Mimi Roberts

Mimi Roberts was born in Yorkshire and studied fine art in Paris and then at Leeds and Hull colleges of art. After a few years in the decorating business painting murals, trompe d'oeils and paint effects, she decided to retire from the arduous work of climbing up ladders, and took up still life painting. Her work is very much inspired by painters of the 16th and 17th centuries from Spain and Holland, although the subjects she uses are taken from everyday life. She loves the colours, shapes and textures of her fruit and vegetable subjects, which she admires for their beauty and simplicity. She also resists the seduction of exotics: ‘I like simple things like parsnips, potatoes, leeks and cabbages. Each type of cabbage is so different and the same applies to onions: shallots, red onions, silverskins, spring onions and so on. I like to present common vegetables in a tongue-in-cheek way - to take a pea pod, for example, and to frame it in classic manner, in gold and black.' Mimi Roberts spends a great deal of time in France, where there is a wealth of material from which to draw, and her paintings reflect her love of good food and cooking. She generally holds two exhibitions a year in London and she has also exhibited in France and Germany.