A Painter and a Potter

About

William Plumptre studied Ceramic Design at Chelsea College of Art before travelling to Japan in 1985 staying for 2 years in the workshops of 3 different potters including spending 12 months with the Japanese master Tatsuzo Shimaoka a National Treasure. 

William set up a workshop in the Lake District on his return

William works with  stoneware clay, mostly thrown on the wheel some is slab-built and press moulded The pottery is glazed with subtle wood ash glazes which he studied in Japan and all of his work is reduction fired in the 65 cubic foot gas fired kiln.

"When I go out to paint, my aim is to capture the essence of what I see as simply and unselfconsciously as possible. I am looking at the interactions of colour and shape, and through the accumulation of paint, the image finds itself. I keep going until my energy runs out.”

John Dobbs was born in Windsor in 1961. He grew up in Denham, Buckinghamshire before moving to nearby Harefield, Middlesex where he now lives with his wife Zoe. John trained and worked as a Draughtsman in electrical engineering before becoming a full time artist in 2003. John was awarded the New English Art Club Drawing Scholarship for 2012 and was elected as a member of the NEAC in 2015. In 2018 John was elected an associate member of the Society of Wildlife Artists