at The Tithe Barn, Bourton House
Bourton-on-the-Hill, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire GL56 9AE
6 th – 10 th June 2023
• Jenny Hill-Norton • Anthea Stilwell • Jo Ellis • Craig Narramore
Jane Martin • John Mackinlay
By kind invitation of Mr and Mrs Quintus the exhibition is being held at The Tithe Barn,
Bourton House while the beautiful private gardens are open to the public in June.
bourtonhouse.com
Just Four Contemporary Artists
Are a collaborative group of three painters: Jenny Hill-Norton, Anthea Stilwell, Jo Ellis and
sculptor and furniture maker Craig Narramore. They are joined by + two fellow artists Jane
Martin and John Mackinlay. This exhibition of recent work shows the vitality and range of
subject matter and media they explore, creating a vibrant exhibition.
“There is a collective energy when we are together and our work is created for the sheer
pleasure of painting” says Jenny who co-founded the group with Anthea. This creative
collaboration has made them brave and free to take risks which is releasing for them and
produces exciting results. Their work is individual and expressive but connected by the
vitality and energy linking the group. Their subject matter ranges from gardens, flowers, still
life, figures, landscapes and seascapes created in a variety of media, including: oils, acrylics,
watercolours and collage with charcoal drawings and studies on show as well.
All work on show is for sale with a percentage of sales donated to the charity Well Child.
The Artists:
Jenny Hill-Norton
Fish, faces, figures, flowers; sun, sea, weather, land; colour, energy, and emotion rule. In
oils, watercolour, acrylics, pastels. Drawing crucial using any medium possible. I come from
a background of glass-engraving and garden design and am revelling in the excitement and
freedom of drawing and painting, and the companionship of working and exhibiting with
close colleagues, but also alone. Exhibitions include: The Gallery in Cork Street, London;
The Affordable Art Fair, Bristol; Brighton Art Fair; The Mall Galleries, London; Nadia
Waterfield Fine Art, Stockbridge; The St ives Society of Artists, Cornwall; The Table, Hay-on-
Wye; Hampshire Open Studios. www.justfour.co.uk
Anthea Stilwell
Anthea studied at the Ruskin School of Drawing, Oxford then taught art at Harrow School for
twenty five years. She now lives and works in Herefordshire. " My subject matter is wide-
ranging, often abstract or semi abstract, always built on drawing and using memory and
imagination. Over the course of a painting I tend to move away from the drawing and my
work becomes a conversation with colour, marks, paint, charcoal, pastel, or whatever
material I am using. I never have an end in mind and stop when I feel satisfied. I love to
experiment and try to to reach beyond my knowing”. Her exhibitions include, Open Studios in
Hereford Art week, and many local exhibitions. She has also exhibited with other artists, at
The Gallery in Cork Street, London and The Parallax Art Fair in Chelsea, the Bristol
Affordable Art Fair, the Brighton Art Fair, Nadia Waterfield Fine Art, Stockbridge; The St ives
Society of Artists, Cornwall and The Table, Hay on Wye. www.justfour.co.uk
Jo Ellis
Jo’s work is about experiencing a subject not representing it as something unexpected often
reveals itself in the process of working. Having trained and worked as a graphic designer and
illustrator she has returned to painting, enjoying the freedom to express herself again and
of materials, then working into paint, mainly acrylics, oils and mixed media. “I love extracting
subject matter from landscapes, seascapes and natural objects, with drawing and expressive
mark making at the core”. Jo exhibits widely with Just Four Contemporary Artists and as an
individual artist. Including: The Gallery in Cork Street; The Affordable Art Fair, Bristol;
Brighton Art Fair; The Mall Galleries, London; The Wykeham Gallery, Stockbridge; The Flint
Gallery, Blakeney; Nadia Waterfield Fine Art, Stockbridge; The St Ives Society of Artists,
Cornwall and The Padstow Gallery, Cornwall. www.justfour.co.uk
Craig Narramore is a unique craftsman who has combined using the latest technologies
from his career creating special effects and props for the film industry with his passion for
working with the organic qualities of natural wood. His work involves using unusual metals,
resins and composites with burr, walnut and beech. Adding his own contemporary twist he
creates unique, unusual and tactile sculpture and furniture. He exhibits with Just four and at
London venues including Handmade at Chelsea, at Kew and ‘Tent’ in Shoreditch, London. All
pieces designed by Craig Narramore are original, signed and fabricated in Buckinghamshire,
England. www.craignarramorefurniture.com
John Mackinlay
John grew up in India, and is attracted to powerful sunlight, bright colours and tropical
places. He began painting seriously in 2002 and in 2006 joined an informal group of
expressionists led by Anthea Stilwell – the Stilwell Art Group, and with this influence began to
paint in a bolder and more expressive manner. During lockdown he has been painting local
Hampshire landscapes apart from a brief escape to Greece. Outside he tends to sketch
with charcoal and water-based colours working flat on the ground and later in the studio he
makes several more versions in acrylics. His paintings aim to convey a sense of a place, as
well as the drama and exhilaration of colour. John exhibits with Just four + two; Nadia
Waterfield Fine Art, Stockbridge; The Stilwell Group and Hampshire Open Studios.
www.johnmackinlayartist.com
Jane Martin
Jane studied Graphic Design and went on to work as a freelance illustrator. Whilst studying
for a Masters at The Royal College of Art, she was awarded a travel scholarship to Kenya to
draw animals in the wild. After a break, Jane joined The Stilwell Art Group which has enabled
and encouraged her to work (under the guidance of Anthea Stilwell) in a free and expressive
way, keeping the theme of simple mark making central to her work. “Drawing has always
been my starting point; mainly quick, spontaneous drawings of animals, people, still life and
landscapes. When translating drawings to paintings, I experiment with oils, acrylics, collage
and various drawing mediums. Whatever I produce, I always come back to the love of mark
making”. Jane has started exhibiting more widely, and in 2018 opened her studio for
Hampshire Open Studios, and in 2017 was taken on by Cricket Fine Art London and
Hungerford. Jane has also exhibited at Stockbridge; Winchester City Space; The Oxmarket,
Chichester; Art for Youth at the Mall Galleries, London and Blackheath Gallery in London and
Nadia Waterfield Fine Art, Stockbridge. www.janemartin.co.uk
