the Hugo Grenville School of Painting in Bristol.

Nicola first met Laura at her exhibition at Bankside Gallery in London just before the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

Laura is a contemporary abstract painter and paints mainly landscapes and she’s very much inspired by her garden and by nature. She’s very drawn to landscapes and rivers as she grew up by the water and a lot of her work reflects that.

Laura has had many exhibitions, including a solo show at Bristol’s Coldharbour Gallery, and has done 20 years of annual art trails.  She has also worked on several public art projects in Bristol for charity, most notably two Aardman Animation ‘Gromits’ in 2013, which raised £42,000 for the city’s children’s hospital. Laura is also currently exhibiting at the Mall Galleries in London.

The exhibition is open 10.00-5.00 daily.