SPLASHES of colour will brighten up Oxfordshire this weekend for the start of Artweeks.

During the annual festival, artists open up their studios and show off their creations.

Pupils at Our Lady’s Abingdon School have also got in on the act, and will see their works gracing the walls of exhibitions too.

Their show includes pieces from every pupil and there is tapestry, needlework, ceramics and woodwork in the exhibition.

Ellie Flemming, 10, Charlotte Holmes, 11, Holly Mayor, 11, Matilda Morley, 11 and Archie Tyack, 11, are some of the youngest exhibitors in this year’s festival and can’t wait to show their pieces.

Ellie said: “I like showing my work because people get to see it and it makes me proud of my own artwork.”

Her friend Matilda loved working with the clay.

She said: “I made a clay violin which I splattered with paints, I loved the end result.”

Herald Series:

  • David Bage has a wide range of work on display at the festival

The exhibition, which opens to the public on Tuesday, will be held at the school, in St John’s Road in Abingdon.

It will run from 9am to 4pm until Thursday.

Freelance finance director David Bage is also showing off his creative side for the arts festival.

He has used his art to give him a break from his day-to-day work.

The 54-year-old, who paints in his spare time, said: “A lot of people say it is a weird combination having a finance head and a creative side as well.

“It is great though. I spend a lot of my days looking at numbers and get to spend my free time painting. It is a nice contrast.

“In my gallery, there is a mixture of paintings and abstract works. They are mainly works in acrylics but I also work with oil pastels and charcoal.

“They are quite colourful and vibrant. I like playing around with the effect on style and light.”

The father-of-three, from Abingdon, has been painting for more than 35 years and first started while studying for his A-Level in Art aged 18.

Mr Bage has taken part in the annual Oxfordshire festival for the past seven years and will show exhibits of his paintings from today at St Ethelwold’s House, in East St Helen Street, Abingdon.

WHAT TO SEE THIS WEEKEND

  • Susan Wheeler will display original linocuts in her workshop on 115 Lower Radley, Abingdon, from noon to 6pm.
  • There will be ceramics, glass sculptures, jewellery and textiles on display at St Audries Cottage in Dry Sandford from 11am-6pm over the weekend.
  • Scenic photographs of Wantage by photographer Sylwia Presley will be on display on 2, Priory Road, Wantage, from noon-6pm.
  •  A collection of artistic and decorative wood pieces are on show at Heathersage on Aston Street, Aston Tirrold, Didcot.
  • Visit artweeks.org