Revolve Gallery

Christine Lawley

Mancunian born-and-bred, educated at The Manchester High School of Art, and trained in Fine Art at Wimbledon College of Art. After she graduated, Christine took a post-graduate teaching degree and taught art and design in High Schools all over Greater Manchester.

Since her retirement from teaching almost three years ago, Christine has focused on painting, primarily in watercolour, but works also in pastel and acrylics.

Her work has been exhibited in many venues including independently-owned and public art galleries. It has been sold here in the UK and abroad, notably in Canada and Australia. She has undertaken many commissions, including corporate ones for property developers and universities. Her charity calendars have raised £20,000 + for Francis House Children's Hospice.

Inspiration

“Most of my inspiration comes from the urban environment, and apart from a brief flirtation with pop art in the 1960s, always did.

The dark gothic architecture of Post-War Manchester awakened a desire in me to express the gaunt, gritty quality of my home-city.

Of course, since The Bomb, Manchester is a totally transformed place. Retaining some of the finer bits, all spruced-up to reveal the splendid features on the buildings, but all the time, adding more elegance, dynamism and expansion.

The best of the new architecture inspired me just as much and the juxtaposition of the old and new excites me.”

To Canvas

“My camera presents the “moment of conception”. I take photographs around the city, at various times of the day and in different weather conditions, of the things that stimulate. This can be anything from part of a crumbling wall, to a shiny, brand-new building.

This visual material is taken back to the studio, and selection of suitable images with potential takes place. Preparing good quality watercolour paper, I proceed to tint the whole surface with one colour first – this can be anything from lemon-yellow to rich lilac, depending on how I think the subsequent layers of colour will 'sit' on it. After the composition-planning using the sketchiest of placing , I begin to block in the main colours, in pains-taking layers, until the required richness is achieved. Finally, I add details with my brushes, sometimes using a bit of gouache for extra' sparkle'. I am well-known for 'enhancing' what's there. A friend said she'd never seen Manchester looking so glamorous.”