Vanessa Brassey Exhibiting Affordable Art Fair
New work at Affordable Art Fair in Hampstead Heath 7-11 May 2025
My newest works will be on show at the Affordable Art Fair in Hampstead Heath, from 7–11 May 2025. It's the perfect seeing to show the paintings which are inspired by my visits to the Heath, and to experience the surface, scale and colour that can’t quite be captured online.
This latest collection continues my interest in swimming in the ponds and at The Lido – fleeting gestures, landmarks as keynotes of memory, and the way time is represented through colour and texture.
I’ll be exhibiting with Contemporati on Stand J9. Come along if you’re nearby – I’m always happy to talk about the work.
Sunrise at The Lido
I painted this after seeing the sunrise in winter at the Lido, when the light tipped everything gold and the city still felt half-asleep – it’s a memory of calm, cold water and the quiet promise of the day ahead. 50cm by 25 cm oil on gesso panel, ready to hang.
Mixed Pond Swimmers
Painted from memory, feeling, and photos, this piece celebrates the joyful chaos of the Mixed Ponds in midsummer – bodies in motion, light bouncing off water, and that sense of shared exhilaration you only get on the hottest days. 100cm by 100cm framed size 125cm by 125cm, oil painting, framed and ready to hang.
Ducks and Dips
A larger take on a favourite scene, this painting captures the quiet drama of the Ladies’ Pond – drifting ducks, bold dippers, and that timeless sense of sanctuary beneath the trees. 70cm by 100cm, oil painting, framed and ready to hang.
In the Studio
Behind the Scenes
Sneak Peek Preview
Parliament Hill Viewpoint
My favourite place to pause and catch my breath during a run. Made with layers of transfer, oil paint, cold wax and pigment, this small work holds the stillness of a favourite lookout where sky and skyline meet in shifting colour. 20cm by 10cm, oil on metal, framed and ready to hang.
Dawn Breaks at The Lido
This painting is a study of dawn light spill over the water at The Lido in Parliament Hill. I tried to capture that moment of solitude, softness, and the hush as swimmers assemble. 18cm by 15cm, Oil on metal tile, framed and ready to hang.
Twilight at The Ponds
Painted from memory, this piece captures the hush of evening at the water’s edge – when colours deepen, swimmers linger, and the day exhales into dusk. 10cm by 10cm, oil on metal, framed and ready to hang.
Cinematic Men's Pond
A finalist, and one of four others long listed for the in the international 2025 Jacksons Painting Prize. This will be on sale at AAF, and on show at Bankside Gallery next door the Tate for the Jacksons Painting Prize exhibition. 100cm by 70cm framed and ready to hang.
Sun on Still Lido
This painting is an expressive little piece, using impasto brushstrokes to capture the reflections on a sundry day at The Lido in Parliament Hill. 10 by 10cm, Oil on metal tile, framed and ready to hang.
Coal Drops Yard
Painted after a visit to King's Place, the regenerated area that sits alongside Camden Lock and the London Waterways. 18cm by 13cm, oil on metal with pigment and cold wax accents, framed and ready to hang.
Camden Passage
A quiet city scene drawn from winter walks to and from the Gallery, this painting traces the soft glow of shopfronts and fairy lights against the cool geometry of Camden Passage at dusk. 18cm by 13cm, Oil, pigment, cold wax, framed and ready to hang.
Lido Ladies with their Babies
Based on a candid snap taken last summer one morning, this painting captures a tender, sunlit moment at the Ladies’ Pond – mothers and babies wrapped in towels, pausing in conversation after a dip. 18cm by 13cm transfer inks, oil, collage, cold wax and pigment on balsa wood, framed and ready to hang.
Synchronised Lido Swimmers
Inspired by the poise and sparkle of old Hollywood glamour, this painting reimagines early morning swimmers at the Lido as a kind of accidental chorus line – elegant, rhythmic, and full of understated theatre. 18cm by 13cm, oil on metal with pigment and cold wax accents, framed and ready to hang.
