Artist
About Zoe Elizabeth Norman
I have been painting for over twenty years and my first exhibition caught the eye of a renowned publishing house which set me off on a successful illustrating career. To date I have had more than a hundred pieces of artwork published as greeting cards, calendars and stationary and have worked with many publishers including the Medici Society, Gibson Greetings and Nigel Quiney. I have had three major solo exhibitions; Norwich Cathedral, The Gallery Wymondham and The Assembly House Norwich. I have also had work selected for The National Exhibition Wildlife Art in Liverpool, Art in Nature Museum Gloucestershire, Laing and Patching. These days, you will find me painting at the bottom of the garden in my log cabin studio in the heart of Norfolk surrounded by agriculture and huge dramatic skies. My studio is full of art books, pots, tea cups and vases, jars of dead beetles, butterflies and bees (all found already deceased) many paintings finished or half completed and lots of reference photos, sketches and inspirational quotes and prints. There is always a vase of flowers on my painting table and a mug of tea. Paint tubes (Sennelier is my favourite at the moment), paper, magnifiers and my I-pad tablet are always close at hand, I can get lost in a painting for hours, completely engrossed in the excitement of creating a new painting. My botanical and wildlife watercolours are built up using layers and layers of rich colour and detail; I often leave the background white so as not to detract from the image. When using oil paints or soft pastels I work more quickly with a looser more impressionistic style. Colour is still very important and I use many layers to build up rich luminous colours.
Recently I have been working on European landscapes many of which are painted entirely on location or started outdoors and later finished in the studio. I am fascinated by colour and light in the landscape and have a passion for painting wildlife in their native habitat.
