From Shangri-La to Cromer

After the eminent British painter Derrick Greaves died in 2022, his wife and studio assistant, Sally, invited a group of artist friends to his studio for life-drawing. Most of us had studied at Art Academy East, with Mark Mann and Claire Frances Smith.

Soon, Sally was sharing with us some of the innovatory techniques Derrick developed over his long career. She helped us to set off in exciting new directions, including painting a huge 10m long mural on a hoarding at Norwich Riverside, sizing it up from an image hardly bigger than a postcard.

The title of the show comes from James Hyman’s book, Derrick Greaves: From Kitchen Sink to Shangri-La.

This is our homage to Derrick in Cromer.

Opening event and talk: Thursday April 9, 17:30

Open Late: Thursday April 16, 18:00-20:00

The artists:

Evin Dilber

‘The Art Group provides an open environment for life figure drawing, studying Derrick’s techniques, exchanging ideas, and getting feedback—including Sally’s invaluable expertise—to inspire new work.

‘My personal creativity has been inspired by Derrick’s selection of subjects and colour choices, and I share his love of geometric shapes.’

Tom Ellis

Tom is a portrait artist with a passion for working in oils.

‘I have been attending life-drawing sessions with Sally and the gang since 2024. The opportunity to sketch models in Derrick’s studio has been brilliant; to be surrounded by Derrick’s work among such a fun and creative group provides inspiration by the bucket-load – and an opportunity to look at portraits in a totally different way – as an expression of character rather than as a direct likeness.’

Alison Greenwood

Like Derrick, Alison has very vivid dreams and will wake in the night and need to write them down so she can turn them into paintings, otherwise her head won’t settle.

‘As an artist, I’m on a constant journey of discovery. It’s a privilege to create in Derrick’s studio alongside his art, and Sally’s generosity has inspired me to work on a much larger scale, using a “less-is-more” approach.’

Donna Holmes

Donna first became aware of Derrick’s work when she visited a gallery in Sheffield in early 2025. She was immediately drawn to his block colours and clean lines, and she loves his fresh approach to botanicals, which she is experimenting with in her own practice.

‘Being invited to join the art group and helping with the mural at Riverside was an amazing experience and a privilege.’

Polly Johnson

‘Our 2025 group trip to Sheffield to see the exhibition Derrick Greaves: Art Worlds really brought us all together and inspired us to create our own work in homage to Derrick’s legacy.’

As well as experimenting with some of Derrick’s methods to create more abstract pieces from her life-drawing sketches, Polly has learned a lot about his artistic, social, and political inspirations. The themes that emerge in Derrick’s work are influencing her approach to new paintings inspired by her dreams. She finds working like Derrick to a large scale exhilarating and very liberating.

Peter Ross

‘It was my privilege to have known Derrick for over 20 years as a neighbour, friend, and much admired artist here in Weston Longville. It was also my privilege to have delivered a eulogy at his funeral on behalf of all his local friends.

‘It’s now very poignant to be working in his studio with Sally his wife and a group of good friends, surrounded by his works and lingering presence.’

Linda Sonntag

Linda and Sally have been friends for many years. Linda has always been in awe of Derrick’s art, though as a man he was very modest, interested in everyone.

‘The space between the shapes in Derrick’s paintings is as charged with energy as the shapes it connects. His work is vital and timeless because he reduces his subjects to their absolute essence. I love his humour, and the fact that Sally is teaching me how to look and how to see.

‘The energy that connects Sally and Derrick is still very much alive in his studio today. It helps me try to reduce my own work to its simplest form.’

Andrea Wells-China

‘We are so lucky to meet in Derrick’s studio and be surrounded by his art, and to have the privilege of spending time with Sally, who generously shares techniques and practices unique to Derrick.’

Andrea is particularly drawn to Derrick’s use of collage as a background for painting, and his single-line charcoal figures. She also loves the way he incorporates gold leaf in his work, as her passion is icons. She is excited to be using all three techniques in her two pieces of work for Cromer Artspace.