Two local artists to the Morecambe Bay Area make it right the way through to the final 12 as part of Lancashire Artist of the Year 2023.
Vanessa Skelcher from Morecambe, with her painting ’Wildflower Meadow Near Heysham Village’ and Lidia Ranns from Lancaster with her watercolour painting ‘Silverdale Beach Cove’ have had their work included in a new Lancashire calendar.
Their paintings were selected by a judging panel among the other entries which was then whittled down to a shortlist of 48 artists. This then went to an online public vote. Both Vanessa and Lidia made it through all the stages to the final 12.
The finalists received an art voucher prize at a special lunch presentation at Lancashire Archives in Preston.
During the prize giving lunch both Lidia and Vanessa were happy to finally meet each other as their paintings both highlighted how beautiful Morecambe Bay is, something both artists are very passionate about, “We’re both absolutely thrilled to have been selected by the judges, and I think our paintings depict how lovely the Bay Area is in very different styles. Morecambe bay is a beautiful area along the Lancashire coast, and certainly deserves to be in the calendar. Lancashire is a lovely county, and its great that the creativity and artistic skills are both encouraged and celebrated like this.”
Vanessa is returning to her love of art and painting after a break and is hoping to exhibit her work in the near future. Lidia works in a variety of mediums and earlier this year she won with Theo Paphitis SBS for her creative business, which covers a wide artistic spectrum as an artist/illustrator and designer.
The 12 finalists’ artworks will be included in the 2024 calendar sold in all Lancashire County Council libraries and archives, with the artwork with the highest public votes by Martin Williamson on the front cover. The proceeds from the sale of the calendar will go towards activities to support Lancashire care leavers and will be available to buy from mid September.
You can see more of Lidia’s work at www.lidiaranns.art and keep up to date with her on Facebook @lidiaranns.art
