Fisherman Fred is all set tomoor at Rye Gallery for show

Jill’s paintings have been described as ‘Beryl Cook meets Matisse’ while Jill herself acknowledged her debt to Fernando Botero and the creative genius behind the familiar images of the saucy seaside postcard – Donald McGill.

Jill, from Rye Harbour, worked almost exclusively in gouache with occasional forays into painted ceramics, dry-point and etching and her work is humorous, inventive and accomplished.

Jill began exhibiting her work in 1999 with a one- woman show committed to raising money for the Children’s Home Care Service at The Conquest Hospital and she continued to exhibit regularly from that time.

She discovered an enthusiastic market for her work in Sweden where she exhibited for a number of years as part of a “Culture Round” of open studios in the Karlskrona region.

As a founder member of the Rye Harbour Artists Group she actively participated in the groups exhibitions in Rye Harbour and had a large number of regular visitors to her open studio events. Jill also regularly exhibited at the Rye Society of Artists Summer Show.

A selection of Jill’s cards are still sold at the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve at Lime Kiln Cottage and some remaining copies of her “Fred The Fisherman” series books are on sale at the Ad Hoc Artists Show at the Rye Art Gallery together with a number of her original paintings and prints.

Jill’s work is on display as part of a stunning selection of affordable work by 12 local artists which offers an opportunity to see and purchase from an amazing variety of work which includes ceramics, charcoal drawings, etchings, jewellery, lino cuts, photography, stained glass, water colours, cards and limited Edition books.

The participating artists, some of whom will be in the gallery each day, are Angela Delf, Steve Duffy, Val Fricker, Lesley Howell, Kate van der Pump,Annie Soudain, Janet Stott, Mike Stott and Will Taylor, plus retrospectives of Jill Stott and Neil Meacher.

This show is part of Rye Art Gallery’s “New Image” and represents it’s approach in opening up the gallery to a wider, more diverse, range of work and expanding the area available to show new works as part of it’s determination to fully utilise the link between the two buildings under the new management of Gallery Director Jane Fenn.