Storybound paintings by Debbie Lee. I am excited to announce that the Slade Centre Gillingham Dorset is presenting a solo exhibition of my work. The Slade centre is a converted Edwardian department store with a café and gallery on the ground floor  and a gallery upstairs. I shall be exhibiting narrative paintings about multigenerational story telling. Stories from Chaucer to Dante to Angela Carter which are embellished with elements of daily family life. Pictured here is a painting of Babette’s Feast a story which unites people in the joy of sharing food and good company. Storybound is on from 28 September-2 November. The Gallery is open Tuesday-Friday 9.30-4pm and Saturday 9.30-2pm. There is a Q&A with the artist planned for 17 October at 6.30pm.

I was thrilled to receive my Royal West of England Academician diploma on varnishing day at the annual open exhibition. The RWA was founded in 1844 in Bristol to promote fine arts in the southwest and beyond. I am exhibiting two paintings, ‘Into the Future’, and ‘Table Tapping’. I am also exhibting a monoprint ‘Carried Away’. My animated Drawing ‘Under the Table’ is also being screened. The exhibition runs from 14 September-5 January. This year you can see the work online so if you cannot make it to Bristol to see the show in person then please take a look here Royal West of England Academy.

Black Swan Open 2024 Frome 27 July-15 September. Dawn of the Minotaur was selected for the Black Swan Open this year. Following the thread of stories through my work has led me to explore male and female relationships using the Minotaur. This is a painting of a girl holding the Minotaur on a lead (oil on canvas 51x61cm).

I have two pictures in Evolver Prize 2024 top 50 showing at Ace Arts Somerton 6 July-10 August. ‘Folly’ is about the folly of marriage responding to Goya’s ‘Los Caprichos’ etchings. I made this monoprint to help me create part of a triptych which was showing at the RWA in the Kenny Gallery in a group exhibition called ‘Allegory’. ‘The Sitter’ is also a monoprint which I made to help me paint a portrait of my daughter taking part in a vanishing trick. She sat for me as I covered her with a blanket and then she vanished and reappeared moments later. The Evolver top 50 are selected entries for an annual competition to appear on the cover of Evolver magazine. Evolver magazine is a culture guide to what’s on in Wessex.

‘Allegory’ RWA Bristol May 23-July 21. I am exhibiting my dark triptych and two drawings in ‘Allegory’.  The exhibition is curated by Fiona Robinson for the Kenny Gallery at the RWA .

The show contains stories about migration and displacement.  The exhibition includes work by Charmaine Watkiss, Karl Singporewala, Beth Carter, Ian Middleton and Seyed Edalatpor.

‘Blind Man’s Bluff’, ‘Grotesque Dance’ and ‘Folly’ form a triptych. They are a linked series of allegorical paintings with a personal narrative painted with reference to Goya. This work was made during a time of political upheaval and a pandemic. I used painting to channel my feelings about these issues.

My drawings ‘Bird Talk’ and ‘Don’t Kick the Pigeon’, which are in ‘Allegory’, symbolically represent different attitudes towards life and the world.

Allegory can contain hidden meanings which can remain enigmatic.

I am delighted that ‘Under the Table’ my animated drawing was selected for the RSA Annual exhibition this year. My animated drawings are made by a process of erasing and redrawing the same image until the motion has resolved. A process which shows mistakes and accepts change. ‘Under the Table’ combines magic and reality. Unseen forces which tilted the table are revealed to be the work of a childlike demon. My daughter helped me make the soundtrack for this animated drawing. The exhibition continues at the Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh until 16 June.