About us

David Paynter

After a successful business career in the design and marketing world, David decided to retire to spend more time in a purely creative role. A course at Schumacher College in Dartington inspired him to rekindle his early passion for art in all its forms. He now enjoys painting, life drawing and sculpting, mainly in stone.

David is inspired by the natural world and how it affects us. As he says,

“I love nature and am fascinated by our relationship to it – we get a special feeling, almost kinship, from certain rocks; peace from watching a river; awe as we stand under a regal beech tree; a child-like joy from playing in the surf. It is that relationship I want to explore as I sculpt.

“I like to stay close to the nature of the stone as I carve, not forcing against the will of the piece but trying to see what form it might contain. I try to draw out its natural living beauty - from the creamy limestone of Portland to the dark shadows of Cornish polyphant.

"Stone is very tactile. I encourage people to touch my sculptures, to feel the natural history contained in each piece in the form of fossils and other deposits, laid down over millions of years.

“With each of my pieces, comes a poem. The words seem to suggest themselves very readily after so many hours and days spent working the stone. I hope the poetry enhances the pleasure of the eventual owner, bringing them closer to the piece.”

David is Deputy Chair of Surrey Sculpture Society and a member of Guildford Arts. His work has been exhibited in the Home Counties, in Devon and Cornwall and is in private collections around the UK.

Helen Pittick

Helen has always loved creative arts and after leaving school she studied fashion design in Devon and Kent and then persued a career in London, where she worked for several famous fashion names and retailers.

"Designing in fabric and achieving work that flatters the figure was always my greatest aim, so when looking for a new way of using my creative talent I tried sculpture".

Sculpture has allowed Helen to indulge her other passion which is horses, this is reflected in the body of her work which focuses on equestrian studies.

"I love putting the spirit and grace of the animal into my pieces, capturing movement and likeness is always my aim within my work".

Helen is Chair of Surrey Sculpture Society, a friend of the Society of Equestrian Artists and Guildford Arts. Her work is frequently exhibited throughout the UK and is in private collections.