Jo Stewart

 

I left Reading college of Art & Design back in the mid eighties.
I then went into nursing complete change but very grounding.
I travelled did a lot of things and then had my son. I continued to draw sketch whenever I could but with the arrival of my first daughter and part-time night nurse duties it took the very back seat. This continued for some years we lived in a very beautiful town called Emsworth Hampshire on the south coast. Then in 2001 I moved with my two children to Wiltshire we lived in a wonderful little village with The Pewsey Vale on the back doorstep, here I rediscovered my paints.
I also changed my job, still in medicine but not such unsocial hours.
With two free weekends a month I travelled as much as possible and four weeks free in the summer I saw things that took my breath away not always beautiful but thought provoking.
Life continued like this for a couple of years and then I decided to go back and finish what I started in the eighties but this time doing Illustration. I got little bits of work mainly for friends doing portraits the odd landscape and murals. I was doing a mural for a friend in london a few years back who showed the finished piece of work to a friend who works for a well known publishing house since then I have been working on children's illustrations and magazine ads and working on my own picture book.
We moved to Totnes three years ago I had my youngest daughter a year ago and with her birth came masses of inspiration for everything. I have been self-employed working as a professional artist since 2003. I love it, I work hard and my work is diverse its not a pass time for me its how I make a living.
I have work in many private collections and I exhibit in Bath Somerset & London.
I have a permanent exhibition of my work at Art Rooms, The Narrows Totnes.
2009 will be a very busy year I have exhibitions in London, Dublin, Paris, New York & Berlin. I also hope to finish my book!