Anne considered herself to be a painter first and foremost, but one who painted mostly flowers. Her studies have a fresh vitality and strong sense of colour imbuing each one with a gem-like quality. The flowers are arranged informally in one of a large collection of vases, pots, jugs and simple jam jars and she painted with the natural light falling from one direction to give tonal values so impor
tant in any painting. Her detailed understanding of botany was combined with a focus on light and texture that gives her work great presence and feeling of movement. She worked entirely in oils and painted mainly on board, with background colours kept deliberately plain to accentuate the flower colour. Anne Cotterill had many successful exhibitions of her work, including solo exhibitions at Thompson's Gallery, (London) in November 1998 and October 2001, and regular collections at the Wykeham Gallery (Stockbridge, Hampshire), the Napier Gallery (Jersey), Thompson's Gallery (Aldeburgh), the City Gallery (London) and the Bellflower Gallery (Devon). Exhibitions of Anne's paintings always attract queues of enthusiastic collectors and demand for her originals far outstrips supply.
