Paddy Summerfield (artist)

Summerfield was part of the European development of interest in the Japanese chigiri-e technique and she participated in the first chigiri-e page in Wikipedia in 2008. In Japan the traditional chigiri-e technique was used for images of flowers and landscapes with hand-made coloured paper, torn and arranged to create the image. Summerfield broadened the technique and applied it to abstract and figurative art. She used an etching press, oil-based paint and super-thin (10g) paper to achieve a transparency allowing the construction of layers for the final work.

Many of Summerfield’s themes for her chigiri-e work have been based on body language. In 1990-1993 she had her own gallery/atelier within the Mazie Galerie, The Hague exclusively for her etching and chigiri-e.[1] She has had over 40 solo and group exhibitions in various countries of Europe and since 1988 her chigiri-e work has been shown in exhibitions in galleries in The Netherlands, Grafiekwinkel INKT, Galerie Wind, Kunsthuis 18, De Hofboerderij as well as Galerie Orangerie Willemstad, Curacoe.

Summerfield is of Irish-English background and was born in Hastings, England. She began her creative life by being commissioned by Liberty of London to design and make soft toys during World War II. She won a scholarship to the Hastings School of Art and later studied at the Vrije Academie voor Beeldende Kunsten, The Hague, The Netherlands. Summerfield started exhibiting as a graphic artist in 1976 with a solo exhibition in Chamonix, France which enabled her to become a professional artist under French law.