Emily Smith Polyblank

Emily's main form of work has been using woodcut and lino printing. The wood grain has a lovely natural texture of its own, which can control the images and also adds to them. The inspiration for her work comes from my surroundings. Her mother owns a small holding with lots of animals in the countryside on the North Downs of Kent, which is where she grew up. Due to both parents being artists, she was encouraged at an early age to sketch from life. She now works in her father's old studio, he went to college at the Royal Academy and was an excellent portrait and landscape painter until his early death in 1988. Her mother, a talented painter in her own right, has also influenced and encouraged her to see and discuss things visually, helping her work.

Emily's work is regularly exhibited at the RA Summer exhibitions.