Felicity is a professional artist, known for her still life paintings, domestic interiors, portrait drawings and landscapes made on location in Dorset or on travels abroad. She is an elected member of the New English Art Club and The Pastel Society and her work can be seen each year in their Annual Exhibitions held at the Mall Galleries in central London.
Work
I work primarily in pastel which links colour with drawing and is immediate, fresh and vibrant. Subject matter frequently dictates the medium – I may draw in ink or use watercolours, pastels or oil paints.
Drawing is fundamental to my work. Instinctively searching for lines and shapes that interest me most I make drawings and paintings directly from the subject with a fresh eye and lively hand. I enjoy the challenge of working to the inevitable boundary of time. Editing intuitively and responding with spontaneous expressive marks to create a vital equivalent.
I am inspired by travel and new places but equally respond to domestic subject matter; intriguing arrangements and complex interiors are a fascination and of course the ultimate challenge of figures and portraits.
Studio works are developed from my collection of sketchbook drawings or studies made en plein air, evoking the essence of a subject by exploring mark, pigment and support.
Drawing
As a young child, paper was in short supply and there was never sufficient for my prolific graphite output. I clearly recall making pencil drawings on the insides of unfolded food cartons, the plain end papers of books and surreptitiously behind curtains on the wonderful surface of painted wall.
I was fortunate to benefit from a post-war education that gave time and status to Art and this encouraged and developed my visual skills. Creating art has always been important to me and I enrolled on various short courses with artists I admired learning piecemeal.
Following a career school teaching I worked as an illustrator and as a tutor of life drawing at the Arts University Bournemouth and tutoring short courses at West Dean College. I now work in my Bournemouth studio in Dorset primarily using soft chalk pastels . I frequently draw on location and paint with watercolours pastels and oils.
Exhibitions
My work has been selected for various exhibitions including:
- The Royal Society of Portrait Painters
- The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
- The Royal West of England Academy Annual Exhibition
- The Discerning Eye
- The Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour
- RWS Contemporary Watercolour
Awards
I have received these Awards for work in Pastel Society Exhibitions:
- Purcell Paper Award
- Daler Rowney Pastels Award
- Sarah Samuels Gallery Award
- Talens Rembrandt Pastels Award
- Gilders Workshop Framing Award
- Annie Longley Award
- Frank Herring Award
- Cross Gate Gallery Purchase Award
- The Arts Club Award
- The Bill Patterson Memorial Prize
- The Artists Magazine Award
Also:
- 2025 New English Art Club: Bowyer Drawing Prize
- 2025 New English Art Club: Val Harris Residency & Exhibition Award
- 2007 New English Art Club, St Cuthberts Mill Award
- 2005 Discerning Eye, The Meynell Fenton Award
Memberships
- New English Art Club
- The Pastel Society
- Bournemouth Arts Club
- Poole Printmakers
Publications: My work has been included in the following Books:
- 'Watercolour Techniques for the Artist' by Richard Pikesley Crowood Press 2025
- ‘Pure Pastel ‘ Contemporary Works by Today’s Top Artists by Anne Hevener April 2019
- ‘Extraordinary Sketchbooks’ by Jane Stobart
- 'Drawing 365' by Katherine Tyrrell, Apple Press
- 'Drawing & Painting on Location' by Kevin Scully, Crowood Press
Magazine Features
-
June 2020 Artists & Illustrators Paint at Home (beauty in the everyday during lockdown) -
May 2009 The Artist magazine Figures in Pastel -
October 2009 The Pastel Journal (USA) Infinite Variety -
December 2009 Watercolour Artist (USA) Bon Voyage: travel with watercolours -
March 2010 The Artist magazine Pastel Still Life -
June 2012 Leisure Painter Complicated Subjects -
November 2012 The Artist magazine Painting with Pastels in India -
May 2013 The Artist magazine Pastel Surfaces -
July 2013 Artists & Illustrators Masterclass: Interiors in pastel -
July 2014 Artists & Illustrators Summer Picnic in Pastels -
July 2018 Artists & Illustrators About the House (Felicity House talks about her garden scenes) -
Nov 2019 Artists & Illustrators Talking Technique
