Jo Aylward b. 1974

Jo Aylward is a British ruralist whose paintings are embedded in the everyday experience of living and working in the countryside.

She studied Fine Art Painting and Printmaking at Bretton Hall College, in the grounds of the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, in the late 1990s. This was a formative moment in the development of Jo’s artistic practice, during which time she consciously developed a relationship with the natural world through walking in and reflecting on the often-wild landscapes of Yorkshire, and painting in response to that reflection. Although she currently lives in the very different landscape of coastal Kent and her subject matter is generally more domestic, located in her kitchen garden and the fields around her home, Jo’s process remains the same, with memories of transient moments and chance encounters with birds, insects, and flowers forming the basis of her subject matter. The objects in the paintings come from Jo’s carefully curated studio collection, while vintage nature books provide aides memoire for the natural elements.

Aylward exhibits widely throughout the UK.