Barbara Bagley Art

Barbara Bagley, landscape painter and printmaker in Loughborough

Barbara Bagley is a full-time artist based in Loughborough, in the East Midlands, who works from a studio at the bottom of her garden. Originally from the north east of England, she describes her practice as drawing on everything around her and finding interest in small, everyday subjects. Her output ranges from colourful landscapes to detailed village scenes and imagined places, and is sold as original paintings, modern art prints and greetings cards.

From Cleveland College to a Fine Art degree in Loughborough

The site sets out a short training chronology: an Art Foundation Course at Cleveland College of Art and Design in 1988, a BA (Hons) Fine Art at what was then Loughborough College of Art and Design in 1992, and a PGCE at Loughborough University in 1996. Bagley notes that she has always found sitting still and concentrating difficult, but that creating is the activity she can focus on completely.

Originals, prints and printed multiples

The shop is organised into several distinct lines, each presented as a separate category:

• Originals — one-of-a-kind paintings.
• Town and village prints — urban illustrations described as quirky and fun, drawn from around the Midlands and beyond.
• Tree prints — atmospheric landscape and woodland images issued as limited edition prints.
• Lifestyle prints — lighter, cheerful pictures intended for the home.
• Greetings cards — blank cards for birthdays or any occasion.
• Things I have made — small wooden houses, tea towels and papier mâché pieces.

A Leicester illustration in the New Walk Museum

Among the works described on the site is a large illustration of Leicester purchased by Leicester City Council, which is on permanent display at the New Walk Museum in Leicester. Bagley remarks on the piece being cordoned off with a rope.

Subjects and working approach

Her stated aim is to make art that makes people smile, without requiring them to think too hard about what they are looking at. She names colour, the outdoors, silliness and very fiddly detail as the ingredients she tries to combine in the work, which moves between detailed townscapes and more painterly landscapes.

Sales, delivery and studio visits

Work is sold online, and the site states that all orders over £10 include free delivery to mainland UK. Prints, paintings and cards have been sent to buyers around the world. The studio in Loughborough can be visited by arrangement, with a message sent in advance; enquiries are handled by email, telephone or WhatsApp.