A BONDLEIGH artist is set to showcase her work as part of the Devon Open Studios programme. 

Celia Olsson’s studio will be open from 10.30am until 5pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from Saturday, September 7 to Friday, September 20. 

Ms Olsson specialises in “loose-style semi-abstract watercolour and mixed media paintings”.  

Visitors will be able to see how she applies colour and creates texture using items from the kitchen cupboard, from clingfilm to teabags. 

“I shall be happy to show people my methods of working, and how my sketches and doodles develop into finished works,” she said. 

“I am enjoying discovering new ways to portray elements of the landscape which inspire me, with colour being the most important influence. 

"My grandmother taught me a love of the landscape with its textures and colours. 

“My artistic attempts were not encouraged at school, and it was not until much later that I began painting in order to record my responses to scenes which ‘grab’ me.  

“My base medium is watercolour – I love its vibrant colours and translucent qualities.  

“I also enjoy incorporating it with other media (inks, pens, collage, acrylic, texture media) to achieve different effects and textures.  

“The best part of experimenting is all those happy surprises.  

“I have many sketchbooks on the go full of experiments in colour, texture and ideas.  

“I also use sketchbooks to record impressions and memories from my walks and travels.  

“Back at home these sketches and journals bring back memories of the colours and atmosphere of the places I have been and inspire me to bring them to life on paper. 

“There are examples of my work in collections locally and further afield, as far as New York, Canada, Uganda and Australia.  

“Before lockdown I sailed as art instructor aboard cruise ships several times a year, an exciting venture which has taken me as far south as Belize and as far north as Spitzbergen.  

“I also run classes and workshops locally and workshops for art groups.” 

You can find Ms Olsson’s studio at Little Linhay, Bondleigh, EX20 2AJ.