Jean Noble
Biography
Jean Noble is an abstract artist working in water-based media. She studied at Loughborough College of Art, Kingston University, Central St Martins and The Slade Summer School. She exhibits regularly at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, Mall Galleries members’ exhibitions, The Discerning Eye, Affordable Art Fairs and galleries throughout the UK.
Her awards include the Royal Society of Arts Design Award (1969), John Goss Prize at Hertford Art Society (2011), Lady Laming Award for Abstract Art (2013) and Barbara Tate Memorial Award at the Society of Women Artists (2017). She is also a member of the Society of Women Artists and Chelsea Art Society.
Artist Statement
Jean Noble RI is an abstract artist whose work begins in front of the subject. Her recent paintings draw on the Canary Wharf area of the Thames, following a gradual journey along the river from Chelsea towards the City over many years. She responds to the juxtaposition of towering glass buildings, the bustle of the business sector and the constant movement of the Thames, its boats, houseboats and ferries.
Noble allows her eyes to relax and her thoughts to absorb her surroundings, creating abstracted sketches that capture shapes, tones, colour and ideas rather than providing a complete blueprint for a painting. Back in the studio, these sketches are scaled up in charcoal onto prepared Saunders Waterford paper. She works with Golden Open Acrylic paint, mainly using a palette knife alongside brushes and her fingers.
Her paintings evolve through continual changes in colour, shape and composition. She usually selects a limited palette, with Raw Umber often used to harmonise the colours. She leaves works around the studio until they feel complete, allowing each painting to develop intuitively.