NPA Lab | 2022
CS Moncrieff + Lizzie Shannon-Little + Sophie Anne Wyth
Born in London, CS Moncrieff now resides in rural Hants, working in a derelict former Lloyds bank. Of her practice, she says, “My paintings are rhythmical visualisations, often exploring the relationship between femaleness and the land. I like to question structures of power – but also our cognitive dissonance with nature.”
Lizzie Shannon-Little is an abstract painter and mixed media artist. Her art is an exploration in connection, colour, and bold mark making. She is part of the Old School Art Collective in Oxford, an Associate of OVADA art space, and member and Trustee of WOA Gallery. She has exhibited works throughout the UK and sold her works worldwide.
Sophie Anne Wyth is a French painter based in the UK. She became a painter through undergoing art therapy and started her art career alongside directing her fashion business. She keeps from her experience in the luxury fashion industry a sense of aesthetic, and brings elegance and beauty to her paintings. Wyth will be spending the month of February in Paris producing work alongside other artists and will present an end of residency exhibition.
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Reflections on peer to peer mentoring
CS Moncrieff
Although we’re in three far-flung pockets of the UK, we’ve zoomed punctually, fortnightly since November. We had informal crits, developing ideas. This progressed to sharing ambitions. We set tasks – for example, seeking out an artist or gallerist for collaboration. Not only have the LAB sessions resulted in the above but I’ve a debut duo show planned (thanks to the Lab, I approached an artist I admire); an Auction Collective studio sale (a first – we set this among our assignments); and a bursary application submitted for ten paintings. So fruitful has the LAB been, we’re continuing meeting for the unforeseeable future.
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Reflections on peer to peer mentoring
Lizzie Shannon-Little
I’m developing a body of work that is taking me in a new direction – moving from abstract to more figurative creations. Having the supportive feedback of two artists whose work I admire, who both work across these two art forms, was invaluable to me as I developed my ideas. Creating can be lonely, and it is hard to get perspective when researching and producing work. Having our sounding board meetings – part informal art crit, part self-help group – was the collaborative peer environment I needed. We are continuing our LAB beyond NPA and planning studio visits to each other’s studios.
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Reflections on peer to peer mentoring
Sophie Anne Wyth
We set up regular calls to give each other advice, support and to share artists opportunities. We did a website surgery to help understand how readable our sites are to newcomers. We also used the group as a crit for our work. We created a whatsapp group which we still regularly use for questions and we will keep our regular zoom meeting for the foreseeable future. This group is precious and helps me to feel connected to artists who are facing similar challenges. It is great to support each other in difficult times as well as celebrate each other’s wins.