Colourful memories

There’s a sense when interviewing artist Dawn Booth-Wilson that we’re not alone. So many of her subjects in her cosy studio seem to be peeking out of her paintings – an inquisitive hare in colourful meadowland; big eyes looking up at the moon and a watchful face underneath a pretty, pink fringe.

There’s the essence of child within her characters but they seem to have expressive old souls, like they’re from another world. These are Dawn’s latest creations and she’s come on quite a journey since giving up her job as an Inland Revenue officer in 2000 and finding the courage to pursue her love of art.

“It was really daunting, I didn’t even know if I could still draw,” she recalls about her first day on Middlesbrough College’s art and design access course. “I remember for our first session we had to do a still life sketch with charcoal and my hand physically shaking. But the tutor said ‘just enjoy it’ and from that moment I absolutely embraced it. It was so much fun being with like-minded people in an arty environment.” It was the start of an exciting new chapter of her life and is ultimately what led to her opening her own studio and gift shop earlier this year.

Dawn, who lives in Hamsterley with husband Carl, went on to study for a fine art degree at Teesside University. She initially focused on large scale, colourful monotype prints – work made by painting onto glass, or metal plates before being printed on an etching press – but the death of her beloved father after a long illness saw her work take a new direction.

“It was a massive thing for me,” she says. “I lost my motivation and struggled to create anything. My work had always been abstract and the art I created at this time was very dark. We were living in Richmond, in North Yorkshire, and I felt it was time for a change. We moved to a dilapidated farm house near Hamsterley and I found having the renovation project to focus on really helped me.

"When I did return to my art I produced a collection of work unlike anything I had ever done before. I got my sketch book out and I started to doodle and suddenly these little people came. It wasn’t a deliberate or conscious thing to create them, they just appeared. Then I started to develop them into works of art."

Her work is made using layer upon layer of paint, collaged pieces and printing techniques. Pieces of vintage children’s books can be found alongside decades old typefaces. For Dawn, her work is about memories and reflection. Her paintings feature vivid colours softened with pastel shades or blurred areas. Tiny fragments of vintage print, pretty papers and old maps add a fairy tale charm. Some paintings incorporate poignant phrases written in a childlike hand or script such as Those we love most are the hardest to let go and If you look closely, there is beauty all around us.

“The illustrative quality is perhaps a nod to my love of children’s story books and an obsession with reading and drawing which surfaced at an early age,” says Dawn, 50, originally from South Tyneside.

“The fine art course was a huge learning experience and it makes you look into yourself. I’m fascinated about how you can be with a friend or sibling and yet you will have your own perceptions of events and times together. I’ve been very lucky to have a very good childhood and my work is about trying to capture those precious times, whether they’re happy or sad. I think what makes them more charming is the colour and humour and fun. The paintings are looking forward, they are hugely optimistic, healing works.”

The colourful result now adorns the walls of her new studio and gallery at the Durham Dales Centre, in Stanhope, Weardale, which is run by Business Durham, the economic development company for County Durham. In her retail space, Dawn also sells cards, cushions and prints made by UK students, chalk paints from Amble, jewellery and knitted crafts. She is keen to promote the work of other artists and her studio is full of unique gifts, from adorable knitted tea cosies and handmade cards, to chintzy dog collars, printed cushions and sumptuous smelling soaps, many created by local crafters or people she went to university with.

Dawn is keen to back British designers and, having been creative all her life, is keen on many artistic mediums. She has helped set up the Weardale Artist Network to allow crafters to network and share ideas, and has recently introduced art workshops to encourage others to get to creative.

“As a kid I was always the Blue Peter freak,” she laughs. “I used to be the one waiting for the washing-up bottle or asking for pipe cleaners. My mum had a really old Singer sewing machine and from the age of about six I used to make my own clothes for my dolls. Dad was a tool room turner in Hebburn and he made me my own, tiny pair of knitting needles so I used to knit too.”

Dawn worked for the Inland Revenue for years, moving from Washington to Ripon and then Thirsk, in North Yorkshire. Eventually, after suffering health issues, she left and launched her own curtains and blinds business before art won in the end. Now, with her latest work, she’s never alone in her workspace.

“When I create, sometimes the work can just be a happy accident, but sometimes it’s really deliberate,” she says. “These little people have come through all of my journey and who knows where they’ll take me next?”

Dawn’s sells original artwork and limited edition prints priced from £59. For more information log onto http://www.dawnboothwilson.com.

Free creative business workshops

Artists, designers and business owners can make use of the Durham Creatives programme, a series of free workshops at the dales centre commissioned by Business Durham.

The programme helps fledgling entrepreneurs by delivering practical workshops on how to run a business, with subjects such as finance, marketing, patent protection and selling online, as well as personal mentoring.

Many of the businesses it has supported have been started by people who have been made redundant; want a better work life balance or who are finally realising their dreams to turn their hobbies and passions into thriving ventures.

The workshops run until October at the Dales Centre and include Business Planning; Health Wellbeing and Enterprise; The Art of Selling; Protecting Your Business Ideas; Finance – Understanding the Essentials; Food, Drink and Enterprise; Selling Overseas Online.

For more information or to book a workshop log onto www.durhamcreatives.co.uk