I enjoy the challenge of painting and drawing landscape and cityscape. I have always felt the pull of nature, and I’m fascinated by the juxtaposition of nature and the urban landscape. I make drawings and studies whenever I come across something that strikes me as unusual or visually interesting to capture my emotional response on encountering the subject. Then I use my sketchbook notes to bring back memories of that moment. I like to investigate the formal dynamics of what I see – the shapes, the light, the negative spaces – and then express them, whether it is through form or colour. The initial sketches capture the moment and then it is the business of working at the painting, with the materials and processes which mean the painting transcends its beginnings to become an entity in its own right.

Audrey Rapier was born in Glasgow and grew up in a village on the west coast of Cumbria. On completing a Foundation course at Carlisle School of Art and Design, Audrey studied Fine art painting at the Central School of Art and Design in London (BA Hons, 1st class, 1979–1981). After graduating she settled in North London. For many years she worked in the applied arts mainly as a scenic artist and later as an user experience designer for the BBC. She returned to painting full time in 2019. She works mainly in oils, but loves the immediacy of pencil and watercolour sketches. She is inspired by line and form, working with shapes, colours and the effects of light.