I’m Bryony Freemantle, a London born Artist. I studied my Art Foundation at the Central School of Speech and Drama in 1997, and then went on to pursue art in the main as a hobby, and as a lingering passion.

My interest in Arts and Crafts was born out of having a mother who studied at the Slade London, and an Aunt, (my mother’s identical twin) who would later go on to win the first and second round of ‘Portrait of the Year’ on Sky Television 2018.

These two matriarchs of painting inspired and ignited me to go on a personal artistic quest, which in turn gave me the confidence to believe in my own natural talent. I developed my skills from an early age; starting out with watercolours, and proceeding to work with pastels, acrylics, paper mesh, clay and oils, often mixing the mediums simultaneously.

Most recently, my focus has been on painting the urban landscape.

In my mid-twenties, I outgrew the concrete jungle that was London, and moved to Barcelona Spain; a continuation of a long-standing love affair initiated on an A level Art school trip. I was immersed in a beautiful city where some of my artistic idols originated (Salvador Dali, and Antonio Gaudi).

 Initially there only to learn the language for six months, I stayed for four years and began to paint and exhibit work in local bars.

Barcelona provided a landscape of beauty, warmth, and colourful simplicity which London lacked for me. The buildings were alive with delicate artistry, which I recreated in my work.

 I started by painting street scenes, apartment blocks, stray cats, and anything/anywhere where life was being lived.

Upon moving back to London in 2009, and experiencing a great sadness due to lack of sunshine, I refamiliarised myself with my own native environment, and began to paint my way back to internal sunshine.

A creative project was born from out of this, and some of the work produced were a series which is aptly labelled ‘The way things were’. This series included Kings Cross scenes before it was rebuilt and whilst it was still a neglected landscape.

 Paintings included decrepit old bridges, former scenes from Regent’s canal, and the old gas station structures, which have since been replaced by the new and the modern. In theme with this project, I am now working on various London street scenes.

An animal lover; I worked with horses and am currently developing a series in oils featuring some of the equine friends I worked with in Andalucía. I found that the vibrant colours of Spain never really left my paintbrush, and I continue to paint animals in mediums such as oil and acrylic on wood found from local home refurbishments in skips; this became my preferred medium. Experimenting with textures on interesting surfaces and anything I could lay my hands on.

I currently work on commissions, painting for fun, and divide my time between working at a London university, gardening, and indulging in the joy of painting. I sell my photographic prints and taught life drawing classes from my Kentish Town Studio flat.

Exhibitions include: Mario’s Café (Kentish Town) and the Old Eagle (Camden).