I love any opportunity to return to my old alma mater, City & Guilds of London Art School in Kennington. I can hardly believe it was over 20 years ago that I was preparing to be an art student embarking upon a Post-Graduate course in Fine Art. It changed my life. I finally felt able to define myself as an artist and the time I spent in the college really help solidify a new direction my life would take. With a passion for paper I wasn’t sure that my interest in collage would be acceptable. I’d signed up as a student with the aim of learning how to be a proper oil painter. But the kind and creative tutors were enthusiastic about my passion and said, ‘if paper is your language then learn to speak in it.’ So I did.

Anyway, I’m just going to show a few photos of the works I saw which caught my eye. I thought the standard was very high – technically and creatively – and send congratulations to all the MA students of 2022 who have created such impressive work.

Of course I was drawn to this lively piece by Liz Crossfield. It’s paper collage on steroids – wacky, fun, eye-catching and very clever. I liked the way the paper figures were held together with bulldog clips and looked so arresting against the big floral background painted on paper.

Lovely work from Thomas Cameron who makes paintings of everyday scenes. There’s an Edward Hopper feel to some of the works but they are satisfyingly done in limited palettes.

I liked the gentle narrative feel to Harriet Gillett’s pieces of interiors with limited lighting. The works give a sense of times past and domestic spaces which stay the same for years.

The portraits by John Heywood Waddington are very charming and wistful. You get the feeling there’s a backstory of narrative yet to be told, which the painting is just hinting at. As the viewer, you can imagine the scenarios and fill in the gaps.

I liked the work of these two artists who focus on the human body, activity and the notion of bodies pushing themselves in challenging directions. And I liked the use of paint too, the way the pigment is wiped away or swished onto the canvas with confidence.

I’m concluding with these two – Nicholas Yau creates beguiling runic symbols on blue suede and Simon Bejer gives us a contemporary twist on epic renaissance paintings with dramatic scenes painted with terrific panache.

Basically I loved this show. In my dreams I too would have been busy in an attic room at the college creatingnew figurative and narrative works for an MA show. But I’ve not had a bad time of it in my own studio tearing up paper and creating my own work. Seeing all this accomplishment makes me want to push my own practice that bit further. Now, let’s get those old oil paints out!!

The MA show at City & Guilds of London is on until 10th September 2022.