Sheila Appleton - Artist

August 6, 2012

Sheila Appleton is one of the best-known contemporary artists living and working in the seaside town of Leigh on Sea in Essex, which adjoins Southend.

Her studio and Gallery are at Old Leigh Studios in the heart of Old Leigh.

She has drawn and painted the landscape, seascape and characters of this charming area for several decades,her passion for life and natural humour and exhuberance is reflected in her work,she is known for her witty conversation,colourful personal life and herlove of disco dancing, which apart from variuos televsion appearances, and newspaper articles has made her a well known local charecter.
Sheila Appleton works in watercolour & ink, oils and acrylics, she paints abstracts, enters worlds of her imagination and even makes someLeigh-on-Sea and the Southend Area

Sheila Appleton is well known for her closely observed drawings of her hometown of Leigh on Sea, well known nationally for it’s large artist community, situated on the north banks of the Thames Estuary in Essex. She draws mostly in ink and then adds watercolour to bring out the colours of the fishing boats and the recognisable Leigh buildings. Cockle boats and sailing craft also feature in these popular views, along with sea and shore birds and, of course, the people who live at or visit this part of the coast.
Oils and Acrylics
Take a look at Sheila Appleton’s oil paintings which are often achieved using palette knife for boldness and strength of design. Whilst many of these paintings are small and would suit any room or setting, Sheila also works up to 6’ x 4’ and these look stunning where there is sufficient space to accommodate them.
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Sheila uses acrylics on works that need a bold, spirited and highly coloured treatment. Her works are instantly recognisable from the outlines and calligraphic marks separating large areas of simplified strong colours. She particularly favours vivid turquoise blues for sky and water- not colours readily associated with the British seaside, but absolutely right for these fine works.

Imagination
Sheila Appleton has a lively imagination which comes out in a riot of colour in paintings of mermaids cavorting in the water, and fairies, fauns and other mythical figures getting up all sorts of fun. Here are some examples to delight you.
A lifetime of drawing and observing people has been put to good use in this never-ending body of cartoons- see if you can spot someone you know! There are humorous comments on life, work, beach life, drinking, dating, children….the list is endless. All life is here.

Abstracts
Sheila Appleton paints abstracts that are joyful and expressive. These are mostly in acrylics and can be very large and bold if you have the space! They are related to her landscape works in acrylics as she uses a recognisable colour range as well as her signature line work against large areas of bright colour. Take a look at these examples.

Ceramics
Sheila Appleton makes individual ceramic figures and groups. These ceramics pieces are closely related to her cartoon drawings of people she observes when out sketching the local scenery and buildings. Watch out if you are in Leigh on Sea, or you may end up made of clay! The pieces are fired on the premises at Old Leigh Studios by potter Richard Baxter who has his studio next door and who shares the Gallery with Sheila Appleton and with Kate Baxter.

Sheila is an artist with some fifty years experience working in oil, acrylic, water colour and pen and ink.
The Southend College of Arts and Crafts, as it was first known, underpinned Sheila's early career and as her work progressed she was the first Artist invited to exhibit in the Essex Libraries Touring Exhibition, Titled "Appleton's Essex." Over the years she has received awards such as The Silver Palette, Essex Artist of the year and winner of the Beecroft Open Exhibition, who permanetly hold examples of her work. She was also a member of the Society of Women Artists, The United Society of Artists and has EXHIBITED in LONDON, GLASGOW and LUDWIGSBERG (GERMANY).

Her work is also to be found in many private collections, both at home and abroad. Her friendly and amusing personna together with her interest in people and travel can be seen in the Art enjoyed by so many, and she is always happy to throw in an anecdote based on one of her many colourful life experiences for good measure. figurative ceramic pieces, her work contiues to develop as she investigates new ways of depicting familiar scenes.