About
Jill Swarbrick Banks
MA , BA .
painter
professional since: 1992
born: London 1959
medium: Oils
studio: Cornwall. UK
lyrical abstraction
landscape
portraiture
genre
Definition of agency by the artist
My paintings are, essentially, rooted within the landscape of Britain. I try and escort the Viewer into the transcendental... I have chosen to call this "21st century Lyrical Abstraction" as it feels the right pocket for it.
It is about escape to memory. I work in thin layers, gradually building a feeling of space and depth.
I attempt to suggest depth and atmosphere via oils and take the gaze to another dimension, somewhere else... a supernatural place.
Music is important in my work, I'm especially fond of the music by Philip Glass and Arvo Pärt. So atmospheric and minimal I appreciate "parallel channels" which I can find sublime; the music helps immensely in setting a desired mood...
I stop in silence before laying out a palette, just allowing a peaceful atmosphere to wash over me until I feel compelled to paint.
Titles of paintings are merely trigger points to help the viewer focus in and join me in my original inspiration and intention. Each painting should exist in its own right thereafter hopefully resonating in its own sort of beauty.
When I paint, it isn't about "expressing myself", I just try to tune into my own zone and with luck the painting suggests its own path. I might have an idea to start with but I usually go with intuition, relying on technique & experience to let rip! I sort of feel a conduit within a process, like an onlooker...
I only know a painting is ultimately concluded when suddenly it somehow starts to "zing" back to me.
Education
B.A. Baccalaureate degree fine art painting
(ART ACADEMY) Kunst Academie 'Minerva'.
Ged.Zuiderdiep te Groningen.
The Netherlands.
1988 -1992
M.A. Master of Art post graduate degree fine art painting
School of Art, University of Aberystwyth.
Cymru (Wales).
2017 - 2019
(distinction)
Artist in Residence to Coventry Cathedral in their golden jubilee year 2012.
Commissioned to record the celebrations during the year of the 50th anniversary consecration of the new cathedral.
Also commissioned to paint the portrait of their leaving Dean the Very Reverend John Irvine.
Dean to Coventry Cathedral: 2002 - 2012
The portrait currently hangs in the provost's vestry alongside all former Deans who have served the new building. A portrait of the leaving Dean is a tradition to Coventry.
During a very happy year at Coventry, Jill accomplished several projects including several abstract paintings inspired by and in celebration of the 50th jubilee celebrations.
The breathtaking kaleidoscope of stained glass that lines the cathedral wings and the Baptistry Window by John Piper in particular deeply resonates with Jill; "they are pure hope personified". The magnetic draw of the Graham Sutherland tapestry of Christ profoundly humbling the moment one glimpses it entering from the West Screen clear engraved glass panels known as the 'angel' windows designed and engraved by the artist John Hutton, all these combined elements Jill will still affirm were the bedrock of opening the door to "running with the imagination" in her practice.
Career
At sixteen, Jill was obsessed with music and spent her early working years in various record shops in and around Surrey and West London. Her first job was working in Threshold Records in Cobham for the Moody Blues!
Her father Arthur, was a musician and cartographer and Jill spent very happy hours with her Dad watching him draw in his studio which was annexed to the house in Oxshott.
Jill's first steps into Art were to enrol on an elementary part-time art course run by a local artist Ms. Bobby Smith in Kew, Richmond upon Thames, Surrey. However the real spark to pick up brushes and paint came after reading the biography of the socialite painter "GLUCK" aka Hannah Gluckstein by Diana Souhami. "I was utterly transfixed at the power and subtle beauty of Gluck's painting. She was a complete maverick for her times, an odd-ball and her life and work became a bit of an obsession. I wanted to learn to paint more than anything!"
After a two year art and design course in East London she identified Fine Art as her vocation. Jill's practice began in earnest in 1988 emigrating to the Netherlands and studying for her Baccalaureate degree in Fine Art Painting at the Academie Minerva (Art Academy) in Groningen. She graduated in 1992. It was here that she discovered the work of the Czech painter Franz Kupka. Spurred on to survive long periods of homesickness for the British countryside she went into a dedicated period studying Samuel Palmer but especially the abstracted landscapes of Graham Sutherland. In particular his work based on the welsh countryside became a major fascination during Jill's decade there. However after concentrating on portraiture and genre, upon her repatriation to England in 1998 her last years have been focused on producing transcendental landscape in oils.
In 2019, Jill graduated with a Masters Degree (distinction) at the School of Art, Aberystwyth University, Cymru (Wales). Now, living in rural mid Wales, the isolation and unspoilt beauty of the Dyfi Valley in particular unlocked her painting from a portrait-centred practice into the present lyrical abstraction of landscape and ephemeral themes. She is fascinated by the properties of oil paint and says "I never stop learning."
"Luminous and disturbing"
Leading biographer and art historian Professor Frances Spalding CBE, FRSL has described Jill's paintings as "formidable”.
Professor Spalding, in her introduction to the 2023 'Transcendental Landscapes' exhibition at Clare Hall, Cambridge University where Professor Spalding is the Chair of the Art Committee says :
"It is a pleasure to present in this exhibition a set of landscapes by Jill Swarbrick-Banks that may be unlike any landscapes you have seen before. Whether classical or romantic, sublime, or picturesque, landscape painting has contributed significantly to the history of British art, in one form or another. After the Spanish American philosopher George Santayana stated that the English are governed by an inner atmosphere, ' the weather in their souls', Kenneth Clark proceeded to argue that English weather and its soft luminous atmosphere have had a determining influence on English painting, poetry, and even English thought.
Jill Swarbrick-Banks has not been confined to England in her choice of landscapes to paint and, though weather may be an ingredient in some of these pictures, agency has also been gifted her through the play of memory, by the inspiration of certain kind of music, and by her deep fascination with the properties of paint. Sometimes the atmosphere created is both luminous but also disturbing. It feels as if we have stepped off the familiar path of landscape painting and entered a new zone".
"
Commissions
A polymath and at home in all genres of painting Jill is also known for achieving stunning portraits as well as her lyrically abstracted landscapes. She especially enjoys discussing challenging projects face to face with clients, appreciating abstract free ranging open-ended ideas and commissions.
Back Catalogue
Although most of Jill's work is privately collected, she does exhibit when ready with a new body of work. She has exhibited many times, from in the Netherlands up until 1998 - most notably twice with Galerie Pictura in Groningen - one of the oldest galleries in the Netherlands and in the UK since 1999, most recently at Clare Hall, Cambridge University where the Head of the Art Committee is Professor Frances Spalding CBE, FRSL.
Private Tutor
NVQ Level 7
fine art painting
Tuition in all aspects of advanced (oils) painting; covering portraiture, landscape, genre, abstraction.
One to one tuition in Devon and Cornwall.
Lecturer and Speaker
A unique and very personal approach to fine art painting with oils. Philosophy, Inspiration and Technique.
Commissions
If you would like a non-committal quote regarding commissioning a painting or are just curious and looking for a bit more information about her current and future projects, drop Jill a message via the contact page.
Curriculum Vitae
Contact us at FOXER Fine Art
Recent exhibitions:
Clare Hall, Cambridge University.
9th March - 27th April 2023
Transcendental Landscapes
A series of oils inspired by the Dyfi River and surrounding landscape of Mid-Wales.
Curated by Professor Frances Spalding. FRSL, CBE.Clare HallHerschel Road
Cambridge
CB3 9AL
https://www.clarehall.cam.ac.uk/events/jillswarbrickbanksexhib23/
The Charles Causley Festival
Launceston, Cornwall.
Southgate Arch
Exhibition of work by five professional artists, inspired by the poetry and prose of Charles Causley CBE, FRSL.
Dr. June Forster, Wayne Summers MA , Rachel Ricketts RBSA, Emma-Jayne Holmes BA, MA, Jill Swarbrick-Banks BA, MA
June 29th - July 2nd 2023, Launceston, Cornwall.
On Friday 30th June in the Town hall a commissioned painting : "Where Stone Runs Like Honey" inspired partly by the poem "Launceston Castle" by poet Anthony Vahni Capildeo ( the painting's title is actually a line from their poem ) was unveiled, during the Charles Causley Festival 2023.
Please support the festival in any shape or form to keep Charles Causley's heritage and beautiful poetry to the fore!
Cropredy Festival
Fairport's Cropredy Convention
Near Banbury
Oxfordshire
August 2023 & 2024
FOXER FINE ART staged an exhibition of Jill's large oils at the festivals.
Merchandise also offered were signed fine art giclée prints and greeting cards of her most recent work.
In 2024, Jill's dear friend and colleague Emma-Jane Holmes joined us in exhibiting her exquisite abstract landscapes.
Personal life
Born in London in 1959
Raised in Oxshott, Surrey.
Parents: Wyn & Arthur Banks
military cartographer & author
Partner: Alie Blok.
Silversmith.
Civil partnership ( samen levings kontract)
Together from 1984 - until Alie's death in 1997
Born: Katwijk aan Zee, The Netherlands
Died: Groningen, The Netherlands
12/03/1961 - 02/10/1997
Last partner: Dave Swarbrick.
Musician and Songwriter.
Married in Coventry Register Office 6th February 1999 until Dave's death in 2016.
Born: Ewell, Surrey, England
Died: Aberystwyth, Cymru
5/4/1941 - 3/6/2016
With immense gratitude to ...
Stu Vincent, photographer
Black & white portrait photograph of Jill Swarbrick-Banks © Stu Vincent 2023
stuvincent.co.uk
Jeremy Peters, photographer
Colour photographs from exhibition @ Clare Hall, Cambridge University © Jeremy Peters 2023
jeremypeters.com