A surreal painter by nature, my creative artwork has evolved from my feelings and dreams. Benefitting from a mixed media approach it has incorporated surrealism, sculpture, animation, humour, illustration, the exploration of alternative realities and automatic painting.
This last weekend I took part in Newports Art Festival. I had a table in St Marks Church in Gold Tops.
I had a lovely time and sold two pieces of work. I had been trying out small abstract canvases with affordable prices to see how they went. I also exhibited my pet portraits and had prints for sale. I was very pleased. It was lovely to meet the other Exhibitors and it was a lovely setting. I also made it into The Argus, our local newspaper.
Late summer I was fortunately asked to do two pencil portraits of dogs. Ivy is a spaniel belonging to my dear friend Shiny and Spike’s request came via a poster in a Vets. Sadly Spike is no longer with us and this drawing was a present for his owner.
Through visual art, performance, and a soundscape Solidarity of Hope – I see you is a multi-disciplinary live art, sound, and digital performance that places professional disabled artists centre stage to express the challenges and hopes of the moment. Underpinning the performance will be the notion that disabled and vulnerable individuals “do not wish to be erased” and are now connecting, as an empowering force, to share their stories of physical and psychological survival. Through the many challenges they encounter, the performance will ultimately celebrate the abundant strengths that members of the collective draw upon to survive and retain their sense of hope. Solidarity of Hope Collective formed in 2022 to unite Dutch, Welsh, and UK creatives. Performance Artists: Rachel Gadsden Helen Roeten Violin: Emily Earl Composer, Videography, Lighting Design: Freddie Meyers Solidarity of Hope Artists: Samantha Dinsdale-Brown Rachel Gadsden Emily-Jane Hillman Grietje Margreet Killian Miek Knook Jill Powell Tina R Helen Roeten Jordan Sallis Linda & Bethany Sutton Margo van Strijp Rach Wellbeing Elly Wright With thanks to our funders: Arts Council of Wales Disability Arts Cymru The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the United Kingdom The Living Museum, Alkmaar
On Sunday 15th of May Kintsugi opened its doors to the general public. It is my first solo show and had been tricky to hang. John Briggs the curator helped me sort the exhibition out into different sections. There was a good crowd and my thanks go out to friends and family for making this day a lovely one to remember.
In Front of Information Board pointing to photo of meOver The Top“Over The Top” on Board at the Exhibition
“Over The Top” by Jill Powell
Oil on canvas board
50cms x 40cms
“Over The Top” aims to highlight the growing threat of Antimicrobial Resistance facing the world today. It is set in a surreal backdrop of an AMR World War three where the trenches are the epidermis of the human body.
An army of dangerous antimicrobial resistant microbes are shown in giant form coming down the hill. These include MRSA, Clostridium Difficile, Covid 19, Aspergillus and Giardia Lamblia with mosquitos carrying malaria flying above.
In the bottom left two antibiotics dress their wounds and console each other as above a legion of defeated Microbiologists leave the battlefield.
The future of the fight against microbes lies with the hazmat suited figures who make use of DNA gene guns, vaccinations, fogging machines and bacteriophages.
An Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) – themed art exhibition
This weekend I will be taking part in Cardiff Science Festival Experience 2022 at Chapter in Cardiff. I am one of 4 artists chosen to create work that crosses the science/art boundary in relation to Antimicrobial Resistance.
Do you like science? Are you passionate about art? Interested to know how the two can work together? As part of the Cardiff Science Festival 2022, the Biosciences team at Cardiff University in partnership with Creative Cardiff are hosting a free sci-art event experience at Chapter that includes:
An Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) – themed art exhibition that will showcase commissioned artworks and selected artwork from a public art competition (11am-5pm, 19-22 February 2022, no booking required). Visit the ‘First Space’ room in Chapter to marvel at delicate soap sculptures (Heloise Godfrey-Talbot), striking street art (Drew Copus), vibrant risograph prints (Charlotte Hepburn), surreal oil painting (Jill Powell) and more! Each artwork has its own story to tell about AMR.
A screening of the documentary film ‘RESISTANCE’ followed by a panel discussion* with scientists where the audience can ask questions (2-4pm 20 February 2022, booking details here). *English language captions will be included on the film and a British Sign Language Interpreter will be present for the panel discussion.
Just before Christmas I was asked to combine a photo of great grandparents and their five great grandchildren in a pencil drawing. Initially I said no it was too difficult, time consuming and would be expensive in the terms of seven portraits on one sheet. But they came back to me after scouring the internet and I said I could do an outline with a touch of shading. Below is the finished result. First is a group photo of the grandkids and secondly the pencil picture with great grandparents in the middle.
Just finished this painting. A large abstract. I have been unwell lately, but I find if I paint I manage to get any negative feelings out of me and onto canvas and I immediately feel better. My pictures are colour coded and this helps me to express my innermost feelings.