The Artists
Distinctive artists. Established careers. Remarkable collecting histories.
The Ridgwell Collection brings together original work by artists whose careers have been shaped by exhibitions, commissions, collectors and patronage in Britain and internationally.
Danni Bradford
Contemporary Verre-églomisé Artist
Danni Bradford is an award-winning contemporary artist specialising in Verre-églomisé, the rare heritage craft of reverse painting and gilding on glass. Working with 24ct gold, silver and copper leaf, she creates luminous works inspired by wildlife and the natural world.
Her accolades include Glass Artist of the Year 2026, South West Contemporary Artist of the Year 2022 and recognition through the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation’s Wildlife Artist of the Year. Her work has been selected for London Craft Week and the Royal Society of Marine Artists Annual Exhibition, and is held in private collections internationally, including the UK, USA, Saudi Arabia, France, Belgium, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Singapore and Kenya.
Dale Bowen
British painter and master potter
Dale Bowen’s richly textured paintings draw on a career spanning both fine art and ceramics. Before establishing himself as a painter, he worked as a master potter for Coalport China and Wedgwood, later gaining a master’s degree in ceramics from Staffordshire University.
His ceramic commissions include works created for Coalport’s 250th anniversary, the Queen Mother’s 100th birthday celebrations and the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar, for which he created a commemorative plaque presented to HM Queen Elizabeth II aboard HMS Victory.
Dale’s work has also received international recognition, with private exhibitions in New York, Washington and San Francisco, an exclusive Masterpiece Collection in Japan, and ceramic work exhibited in museums in the UK, USA and Japan.
Helen Gee
Award-winning international wildlife artist
Helen Gee is an award-winning international artist specialising in distinctive wildlife paintings created on gold leaf. Working from a Tudor manor on the banks of the River Severn, Helen draws inspiration from both the animals surrounding her at home and a lifetime of travel.
With strong connections to Yorkshire and the heather-clad moors where she grew up, her influences range much further afield, from Luxor to Virginia. Animals, their individual characters and personalities remain at the heart of her work, which is held in private and aristocratic collections in the UK and internationally
Charlotte Elizabeth Lane
British contemporary landscape artist
Charlotte Elizabeth Lane began her career as an apprentice scenic artist at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, developing her craft painting large-scale backdrops and scenery for theatre, opera and ballet. Her subsequent scenic-art career included work connected with major West End theatres, English National Opera, international musical tours and the London 2012 Olympic opening and closing ceremonies.
Now working as a contemporary painter, Charlotte creates large, expressive landscapes inspired by the natural world. Her work has been exhibited internationally, with exhibitions in Los Angeles, Singapore and across the UK, alongside representation at art fairs in London, New York, Hong Kong, Singapore and Manchester.
Recent exhibitions include Artplex Gallery, Los Angeles (2025), Cotswold Contemporary Art (2025), Holt Gallery (2025) and Aura Fine Art (2024–25), following earlier solo exhibitions with RedSea Gallery, Singapore and Miaja Gallery, Singapore
David Henty
Master Copyist and former art forger
For more than 25 years, David Henty has mastered the techniques of some of history’s most celebrated artists, creating remarkably accomplished recreations of works by painters including Lowry, Picasso, Modigliani, Caravaggio, Van Gogh, Monet and Basquiat. His unconventional career began following a conviction for passport forgery and a prison sentence, during which his fascination with painting developed. Today, his works are created and sold openly under his own name. His painstaking process involves studying an artist’s individual technique and, wherever possible, sourcing period-appropriate materials, pigments and surfaces.
Henty’s extraordinary story and technical knowledge provided inspiration for Daniel Hegarty, the master art forger in internationally bestselling author Peter James’s Roy Grace novel Picture You Dead. During James’s research, Henty created the supposedly lost Fragonard at the heart of the story and demonstrated the techniques a sophisticated forger might employ.
Picture You Dead was subsequently adapted for the stage, with David’s paintings appearing in the production and actor Peter Ash portraying Hegarty, the character inspired by Henty.
Martyn Dempsey
Contemporary Cornish artist with an international following
For more than two decades, Martyn Dempsey has built an established and successful career as a contemporary artist in Cornwall. He opened his own gallery in the coastal village of Port Isaac over twenty years ago and has since developed a loyal following among collectors in Britain and internationally.
Originally self-taught, Martyn went on to study contemporary abstract painting in St Ives before completing a three-year fine art programme at Studio d’Arte Toscanella in Florence. His continued study and experimentation have allowed his practice to evolve while retaining the energy, colour and distinctive character for which his work has become known.
A significant moment in Martyn’s early career came in 1998, when his work was accepted by New Craftsman Gallery in St Ives. There, his paintings were displayed alongside works by artists who had influenced him, including Sir Terry Frost, Matthew Lanyon, John Miller and Patrick Heron.
Martyn now works from his studio near Zennor, drawing inspiration from the Cornish landscape and the area’s remarkable modernist heritage. His work reflects these influences without being confined by them, combining elements of abstraction, landscape and contemporary painting in a visual language recognisably his own.
Over the course of his career, Martyn has exhibited in the UK and internationally. His exhibitions have included a mixed exhibition with Manyung Gallery in Melbourne and the inaugural exhibition at Outlined Gallery in London. His work has also been shown at Fornaciai Art Gallery in Florence.
Martyn’s paintings have appeared in publications including The Guardian, My Cornwall, Cornwall Today, Inside Cornwall, Homes & Gardens, Period Living, 25 Beautiful Homes and The Art Magazine. He has also been interviewed by the BBC and BBC Radio 4.
A book celebrating Martyn’s work has been published in collaboration with The Logical Choice Group. Together with his exhibitions, international collectors and long-standing Port Isaac gallery, it reflects a career shaped by continual exploration, an independent artistic spirit and an enduring commitment to painting.
Emma Haines
Contemporary British wildlife artist
Emma Haines is a British artist whose richly textured paintings are driven by a lifelong fascination with wildlife, horses and the natural world. Working in heavy-bodied acrylics and layers of translucent glaze, she creates energetic paintings designed to bring the character and movement of her subjects vividly to life.
Beginning her professional career as an illustrator, Emma's work has since taken her from publishing into fine art and an increasingly remarkable series of private commissions and live painting events.
She was commissioned by Peter Jones of Dragons’ Den to create a portrait as a 60th-birthday gift for media executive Stephen Miron, and has participated in two major events for Jones. At one of these, a painting was acquired by former England football captain John Terry.
In July 2026, Emma was invited to paint live at a Royal event in London, creating a painting of a mounted Guardsman in the presence of HRH The Princess Royal.
Her earlier illustration work also has a delightful Royal connection: a children's book illustrated by Emma, Phoebe Bee in Ambrosia, received a personal response from the then Duke of Cambridge after becoming part of Prince George's bedtime reading.
From intimate wildlife studies to large-scale commissions and live painting, Emma's work is united by movement, character and an unmistakable enthusiasm for her subjects.
Giles Ward
Contemporary natural world and sea life artist
Giles Ward is a British artist known for his extraordinarily tactile paintings of fish, crustaceans and marine life.
Experimentation lies at the heart of his work. Predominantly painting in oils, Giles builds his surfaces with acrylics, inks, varnishes and unconventional natural materials — including sawdust, thread and even crab shell — creating richly layered works in which his subjects appear almost to emerge from the canvas.
Much of his inspiration comes directly from the sea and its markets. Fresh fish become studies in unexpected colour and texture, capturing shimmering scales, translucent shells and the extraordinary details of marine life.
Giles has exhibited throughout the UK and internationally, developing a worldwide following for his distinctive work. Alongside his gallery practice, he has created bespoke pieces for private homes, restaurants, hotels and commercial interiors.
David Morgan
Established British landscape artist
David Morgan is an established Devon landscape artist known for his bold, richly textured oil paintings and distinctive use of impasto.
Painting en plein air, David works directly within the landscape, responding instinctively to changing weather, light and atmosphere. The sky sets the mood, followed by vigorous layers of colour and texture that capture the land and sea beneath it. Whenever possible, he completes a painting in a single sitting.
With an exhibition career spanning more than twenty years, David's work has featured in numerous solo exhibitions, group shows and major art fairs, developing an established following among collectors.
His subjects range from Dartmoor and the River Dart to the Devon and Cornish coastline, but it is the changing British weather — shifting skies, moving water and fleeting light — that gives his paintings their distinctive energy.
Margaret Johnson
British mixed-media artist and glass designer
Margaret Johnson studied Fine Art and Sculpture at Goldsmiths College, London, before teaching for a number of years and subsequently developing her own artistic practice. She now works from her studio in Exeter, Devon.
Her distinctive work explores colour, texture and translucency, combining straw-silk fibres, handmade papers and gold and silver leaf to create richly layered, luminous surfaces. Her recurring inspiration comes from water and marine life — particularly the colour, movement and shimmer of shoals of fish.
With an established exhibition history and work represented by galleries across the UK, Margaret's practice encompasses both mixed-media paintings and decorative glass vessels, united by her highly recognisable use of metallic leaf, colour and texture.
For The Ridgwell Collection, Margaret presents a selection of her gold and silver-leaf paintings and decorative vases
