fresh talent

Covid lockdowns persuaded Willemien Downes-Wechgelaer it was time to show her true colours

Willemien Downes- Wechgelaer’s series of works created during Covid lockdowns represent her changing emotions during that time, with Fear,

■ Willemien Downes-Wechgelaer’s brightlyhued embroideries bring something of a colour rush to the head.‘I like the impact of colour,’ she says.‘I can look at a Mark Rothko, just one colour on canvas, and I find it fascinating.’ Many people find Rothko’s large blocks of colour overwhelming but Willemien’s growing passion for Modern Art has influenced her kaleidoscopic colour combinations which are faintly reminiscent of the Op Art movement, although there are no optical illusions here.The heady intoxication is created by the compelling juxtaposition of colour and shape. Willemien’s love of embroidery goes all the way back to elementary school. She still has her very first artwork, two textile rabbits surrounded by stitches. Formally trained via a four-year City & Guilds course, from 1997 to 2001, where at least on some occasions the artist had to use nuanced hues,Willemien has become something of a primary colourist.