Contemporary original artwork, still life and botanical in oil or watercolour.
More rain! But it will be bright and colourful in the Dorking Group of Artists exhibition at Denbies Wine Estate starting with a Private view on Thursday evening 24th October 6-8pm. I look forward to meeting visitors and friends on what is usually a busy evening.
Autumn seems to have started before the summer really got into gear this year!
I am being drawn to a more comforting warm palette for my paintings, rich reds and browns which are luscious to paint. I have two exhibitions coming up where I will have lots of new work on display. Details below. Both are in the lovely venue of Denbies Wine Estate.
It’s always good to have a bit of a break from my usual art classes workshops and exhibitions. Time to think what direction I want to go in next. I am currently drawn to more modern and stylised compositions, so I will try a couple out and see if it suits me. I find it difficult to ignore detail so it’s a bit of a challenge.
There are so many tempting fruits and vegetables in the garden so there is no shortage of luscious subjects to paint! I have just finished this fresh apple and tried a more stylised tomato and asparagus in watercolour.
Delicious! Oil Painting.
This inspiring exhibition at Pallant House Gallery in Chichester was a real joy to visit. It is beautifully displayed and curated, showing varied and intriguing Still life paintings by leading modern and contemporary artists set in a lovely building. The focus is on the significance of objects to human beings as expressions of symbolism and meaning. It is on until 20th September.
Exhibitions are a great way to escape from the busy world, take a deep breath and just enjoy the sensory pleasures of looking at beautiful things , beautifully made, feeling the patina of a finely finished sculpture or sensing the utility of a perfectly balanced handmade cup or bowl.
The Fircroft Exhibition in Albury Heath GU9DD has all these, and finishes this weekend on Sunday 23rd June. Open 11-5 daily. See map on website http://www.fircroft.info
Fircroft
I am excitedly looking forward to the Fircroft exhibition which opens on the Saturday 8th June for two weeks.
I have about 20 new paintings in the exhibition which takes place in The lovely house and garden of the artist Frank Taylor in Albury Surrey. There will also be sculpture, glass,ceramics and jewellery by various talented artists for sale.
Or is it! The weather is confounding, just as you think you can leave your coat behind we go back to wind and rain! However I am sure spring is not far away when we will all enjoy something colourful and fresh to look at.
Spring for me is the time for to get myself ready for exhibitions that I am exhibiting in, so a few dates for the diary. The Dorking Group of Artists Spring exhibition is at Betchworth Village Hall 3rd-6th May, with a Private view on 2nd May 6-8pm. Let me know if you would like an invitation to that.
The Surrey Hills Artists exhibition runs from 6th -19th May at the lovely Denbies Vineyard Gallery.
Fircroft Exhibition is in June from 8th-23rd. An amazing collection of artists, sculptors ceramicists and jewellers at Fircroft Albury Heath.
I came across this punchy expression yesterday. It apparently means “a defiant stroke” or strike, and has been used to describe that final dash of paint applied upon completing a painting. It expresses a flourish, a bold and casual stroke that is the finishing touch. I like this idea! Although my paintings do not usually show brushstrokes I think a flourishing lick of paint to finish could be just what is needed to enliven my works.
I have used it in my latest painting of a silver chocolate pot in the reflected light. Baby steps. It’s subtle I know!
At this time of the year I am a bit more reluctant to be outdoors unless the weather surprises me and is reliably pleasant, which is uncommon in December! However I take great pleasure from the small things around me at home that I have accumulated because they interest me. Their shapes, colours and their meaning to me. Inevitably a new composition for a painting emerges which makes me see them in a new light(often literally). This is one I am working on at the moment, rich colours emerging from the dark space. Not quite finished yet.
I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy and peaceful New Year!
Anyone who has seen my paintings will be aware that I have a passion for still life compositions! I often get asked why I find them so interesting to paint. I have recently read a book called Thunderclap by Laura Cummings largely about the artist Carel Fabritius of “The Goldfinch” fame, where the subject is discussed.
“Still Life is where nothing more and apparently nothing is happening”. “life stilled”.
It is that essence of tranquillity that I find so beguiling. I am trying to create an intimate space where the focus is on everyday objects that have a simple beauty and grace. A calm space in a busy world where you can enjoy just the present moment.
Pauline Allbeury