Jo Nicholson AKA EDDIE is offering an exhibition entitled The Debutante at Lewes’ Star Brewery Gallery from March 29-April 6.

Jo said: “My recent body of work is a series of watercolours inspired by meditation and mindfulness which I practise daily. I have found that this has helped me with my creative process, giving mental clarity and a freshness and openness to new ideas, which I have incorporated into my work.

“Drawing has always been at the heart of my practice as an artist. Working from observation is challenging and learning about automatic drawing, as I did in my early 20s, gave me a fresh approach. I have pursued this ever since.

“I have chosen to work in watercolours on paper in an unconventional manner. I find that the flow of the paint has enabled me to draw in paint. Subsequently, my work can be thought of as a bridge between painting and drawing.

“We are naturally inclined to look for facial features in random patterns and this is how my automatic drawing began. Now I use abstract patterns and visual metaphors or tropes such as moths, beetles, scorpions and butterflies in my work.

“My influences are surrealist literature and other painters associated with that artistic movement. Lenora Carrington Hilma A F Klint and Merit Oppenheim are all female artists on the fringes of the surrealist movement. I have also looked at earlier 19th-century sources such as Turner and William Blake. The title of my show The Debutante is that of a short story written by Leonora Carrington.

“This is my first solo exhibition in my home town of Lewes and I am very excited to have the opportunity of putting my work before a wider audience. I like to use the pen name of EDDIE as a playful persona.”