The May Queen, Oil on Canvas Print

Alyson studied Fine Art in Greater Manchester, England, graduating with a First-Class Degree in Fine Art and a Master of Arts, before going on to study at the ARC Atelier of Fine Art in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was there that she learned the time-honoured painting and classical drawing techniques of the 19th Century Ateliers and Old Masters, building a pathway to more truthful expression and creativity, and greater artistic freedom. Alyson's passion for relearning techniques almost lost in time led to her involvement with alchemic, hand made photographic techniques, including the historic Wet Plate Collodion, Platinum and Chromogenic processes. Experimenting with ways to incorporate these beautiful chemical processes within her work, she developed new techniques to create atmospheric contemporary, interdisciplinary artworks, complementing her oil paintings in realizing her creative vision. Consequently Alyson's creates work across two primary disciplines. Original oil paintings in the old masters and tonalist traditions, intermittently capturing the world through her 200 year old Darlot Petzval lens, analogue and digital cameras to transport us to distant, hazy lands - imbuing her photographic works with a dreamlike feel that journeys into romanticism and emotionalism. Alyson often applyies washes, paints, and gold leaf onto her resolved original photographic work. Creative inspiration is inextricably linked to our deep relationship with nature, land and place, calling on elements of romanticism and emotionalism to emphasise mood, mystery and the sublime. Moving to the USA in 2018, Alyson now lives on her family farm in the Appalachian Mountains with her husband and their two Scottish Deerhounds, still residing in Lancashire, England on a regular basis. Alyson is represented by Saul Hay Gallery in Manchester, England, and by Artifact Gallery in Manhattan, New York City. She is a member of the English artist group ‘NEO Artists’, and the Artists & Alchemists movement.