Rosanna Bankes - sculptor and fine arts
Rosanna Bankes (otherwise known as Wink) has specialised in the fine arts since leaving Downe House School, Berkshire, in 1996. Whilst at Oxford Brookes University, where she studied Fine Art and the History of Art, she entered The Prince of Wales' Fiftieth Birthday Competition and was one of the finalists who were invited to Hampton Court Palace to receive a personal award from him.
On completing her degree, Wink embarked on an apprenticeship with Yannick Guegan, one of the world's leading "trompe l'oeil" experts and holder of "Le Meilleur Ouvrier de France" award (given to the best artisan in France). In a small and remote fishing village in Brittany, she studied "trompe l'oeil and decorative art" and left eight months later, having mastered the art of rendering a wide variety of woods, marbles and stone, as well the technique of perspective, and the ability to produce interior and exterior murals and paintings: anything from replicating a ten-pound note on a table to an expansive Tuscan landscape, or from mouse-holes in skirting boards to flora and fauna on walls and ceilings. (One blue-tit she painted on an exterior wall in Hampshire was so convincing that another blue-tit came daily to visit it, until the lack of response eventually discouraged the potential suitor).
Leaving France, Wink returned to Britain to launch herself with great enthusiasm into the world of art and interior design and in doing so received many challenging and exciting commissions. However, to complete her classical training, Wink desperately wanted to study portraiture and human anatomy. She was given the opportunity to do this when she received an award from the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust to study in the prestigious Charles H Cecil Studios in Florence, Italy.
In her three years in Florence, Wink immersed herself in the life and and culture of the city which produced some of the world's greatest artists. Her wide range of work completed in Italy included charcoal portraits, oil portraits, life drawings from nude models, and, most importantly, sculptures. Her profound love of the human form in all its grace and glory is reflected in her bronze nudes, in their relaxing and carefully-thought-out poses which appeal to the viewer from every angle.
Wink now works from London and has exhibited, most recently, at the Dutch Embassy in London. She travels around Europe with paintbrushes and paint in tow and is very enthusiastic about venturing further afield for both work and inspiration. She has recently added 1940's-style "pin-up girls" (painted onto paper, canvas or walls) to her portfolio, each pin-up girl tailored to individual requirements.
Wink greatly enjoys meeting people and, with her versatility in art, is always eager to chat about anyone's particular interests or artistic requirements.
Bronze nude...