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Artist Jill Blakey will be opening her Padbury studio to the public as part of Bucks Art Weeks in June.

Jill, who specialises in vibrant, medium to large-scale canvases using acrylic, spray paints and inks, will be exhibiting a range of her original abstracts.

Jill, aged 36, had always dabbled in art as a hobby, but her painting really took off during lockdown, when the part-time maths teacher and mum to two young children found herself with a little more time on her hands than usual.

“I was at home with my eldest, who was at the time 18 months, and I was pregnant, and I just needed something to occupy myself a little bit, and essentially it grew from there,” she said.

Much of her work is done to commission, and her reputation is growing fast.

With prices for her paintings ranging from £100 to £1,000, Jill has shipped more than 50 pieces internationally, to destinations including Europe, Canada and Dubai.

"It’s been an amazing journey and I can’t quite believe that this is my life now, because I never would have imagined as a maths teacher being able to do this as well,” she said.

“I’m just loving it.”

On top of her commissions, Jill is now busy preparing some new originals to launch during Bucks Art Weeks.

She said: “I’m really looking forward to Bucks Art Weeks, because I’ve not had that many opportunities to have my work in front of people and to get that face-to-face feedback and have the discussion.

“I just love hearing people’s interpretations of paintings I do, because I’m mostly abstract, and it’s incredible what people see in the paintings that I haven’t seen at all. It’s so interesting.

“I can’t wait to hopefully have some people come through the door and get to have some chat with people about the paintings.”

Bucks Art Weeks, which will see hundreds of artists and makers in Bucks opening up over 200 studios to the public, takes place from June 11 to 26 this year.

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