ARTIST Brenda Jones is used to having her work displayed in offices.

The Octagon in Middleborough, Colchester, already has a number of her colourful, abstract landscapes adorning its walls.

So it’s natural she should be the latest artist to show her work in the office complex’s gallery space.

Located on the bridge, which spans the Octagon and the Middleborough car park, Brenda has more than 15 large canvases on show, ranging from the vibrant blocks of multicoloured shapes, inspired by a trip to Sydney Harbour, to the glorious wash of light greens, yellows and reds depicting a field in her home county of Yorkshire.

“I’ve been painting since I was a child,” she says, “but didn’t really start taking it seriously until I was 30.

“I used to do a lot of landscape drawings, I still do, but mostly just holiday pictures and stuff like that. It was only when I did my degree that I got interested in other forms of art.”

After graduating in 2005, Brenda went to do a masters at the Norwich School of Art before setting herself up at the Cuckoo Farm community of artists in Boxted.

“I’ve had a measured amount of success,” she smiles, “with shows at the Digby Gallery, at the Mercury, the Cut in Halesworth, and the Lloyd Gill gallery, in Weston-Super-Mare.

“My paintings have also done quite well in offices, I suppose because they are so big and colourful, they brighten up the place.

“The main theme of this exhibition is about those places which are meaningful to me,” she adds, “and at the same time, showing an experimentation in use of colour and technique.”

Finding the Way: Paintings by Brenda Jones
The Octagon Gallery
Middleborough, Colchester.
Until March 28. Open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. Admission free.