Ellesmere to Host National Art Exhibition and Sale of Works

More than 75 artists and sculptors are exhibiting their work at the annual Ellesmere National Art Exhibition and sale of works held at the school. The exhibition will run from Thursday 1st June to Saturday 3rd June 11am to 9pm and on Sunday 4th June from 11am to 2pm. The event also features a preview evening on Wednesday 31st May hosted by its patrons Carolyn Trevor-Jones, Area Chairman of The Arts Society in West Midlands and The High Sheriff of Shropshire Charles Lillis.

This year, former Premiership footballer turned artist Jody Craddock will be showing his original oil paintings. Jody's love of art was apparent from early in his childhood, starting with simple sketches and eventually progressing to A-level art. He played professional football for Cambridge United, and went on to play in the Premiership for Sunderland and Wolves. He spent much of his free time developing his skills with oil paint and focusing on portraiture. When his boots were tucked away for the last time in 2014, he became a professional artist.

Other featured artists include Kieran Ingram, an Australian artist based in the UK. The primary focus of his work is still life. "I love the control over composition and attention to detail afforded by this type of painting," he says. He has exhibited widely in the UK and Australia and has been the recipient of a number of high-profile prizes. He was also a finalist in the Sky Art's Landscape Artist of the Year programme.

Maximillion Baccanello is a young contemporary portrait artist who finished studying at Charles H Cecil studio in Florence, Italy, in 2010 where his tuition was focused on academic portraiture in the lineage of traditional representational art and sight size technique. In 2006, he attended a foundation course in Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art and Design at the University of Arts in London, after graduating from Shrewsbury School, where he was awarded a Fine Art Scholarship. He has exhibited with the Pastel Society at Mall Galleries and the Royal Society of Portrait Artists at Cork Street Galleries, where he was awarded runner-up prize from the Tiranti Group. His portrait of the Cauldwell family was unveiled - and now hangs - at Blenheim Palace.

With more than 1000 visitors last year, organisers say the aim of the arts exhibition is to raise the profile of the arts in the region. Nick Pettingale said, "We have always been passionate about the arts at Ellesmere College. Our goal was to see the artistic talent both local and national celebrated and given a higher profile in the region. This is not a display of students work, great though that is, but rather that of professional artists and sculptors."


25th May 2017  Back to News