ANNABEL MENHENEOTT
“The subject matter of my paintings is influenced by the ever changing and evolving landscape which provides me with a library of colour, movement and atmosphere.”
Annabel’s talent and interest in paintings may have been inherited from her maternal great grandfather, Rowland Hill, a Royal Academician and founder member of the Staithes Group of Artists. The daughter of a Royal Marine, her fathers work enabled the family to travel widely and often live by the sea - an obvious influence of her work.
Now based in Bath, Annabel graduated with a BA in Fine Art in 2004. At university she explored different aspects of painting including art as therapy and the structural qualities of paintings. Having studied Theatre Studies she also has a tie and appreciation of theatre and some of her paintings could be seen to encompass theatrical qualities.
Wanting to understand the art world as an industry, following her degree Annabel achieved an internship and then a full-time post at Christie’s in London. Her years at the worlds leading auction house provided Annabel with an opportunity to see some of the world’s most treasured woks of art and work with leading specialists of the art world - a unique, privileged, broadening and inspiring experience. Following her career at Christies and various commissions, Annabel made the move to practice painting full-time.
Annabel has exhibited both nationally and internationally and is a Gallery Artist at Create Cornwall in Mawgan Porth, Kendalls Gallery in Cowes and Fowey River Gallery in Fowey. More recently Annabel’s work has been exhibited and auctioned at the Royal Academy in London in aid of Marie Curie as part of the Summer Exhibition preview annually since 2016 and in September 2020 her painting Shifting Shores was auctioned at Christie’s Auction House in London and raised a record amount for the charity. She returns to the event this July 2024.
Her works are in private collections internationally and following a successful exhibition in Monaco two of her paintings have been purchased by the prestigious Monaco Yacht Club where they now hang in their permanent collection. Annabel was artist in residence at Monkton Combe school, Bath 2010-2011. Most of her works are abstract in nature, many of them contain sufficient hints of realism leaving the admirer the chance to delve deeper into each scene, filling in the blanks with their own favourite spots by the sea or perhaps conjuring up their own imagined hideaway.
In 2018 Annabel was selected to be an official Owl Artist for the Minerva Art Trail in Bath. Two of her designs were sponsored and two of her owl sculptures adorned the streets of Bath over the summer trail which raised over £140,000 in total for charity, including the Dyson Cancer Centre in Bath.
“I enjoy working in acrylic paint as it allows me to work quickly and build up layers creating depth of colour and a range of textures from very thin washes to impasto when the paint appears to come out of the canvas. I like to experiment applying the paint using various sized palette knives and large brushes which allow me the freedom to create exciting painterly marks which i feel reflect the vibrant characteristics of the coastal environments.”
Annabel’s paintings communicate an atmosphere; some convey a feeling of emptiness and vastness whilst others suggest a feeling of calm.
During lockdown in 2020 Annabel created a community art project for her community. The idea stemmed from Annabel wanting the children to have something which they and their friends could contribute and see growing even if they couldn’t be together. To find out more about the project watch the video below.
The project ended up reaching all ages and being a sign of positivity for the whole community. To see how the project developed visit its dedicated instagram page rainbowinfreshford