Jenny Bent Biography
Jenny Bent is one of the most passionate & highly creative people you will meet!
“I truly love art, music, dancing, animals & teaching, they all keep me very busy & full of life! I often wish I could manage on only 2 hours of sleep a night!
I really enjoy passing on my knowledge and I try to transfer my skills, experience & passion onto others in a positive way! I hope that my forms of expression & my teachings are inspiring, interesting, fun & helpful!
Background
I was born in Knutsford, Cheshire, in 1974. I now live in Hale with my partner Paul, seven cats & two Pygmy Goats!
I consider myself to be a self-taught painter. Although I spent three years at college, whilst there, I didn’t really draw or paint. I did not get on well with some of my tutors. I felt that most of the time I could never please them. I was not a lazy student; I was simply working in a different way to how they expected. I found the painting and drawing classes and the methods of teaching very un-creative, un-imaginative, even tedious. I felt dictated to, restricted and as if my creativity was being drowned. Any desires I had to paint were crushed. Consequently, I concentrated on sculpture, metal work, ceramics and anything that involved working in 3D. I also enjoyed photography. However, since leaving college in 1994 I have been painting constantly!
One of the reasons I set up The Parsley Pie Art Club in 2001, was because I wanted to give children the opportunity to experience total freedom & creativity in a studio environment, & let them explore their imginations & experiment with a variety of techniques & mediums & if they make a mess, it doesn’t matter!! Somewhere they could have fun & learn from a practicing artist, a place where there are no rules, no boundaries & no restrictions!
Inspirations
The natural world, the female form, music and my imagination inspire me in all my work. I love dancing and thrive on all types of music, from Rock to Classical, from Latin American to Egyptian, from Thrash Metal to Blues, from Turkish to 70s Psychedelic. I have also been a professional Belly Dancer since 1997 which has helped fund my career as an artist. I frequently dance in my studio whilst I am painting, this really helps me stay motivated and inspired, especially late at night!
Painting career
I work on both private & commercial commissions & with interior desingers. I have exhibited and sold my work all over the UK in private and public galleries, restaurants and bars. My work has been featured in various magazines & on National Television.
A private collection of my paintings is also held at The Inns Of Court in London! My works are privately owned by all sorts of people, from doctors to accountants, to barristers, to college lectures, to grandparents, even to a private collector in Spain!
I now concentrate purely on my female form work, please click here
Exhibitions
Mixed & solo exhibitions in the North West and London.
Stockport Art Gallery, Stockport, Cheshire
The Watergate Street Gallery, Chester, Cheshire
Toucan Art Gallery, Hale, Cheshire
The Paintstop, Hale, Cheshire
The Bury Met Art Centre, Lancashire
The Longden Gallery, Macclesfield, Cheshire
The Blacksheep Gallery, Hawarden, Cheshire
Loop Gallery, Chorlton, Manchester
Hurricane Gallery & Interiors, Manchester
PPS Gallery, Hale, Cheshire
The Tarporley Gallery, Tarporley, Cheshire
The Picture House Studio, Sandbach, Cheshire
Snockers On The Green, Altrincham, Cheshire
Francs Live Jazz Lounge, Altrincham, Cheshire
Eze Restaurant, Altrincham, Cheshire
The Gallery at Blakemere, Cheshire
The Wendy Levy Gallery, Didsbury
The Black Swan Gallery, Congleton, Cheshire
Arty’s, Chorlton
Gallery 22, Hale, Cheshire
Altrincham College of Arts, Timperley, Cheshire
Private collection held at The Inns of Court In London
Spare Time
Well, there is not much of it! I of course spend as much time as I can with my cats & goats and with Paul! I am very close to my family so I see them as much as possible. I also practice yoga, do a bit of gardening, cooking & reading, watch a few films & listen to lots of music & Radio 4! And after 6 years without a telly, I have recently re-discovered the “joys” of the box in the corner!