LOCAL artist Anne Payton has been working on an unusual project...
for five years! The result is The Odyssey & the Female Divine, An Exhibition of Paintings of Homer’s ancient poem. Over two weekends this September, Anne will be showing her paintings inspired by Homer’s ancient Greek story The Odyssey. Her paintings capture the power, both good and bad, of the female characters in this epic tale and in leafy Stanford Dingley a beautiful historic barn will be transformed into a vessel for goddesses and monsters.
Visit the exhibition on September 7, 8 and 14, 15 and go on an Odyssey with Anne to classical Greece. Anne’s five-year painting project, The Odyssey & the Female Divine, focuses on the empowered female characters in Homer’s magnificent work. The story tells of Odysseus on his 10-year journey from the battlefields of Troy back to his home, Ithaca, and his abandoned wife Penelope.
Goddesses, women and monsters both help and hinder Odysseus on his troubled voyage. Throughout the poem, Homer writes about eternal topics of love, war, suffering and honour. The power of Homer’s words still speak to us today even after 3,000 years.
Anne started her career studying theatre design. She designed and painted sets for West End productions as well as renowned theatres such as The Watermill and the National. She now works from her artist’s studio in Yattendon.
Anne uses her theatre design training to immerse herself in each unique project she undertakes. She delves into each theme through research and experimenting. Her sense of the theatrical is evident in the exhibition.
The Odyssey & the Female Divine will be open from 11am to 6pm at Jewell’s Farm Artists Barn, in Stanford Dingley (RG7 6LX). Visit www.annepaytonartist.
co.uk.
