Pamela Derry

A serene river landscape at dawn with misty trees and soft, warm morning light

1987

PAMELA MARY DERRY was born in Welwyn Garden City on April 13th 1932. She was educated at Bedford High School and showed artistic talent at a very early age. She started painting professionally at the age of 28. Pamela Derry worked exclusively in oils. She was particularly successful in portraying scenes of the English countryside and was especially skilful at capturing the light and shade of dappled sunlight. Her distinctive style often involved extensive use of the palette knife. These lovely rural scenes are now much in demand as are her Limited Edition prints and greetings cards. In later life the artist settled at Wimborne in Dorset where she drew extensively upon the surrounding Dorset countryside to inspire her work. Pamela Derry’s first solo exhibition was held at the Wold Galleries in the Cotswolds. Subsequently, during her long professional life, Pamela Derry held many further successful exhibitions of her work including at London’s Mermaid Theatre, The New Ashgate Gallery Farnham, Century Gallery Henley, the Bladon Gallery Andover, the Fortescue Swann Gallery in London and also galleries overseas. In 2000, towards the end of her life, Pamela Derry published a successful set of eight new greetings cards and a Limited Edition print “A New Dawn” to celebrate the Millenium. Sadly, Pamela Derry died in 2002 at the age of 70 at the height of her fame. Pamela Derry (1932 -2002) was born in Welwyn Garden City and lived in a beautiful thatched cottage in a rural area of Dorset. She was a frequent visitor to the Cotswolds and often stayed near Longborough and Winchcombe where the surrounding landscape provided the inspiration for some of her later work. She very much enjoyed walking and this pastime took her around Dorset, the Cotswolds, Exmoor and beyond, enabling her to sketch and to get as close to nature as possible. The English countryside was the source for her work and Pamela was particularly skilful at capturing the light and shade of dappled sunlight. She had a great feeling for the link between poetry, music and painting and always had music playing while she worked. Pamela worked exclusively in oils and all her work was done with the palette knife. Having started painting professionally at the age of 28 she exhibited at the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, Society of British Artists, Society of Women Artists, Paris Salon and the New English Art Club. Pamela’s work is also in the permanent collection of the Russell Cotes Museum, Bournemouth. Pamela has held many successful exhibitions in galleries throughout the country. Her first one-woman show was held over thirty years ago in Wold Galleries and her work is in private collections in countries including Holland, Austria, Japan, Australia and the USA.