Wirral artist Jo Hughes on picking up a paintbrush

Aug 12 2009 by Matt Hurst, Birkenhead News

Picking up a paintbrush

JO Hughes was a portrait photographer until family matters shifted her priorities. Now the children are older, she’s blazing a trail with a paintbrush.

The 46-year-old from Lower Heswall told Wirral Arts: “It’s only in the last year that I have been doing this professionally.

“I gave up the photography because it was getting too much with the children.

“I started designing greeting cards but once the initial design was done, I needed something to keep me going.

“So I took up painting, got some commissions and was encouraged to exhibit.

“I had my first exhibition in April at Moston School and then my first solo exhibition at Ness Gardens at the beginning of July.

“My confidence grew from the commissions and I got a lot of positive feedback, so when I went to Ness Gardens, I sold a few pieces which encouraged me to go full-time.”

Jo is a self-confessed lover of blue skies and this instantly characterises her work.

Her solid blue skyscapes lend a depth and coolness to her work, allowing her to bring emotion to foreground scenes where a small child may be playing, or a dog running.

This technique is particularly evident in her piece Before the Rain, the title creating a sense of anticipation and anxiety in the stillness of the painting.