Sunderland artist Faye Greenman celebrates biggest exhibition to date

Faye Greenman has created 13 striking oil paintings for her Rose Tinted Glasses show, which is currently on display in Newcastle.

The 25-year-old crafts her pieces in her home in Roker, which are then shipped to collectors around the globe.

Her original pieces sell for thousands of pounds each, with prints of the originals also popular with her ever-growing following.

Faye often captures everyday moments in her large-scale paintings, such as a scene she saw through a car window for a piece entitled Tunnel Vision and wilting flowers she’d brought for her boyfriend, Sunderland DJ Sorley, for her piece Turn Away.

Speaking about her latest exhibition, she said: “I started the Rose Tinted Glasses series 18 months ago and the whole concept is the quest for love and I used my experiences as the inspiration for the full series of the 13 oil paintings and I curated this exhibition as a story, so you start at Chapter 1 and you end at Chapter 7.

“It took me the best part of two years to bring this to life and I’m so excited that it’s finally here in person for people to experience.

“The response to opening night was incredible. Hundreds of people came and I was completely overwhelmed with love and support for my art, which is something that I’ve never experienced before on this level so it’s just been absolutely amazing to see the turnout. “

As well as the original oil paintings, the exhibition features a table setting dressed with items from first love, love letters, stolen moments captured on polaroid, through to empty wine bottles from late night dinner parties.

Thanks to social media, Faye has been able to carve a career for herself in the arts without having to leave her home city.

She said: “I absolutely love being from Sunderland, we’ve got such a hard-working gritty spirit and I feel like that comes into my creative process, because I’m not just an artist, I’m a business woman.

“And I really want to put Sunderland on the map for also being a hub for creative people to really express themselves and I feel like putting on this exhibition is a great way to show young girls, and women in the arts especially, that it is possible to put on these big shows.”

The show is sponsored by North East-based Carole Crowe Interior Design, who fell in love with Faye’s work after purchasing one of her original paintings.

The pair have worked together on the exhibition, which aims to inspire people seeking their own path to love.

Carole said: “I first connected with Faye through art. It was her first show and there was one piece that just spoke to me and I had to have it, so I’m one of her earliest collectors and when the opportunity came to sponsor Faye’s show there was just no doubt it was the right decision to make, and it just felt so completely aligned and right for my journey as well.

“When Faye first told me the story of the exhibition and the chapters, it so resonated with my life, literally every single chapter, and it brought tears to my eyes.

“So when we came to design the table and work together to bring the story to life it just felt so right. It was perfect.”

*Rose Tinted Glasses is at the NCA Gallery on High Bridge Street in Newcastle, tonight, September 6, from 3pm - 8pm, and September 7, from 12pm - 5pm. Faye will also be doing live painting sessions both days. Entry is free.

For more on Faye’s work visit https://fayegreenman.com/