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Jemma Powell

Biography

Jemma Powell is an Oxfordshire based artist. She draws her inspiration from nature and the places she travels to, working plein air in watercolour, charcoal, pencil and oil pastel, bringing it home to develop later in oil on board. She likes to also work with her memory and the sensations of being in that particular place, working intuitively through the process of applying the paint, wiping it off, reapplying with brush or palette knife, scrubbing it and using her fingers to make expressive marks. Jemma says: “I like the mistakes, they are the most exciting part, things start to appear and the painting takes on a life of its own.” Jemma treats her flower paintings as she would a landscape, and another way of expressing colour, shape and form.  They also reflect her passion of the outdoors and the countryside that surrounds her home. Jemma lives with her husband, singer song writer Jack Savoretti and her 2 children and 3 dogs.

Jemma attended Bristol University and has a BA in Drama and a Diploma in acting from The Oxford School of Drama. She has also worked as an actress for more than 20 years, appearing in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and TV shows such as Foyle’s War and the recently aired Netflix Series, The Stranger. She can currently be seen in a new adaptation of The Secret Garden, and a new series for Sky called Devils.