A YOUNG artist has talked about how her childhood exoloring Epping Forest inspired her to create work that has been exhibited internationally.

Charlotte Posner is 24 and lives in Newman Lane in Loughton.

She studied at the Chelsea College of Art and Design in London and then in Vancouver at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design and since graduating her dreamlike paintings have been exhibited in galleries in Japan, Pakistan and Australia.

A collection of her work is on permanent display in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in London and her pen and ink drawing, Epping Forest, has been accepted for the finals of the Saatchi Drawing Competition.

Ms Posner, who attended King Solomon High school in Barkingside, said: “I think my work is quite surreal and magical.

“Living close to Epping Forest has had a big influence on me. I regularly go for walks in the forest and this has definitely enhanced my knowledge of colour and form.”

Although her work often explores the whimsical and fantastical, Ms Posner said that it is traditional techniques that give her paintings such lustre.

“I took a course on Renaissance art recently and learnt to make my own paint. I buy the pigments from a little shop in London and make my own shades. I think it gives the colour more depth,” said Ms Posner.

Her website can be found at www.charlotteposnerblogspot.com.

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