Alison & Matthew
It is quite rare and unique to come across two artists working collaboratively on the same artwork; all the more special when those artists have been closest friends for half their lives respectively.
Matthew James and Alison Miller are two such individuals.
As a child, Alison was forever busy making things; her mother often remarks that she could be found in her bedroom, in the garden or the shed putting things together with creative curiosity, drawing for hours or exploring for new inspiration.
Matthew spent much of his youth in sketch pads, scribbling for hours various characters inspired by his imagination. He developed a keen interest in comic strips and would spend hours on layouts for his creations.
The two young artists first met at art college after finishing school where they both began their studies in art, they swiftly became great friends; clearly having a creative spark between them, they influenced each others artistic process through a great trust and respect for the others ideas and vision.
Their connection remained close even with the transition to university at separate institutions; Matthew heading to Liverpool John Moores and Alison taking herself to Loughborough University.
Yet the distance of universities did not prevent them from keeping regular contact, often meeting in the Lake District during summer breaks for long walks, sitting off to sketch with a flask of hot tea to hand while they discussed their experiences, developing creativity and styles while surrounded by the Lakeland mountains.
After their graduation both Matthew and Alison spent numerous years traveling, through Europe which included inadvertently driving down a flight of stairs in an old Volvo in Italy, barefoot running in the dense German forests, spending a month in a Chinese monastery after intense altitude sickness.
After many years of working on their portfolios individually Alison and Matthew met once more and came to the decision to collaborate on the same collection of work together. For several years they have been working on numerous themes received with great anticipation by galleries and collectors across the country and abroad.
Such themes include Don’t Forget Your Dreams, Little Dreamers and most recently, The Moonlit Dreams Collection.
In each painting they create, they hope to offer the viewer a glimpse of their hidden worlds of secret gardens, worlds within worlds and doors that may lead to a better place. Their love of love, hope, innocence and beauty is seen throughout each collection and offers viewers a chance for them to join in the escapism.
They both have a fond love of the countryside and continue to spend time, when possible, roaming the mountains of the Lake District as well as visiting the stunning National Trust properties and lands.