<p dir="ltr">My creative journey has taken a few twists and turns; I’ve painted since I was young and taught myself oil painting at fifteen. I studied the <a href="https://www.plymouthart.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/foundation-diploma-in-art-and-design-post-a-level">UAL Foundation Diploma in Art &amp; Design</a> at Plymouth College of Art before successfully applying to study Education, English and Drama at Cambridge University.</p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr">Studying at Plymouth College of Art opened a window into the creative industries. From the start of the Foundation Diploma year I was pretty fixed on oil painting, but the breadth of perspectives and techniques taught gave me a wide pool of resources to draw on.<br /></p>

<p dir="ltr">My painting fell by the wayside as I focused on my degree, but I began again as soon as I had graduated from Cambridge University. From the start of the pandemic in 2020, the lockdowns gave me the time and headspace to really commit to painting again. I now split my week between painting and teaching workshops, mostly working with community art groups and charities.</p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr">My time at Plymouth College of Art definitely gave me an interesting perspective for going on to study at Cambridge. I spoke a lot about studying visual art in my interview and two of my dissertations incorporated visual art elements.</p> <p dir="ltr">The combination of studying the Foundation Diploma in Art &amp; Design and a degree in Education really helped me to develop the community arts and teaching elements of my practice. I work with participants with a diverse range of needs and having a theoretical and practical understanding of different arts and ways to teach them enables me to deliver projects that are accessible to everyone.<br /></p>

<p dir="ltr">You can see Xanthe’s work exhibited at the <a href="https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/summer-exhibition-2021" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Royal Academy Summer Exhibition</a> until 2 January 2022 and in the <a href="https://www.discerningeye.org/exhibition/intro.php" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ING Discerning Eye</a> exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London from 11 to 21 November 2021.</p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr">Follow her progress on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/xantheburdett_artist/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Instagram</a> or on her <a href="https://xantheburdett.bigcartel.com/products" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">website</a>, where she offers commissions and sells small paintings and studies. </p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p><a href="https://www.plymouthart.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/foundation-diploma-in-art-and-design-post-a-level">Find out more about our UAL Foundation Diploma in Art &amp; Design</a>, an exciting and immersive one-year course that gives students a chance to discover, experiment and explore across a wide range of disciplines – as well as maximise their chances of gaining a First if they decide to progress on to degree-level study.</p>