Alison Critchlow is an abstract landscape painter based in Cumbria, with a studio beside the Solway Firth. She trained at Falmouth School of Art, Cornwall and has been a professional artist for 30 years. She has exhibited widely throughout the UK and has work in several public and private collections. In 2021 she was awarded an Arts Council England grant which further extended her research and painting practice, Alison was artist in residence on the Isle of Iona throughout February 2017 and took up a residency at Cill Rialaig, Ireland in 2023. Hers is a free and expressive approach to painting which uses an innovative and expansive range of marks and techniques. Since 2017 she has worked closely with the Wordsworth Trust on several projects and has collaborated with Susan Allen to develop Poetry and Paint sessions which offer a refreshing, thoughtful and experimental approach to creative practice. Together they have worked with groups of all ages in a variety of settings to explore an extraordinary range of ideas and themes. Alison’s approach to teaching is informal and fun, underpinned with examples from art history, she encourages experimentation and is adept at helping participants to find their own artistic voice.