Jennifer Davidson  - From Paris fashions to fantasy paintings                                Romy Shiner
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I met local artist, Jennifer Davidson, at her Walled Garden studio to find out about her life and inspiration. Jennifer's childhood ambition was to be a fashion designer. This journey started aged eighteen, after art school, with her first job as a clothes alteration assistant and fashion artist. She then worked as a visualiser in London, designing magazine advert layouts, illustrated fashion articles for publications and also worked as a designer and pattern cutter for a paper pattern company. One of her more unusual jobs was attending the Paris fashion shows with London fashion designers where she'd make notes on selected designs paraded on the catwalks. Using the sketches she produced when back in London, the designers would create the most up-to- theminute fashion designs. These experiences helped her in her own future business of design and dressmaking for private clients. Jennifer was then tempted into the world of international interior design producing sumptuous and elaborate curtains, murals and using stunning paint effects (taught by Kevin McCloud of Grand Designs fame).Among the company's clients were princes and millionaires so she worked in their fabulous homes in exotic and remote locations. She was also commissioned to make very detailed pen and ink 'House Portraits'. In the 1990s, Jennifer graduated from UWE with an Honours Degree in Fine Art. She is now a member of Bath Society of Artists and Clifton and Clevedon Art Clubs. She has exhibited widely and her paintings are in many private collections all over the world. Jennifer says, 'All my experiences have influenced my present work. I tend to look to far horizons rather than that which is close at hand. My landscape paintings reflect my fascination with pattern, rhythmic interlocking shapes, rich colour and often have pathways snaking away into the far distance. Every painting is a potential journey. Being an artist lets my imagination travel. It takes me far away'. I have to say that when I gaze at her creations and I hear Jennifer's stories about her past, I feel I am taken far away… As part of the Made in Wrington Christmas Art Fest from 21-23 November, Jennifer will be exhibiting and selling her work alongside other Made in Wrington artists and guests. To find out more visit <www.madeinwrington.co.uk>, the Made in Wrington Facebook page or pick up a leaflet locally. Romy Shiner