Freya Purdue

Freya Purdue’s paintings inhabit the border between abstraction and figuration and have their basis in exploration through seeing, experience and research around the ideas she is working with.

She draws upon a wide range of sources from the most obvious classical themes in painting to the subtlety of philosophical and mystical thought. In making paintings she is absorbed in the endeavour to discover an energised sense of connection and consciousness both between people, historical traditions and the boarders of perception.

The use of colour in her paintings is vital to the sense of presence, energy and subtly that is discovered or revealed through the process of working. It provides a source of atmosphere and links each work with its origin that is sometimes visual, sometimes historical, philosophical, poetic, musical, intuitive, perceptual or experimental, or combinations of these. She works on paintings in groups which provides an energising and dynamic process whereby there is a constant discovery of new visual aspects of each painting. This expands the relationships and engagement with the tactility of the process of painting itself. 

She approaches each group of work as a new journey and each painting a new kind of sensitivity and living energy to be explored and realised. Through the process of constant reviewing, reflection and research, the paintings are worked towards the realisation of a sense of connectedness that links them with contemporary life, cultural histories, artists, practices and symbologies.


Freya Purdue was born in Kent in 1952. She currently lives and works on the Isle of Wight. She trained at St Martins School of Art and attained her Masters Degree at Chelsea College of Art & Design where she was a Senior Lecturer for 25 years. 

She has exhibited widely in the UK and Europe and China and has won a number of prizes, scholarships and travel awards for painting.

artist’s website