GETTING up close and personal with female Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls forms the backbone of a new exhibition.

The exhibition exploring the lives of athletes in Essex is on show in its entirety at the Beecroft Gallery, Westcliff until 31 March.

Called Journey to the Podium the exhibition sees artists pair up with Essex athletes who are gearing up for the London 2012 Games.

Their brief was to show the different sides of the athletes both in their chosen sport as well as in their private life.

It is the culmination of a three year project set up by the Essex County Council’s Arts team.

Female athlete pairings include disability swimmer Emma Hollis with artist Toni McGreachan, hockey player Chloe Rogers with textile artist Jacqueline Davies and fencer Chrystall Nicoll with artist Karen Jones.

Cyclist Alex Dowsett worked with sculptor Dan Peppiatt and artist Amy Rogers, disability powerlifter Adam Alderman with stone carver Anthony Lysycia, shooter James Huckle with photographer Alan Hockett, gymnast Reiss Beckford with photographer David Shields, boccia player Daniel Bentley with artist Les Bicknell.

The Journey to the Podium exhibition is currently being shown at the Beecroft Art Gallery, Station Road, Westcliff , SS0 7RA.

The gallery is open Tuesdays to Saturdays from 10am to 1pm and from 2pm to 5pm. It is closed on Sundays, Mondays and Bank Holidays.

For more information call 01702 347418 or visit www.beecroft-art-gallery.co.uk.

Illustrator Karen Jones wanted to capture the beauty and strength of fencer Chrystall Nicoll.

Chrystall, 25, from Wickford, is the British number one sabre fencer finished.

Karen was inspired by strong females in history figures like Bodiccia and Russian women of the 1920s.

Karen says: “What stuck me about Chrystall was that, yes she is very beautiful, but she is also very strong and also very humble.

“She has a inner strength that shines through which I wanted to represent in my work.”

Karen started the artwork last summer and it was completed in October last year.

She says: “I did not spend a huge amount of time with Chrystall because I was conscious that I did not want to interrupt her training schedule.

“She came to my house twice for a sitting and I took hundreds of photos of her to work from.”

The brief for the artwork was a challenge for Karen.

Karen, who lives in Chelmsford, says: “Creating the piece was a bit like a fencing match for me and I went to battle with it every day.

“It was a big change for me because I usually depict fictional literary characters or historical figures in my work.

“With this project I had to make sure that it looked like Chrystall otherwise people would think who’s that? I left the face until the end and held my breath when I did it.”

She wanted to portray the strength that goes into competing at such a level .

“For such a young women she is under a lot of pressure and I wanted to illustrate her strength. I was influenced by Bodiccia, photos of strong Russian women in the 1920s and Tudor portraits.”

Karen’s work Turandot will be on show at the Maeldune Centre in Maldon until Saturday 31 March 2012. Call 01621 851628 for details.

Textile artist Jacqueline Davies captured hockey player Chloe Rogers’ playful side in her work.

Her work, It’s My Bag, is a printed and stitched army canvas which feature sparkly details and emotional references to her family.

Jacqueline, who is a an associate artist at artist at Firstsite in Colchester, first started working with 26-year-old from Harlow last spring.

She says: “Chloe is very modest even though she has had so many achievements in her life, she is very unassuming.

“I also saw a different side to her when we went to the Philip Morant School in Colchester. She gave an incredible talk to the kids and I watched her really inspire the kids.”

Jacqueline wanted to show different facets of Chloe’s personality.

She says: “I wanted the bag to be her alter-ego, glamorous and full of things that are important to her.

“There is also a picture of Ginger Rogers - her nickname on the field because she moves her feet a lot. I love anything retro so I picked up on that theme.”

Jacqueline also wanted to explore the emotional ties in her life.

she explains: “Chloe has said several times she could not have done it without the support of her family. Within the bag there is a greeting card from her nan and the signatures from all the British hockey team.

“In my job I know that I wouldn’t have been able to do it without support from my family so that is something I really connected with.”

Disability swimmer Emma Hollis inspired this stunning painting by artist Toni McGreachan.

Emma, 19, Epping Forest, is a hopeful for the Paralympics this year.

Toni, from East London, who specialises in depicting water within her paintings, was taken with how Emma moved effortlessly in the water.

Toni says: “It was a privilege to work with Emma and have the chance to watch a professional swimmer.

“She moves through the water with such ease. Obviously Emma spends a lot of time in the water and I wanted to paint her in her environment.”

The artist completed four separate oil paintings of Emma and a reproduction of will be displayed in the Southend swimming and diving centre, Garon park, in Southend.