A NEW collection of decorated boxes by Jemima Jameson at the Silk Top Hat Gallery until October 8.

Jemima Jameson decorates her boxes with highly detailed, luminous designs to create beautiful and functional objects. She says, 'I feel compelled to paint and draw every day, it is quite simply a vital part of the daily rhythm of my life and my paintings are a celebration of the natural world around me.' Her paintings have a peaceful feeling; a friend once remarked that her animals are quietly at ease with themselves and confident of their place in the world.

After leaving college, she spent six months in Rome as an au-pair. The frescoes and decorated furniture she saw, as well as the Italian paintings, proved to be a great inspiration which changed her life. She has always retained a deep nostalgia for the illustrations and stories from her childhood and is particularly influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement, and the rich detail of medieval illuminated manuscripts. She paints in acrylics on to gessoed panels or wood which is then varnished. She has found that acrylic is a quick drying and versatile medium which suits her illustrative style.

She lives with her husband in a beautiful valley set in the Shropshire hills, between the site of an ancient hill-fort and a steep, densely wooded oak forest. She derives much of her inspiration from the surrounding countryside and its wealth of fauna and flora.

Also on show: 'Elegies' an exhibition of paintings, drawings and collages by Graham Arnold.

'Polaroid Dreams' an exhibition of new watercolours by Robert Bates.

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