yarrow

Norfolk Wildflowers

For some time now I have turned my ‘artistic’ attention to the wildflowers growing in our neighbourhood meadows and hedgerows.  They have become such an absorbing interest that I decided this year to attempt to grow some myself.
Having sourced the seeds online I sowed them in modules in our greenhouse in March and decided to monitor their progress by sketching them as they develop. Continue reading →

If you are looking for a place where you can relax in the sun with a glass of chilled white wine in hand then sadly, I cannot recommend you follow in our footsteps.
However, if horizontal wind and rain, interspersed with sun, amazing scenery, some glorious sunsets, and a dram of whisky are your thing, onwards to Skye and the Outer Hebrides. We were touring during September in our campervan.

Initially we were taken aback by the sheer number of tourists on Skye. Minivans were disgorging groups of camera clicking eager beavers. But then, we reflected, we were also tourists and with our own transport could get off the beaten path.

Basing our tour on the Art Skye Creative Trail booklet http://www.art-skye.co.uk/phone/index.html we met some great creative characters.

Taking as their inspiration the wonderful landscape and life around them, ceramics, traditional painting, multimedia, textiles, photography and sculpture were all used.
We could never truly anticipate what we would find.

Donald Mackenzie at the Blue Studio by the coast, paints his immediate wild surroundings, the sea, the mountains, and populates them with contemporary figures dancing, horse riding, pushing supermarket trolleys, holding onto their hats in the wind. His other love, music, features in many pieces. We talked about life and art off the beaten track.
I asked him was it ok to use the word quirky to describe his art and he said it was just fine

We came away with a woodcut ‘Skye Shopper” trolley pusher.

Sheep on Skye are all over the place -often on the road. At Skye Weavers they could tell us about the individual sheep farms where they source their wool. They have made their own warp mill, weave and sew their own products where colours are inspired by local nature. https://www.skyeweavers.co.uk/watch-weavers-work

All visitors were encouraged to have a go on the amazing pedal powered weaving loom. As you pedal the shuttle shoots back and forth. We pedalled away while hearing about the wool, the history of the loom etc. We had fun while the weaver rested his weary legs.

It was impossible to resist a Hebridean blanket. Fantastic for the chilly nights in the camper, it came indoors and lived on the sofa for the winter evenings.

John Bathgate’s Dunstudio was all homage to Skye and collage. I love multimedia and layered pieces. We talked paper and John’s enthusiasm for different types of paper was infectious. It was so hard not to start picking through his wonderful pile of accumulated offcuts!
Acrylic paintings are another form of expression for John. Like the collages they interpret the landscape in glowing vivid colours. At the time of our visit many were of waterfalls, a current interest.

We came away clutching greetings cards featuring those colourful landscapes..

If you go to any gift shop in Scotland you will probably see some of Cath Waters art. Cath travels around Scotland in her campervan (yay!) photographing the landscape. Back in the studio she uses a computer to blend the landscape photography with sections of additional photographs of anything from paper to natural close ups to add texture, colour and depth. So, she is also using layering and collage, but it is all digital. I was fascinated and since then have expanded my use of the iPad to plan the layers of my resin pieces.

She uses a palette of soft Scottish colours to great effect. It was so interesting to meet her in her studio, making a real commercial success of her business, employing several people in her separate workshop with her art on everything from cushions to jewelry.

We’ve enjoyed using our mugs featuring the Scottish landscape.

We visited other artists along the way with an inspiring array of traditional and contemporary art and felt it had been a good way to direct ourselves around Skye.

Then it was off on the ferry to North Uist where it was so windy, when we hung our towels on the campsite line, they flew horizontally. My hair whipped around and I couldn’t see where I was going.
A hand knitted Hebridean hat was what I needed.

With my hair tucked away I could enjoy the amazing scenery. While Skye had been surprisingly busy with tourists, the Uists and Barra were quieter and wilder.

The beaches were a revelation – miles of soft white sand in curving bays with clear water. When the sun shone and we could tuck ourselves away out of the wind, we could just contemplate the sheer beauty of it all.

If water, mountains, open spaces and the colours of nature inspire you, and the wonderful play of light during changeable weather, then bring your sketchbook and camera.

The grasslands of the Uists is Machair, renowned for the wildflowers and resulting insect and birdlife. It is the subject of conservation efforts to preserve the associated wildlife. The crofters are encouraged to use old traditional methods of harvest, resulting in some great photo opportunities imagining what Monet would have done with the haystacks if he’d had a digital camera. I had fun with the apps.

As we traveled through North and then South Uist and then onto Barra we could observe how people had adapted to this treeless, watery, mountainous land. Although still digging peat for fuel and farming traditionally, the people work alongside internet businesses and supermarkets stocking everything we needed.

I’m not an oil painter but I took some water-soluble oils with me and attempted some landscapes –not with great results but it’s made me want to do some more. I’ve got hundreds of photos, sketches and a host of memories to inspire me –not to forget our woodcut, blanket, mugs, cards and hat! …. Oh, and those wonderful sheepskin slippers which kept my feet cosy all winter.

Michele Summers

I thought I would let you know my experience of down- sizing and moving my home and Studio to a new location.

I had a bit of a tough time a couple of years ago, losing my husband and Mum in very quick succession, so when I found myself rattling around in a three bedroom house on my own, I decided to downsize into a Park Home. Continue reading →

In these times that we have so much to think about, I wanted to share one of my artistic adventures.

I had recently moved to a new area and was eager to find a way into the local art scene. Delivering flyers for a workshop I was planning, I stumbled onto a fine art and antique gallery. It was a funky sort of place with a good buying public. The well-connected gallery owner, Mr A, was eager for me to bring my work by. Continue reading →

Art Deco by the Sea

It was a wet and blustery day for our visit, so we were relieved to reach the shelter of the Sainsbury Centre, Norwich. A quick coffee, then we joined the 12 pm guided tour of the Art Deco By the Sea exhibition. Our guide was so knowledgeable and dedicated, almost losing her voice but she valiantly soldiered on.  She was quite happy for us to dip in and out of the tour as we walked round.

There was something for everyone really…. paintings, furniture, pottery and textiles, all beautifully staged and curated. Continue reading →

Roger Julien Dufour, Veuve de l’île de Sein (Widow of the Isle of Sein)

Following on from my question “Why do we paint?” in December’s Update, I have carried out further research via the internet [technology can have its rewarding side!] into the source of the tiny print, which was hanging on a cafe wall in Ireland, and so inspired me 22 years ago. It has thrown up some very interesting information, and posed yet more questions. Continue reading →

Antony Gormley, Subject II, 2019. 10 mm square section mild steel bar, 189 x 51.5 x 37.5 cm. © the Artist. Photo: David Parry / © Royal Academy of Arts

This exhibition had a profound effect on me – I found it inspirational and am so impressed with this man.

Antony Gormley is described as an internationally renowned sculptor. In my mind he is much more than that. Having visited this exhibition I would describe him also as a visionary, philosopher, architect, and engineer. Continue reading →

My own version of ‘A Hopeless Dawn’

The reason will often be apparent in the work you produce. For instance, artists will create portraits of pets that are no longer with us. Portrait painters work to a commission. Many paint for the sheer pleasure of creating something visual. Painting is also ideal therapy.
 It can take you completely away from ‘ life’s many problems ‘ for a while. Every time you pick up a brush or pencil, do you stop to consider why you are doing this? A professional artist will paint for money, and that has a marked effect on what and why they paint a particular subject. Continue reading →

We are very lucky to have so many talented artists amongst our membership and even luckier when one of them gives their time freely to inspire and teach other members.
Many of you will have seen Helen Walker’s beautiful mosaics on display at our exhibitions.  Helen, very kindly, agreed to give Gill Repper, my friend and fellow member and myself a day of inspiration and guidance.  It was such FUN!   We both like getting our hands dirty and always seem to be working in a mess and this day was no exception!  Helen was an amazing teacher and even gave us a printed list of where to buy supplies etc. as well as supplying us throughout the day with tea, coffee and chocolate biscuits!  She also gave us templates to take home and continue experimenting with this exciting medium.
We started at around 11 a.m. and finished at 5 p.m. and we’re both very proud of what we achieved.  

Thank you so much Helen.

Esther Marshall

(photos by Chris Ward)
It was a beautiful September morning as we made the short drive from our holiday cottage to Chatsworth House in the picturesque Derbyshire Dales. The road wound through the steep wooded hills and sloping fields that divide the valleys of the river Wye and the river Derwent. Arriving early, as we did, without huge numbers of people about, Chatsworth did not disappoint, sitting majestically on the eastern banks of the river Derwent and set in a landscape designed by none other than Capability Brown.  Historic houses like Chatsworth have beautiful interiors, but for me it is the landscaped gardens that I feel drawn to. 

We entered the gardens onto a gravel broadwalk running along the western front of the house and a path to our right led us to the Emperor Fountain, which is located in the Canal pond. This fountain was built by the 6th Duke in 1844 when there was a chance the Czar Nicholas would be coming to visit…He wanted this fountain to be bigger than the Czar’s back in Russia! The fountain is gravity fed by water from the hills above the house, and it can reach a height of 200ft.

The classic view of the house is from the end of the Canal pond with the Emperor fountain dead centre as the focal point, but to our amusement and surprise we came across a huge structure in the form of a dog, made up entirely from scaffolding poles. This is a sculpture by Ben Long, a contemporary artist known for other works made with scaffolding, such as the Lion, the rearing horse, and the stag.  He was commissioned to create a piece for ‘The Dog: a celebration at Chatsworth’. He wanted his work to convey love, devotion and unconditional loyalty, and a sense of fun

Along one side of the canal pond, towards the end of the broad walk is an avenue of beech trees and from here, looking back we could see the rainbow created by the fountain.
Deviating slightly from this path, and mounting a few steps, we found ourselves in a small woodland clearing, with the Autumn sun filtering through a light canopy of leaves to reveal several bronze heads on wooden stands. These are sculptures by Angela Connor, well known for her busts and statues of well-known people such as Lucien Freud, and Tom Stoppard, among others. Early on in her career she was an assistant to the well-known sculptor, Barbara Hepworth.

Somehow these disembodied heads seemed to fit in very well with the eerie woodland setting.
 Following along another set of winding paths and signs, we arrived at The Grotto, a lovely tranquil pond strewn with waterlilies. Beside the pond stood the tall 20ft high sculpture…The Drummer, a giant hare gleefully beating a drum, the creation of Barry Flanagan, and commissioned to commemorate the present Duke and Duchess coming to live at Chatsworth in 2006. Sadly, Barry Flanagan died in 2009, but his work is still exhibited by his estate. He came from a family of Music Hall performers, and this background had a profound influence on his work. He is probably best known for creating giant hares with long gangly limbs, and human characteristics, and activities. 

Another such piece, the Hare on a crescent and Bell is sited in the Broadgate centre, in the heart of the city of London. I would rather see him on the green and timeless lawns of Chatsworth than surrounded by high rise office blocks and throngs of bustling commuters!
Leaving the Grotto, we retraced our footsteps along some of the paths towards the Kitchen and the Cottage Gardens, and of course these were beautifully laid out with colourful borders and exquisite topiary created from box, privet and yew hedging. Chatsworth grows all its own food, sourced from its greenhouses and kitchen gardens, now located where the carriage horses would have grazed in days gone by.

Making our way down, back in the direction of the house we arrived at the beautiful Cascade fountain that descends via a series of 24 steps from the top, each uniquely cut and of differing texture so that the sound made by the water would vary accordingly. What attention to detail! A baroque temple at the top adds to its grandeur and makes a fabulous focal point. Some years ago, I watched a documentary that followed the badly needed restoration of the waterfall…. ever since then I’ve wanted to visit Chatsworth and see the Cascade in real life, and I can honestly say it surpassed my expectations!

Finally, we followed the Cascade down to the Stables and The Carriage House Cafe for a bite to eat. Just beyond the entrance to the courtyard with its neatly placed chairs and tables stands the poignant and beautiful sculpture of War Horse, by Dame Elizabeth Frink, a sculptor and printmaker, whose work focused on natural forms of animals, men and religious sculptures. If you have seen the heartrending film based on the book ‘ War Horse’ by Michael Morpurgo, you will be moved by the horrors of war that this sculpture symbolises. We didn’t take photos of War Horse because by now it was so busy and hard to get a good viewpoint of a big sculpture, but there are many photos on the Internet, which for copyright reasons I couldn’t use.

It was a wonderful day with so much to see and so little time…..but I know I’m already looking forward to our next trip. Next time you go into London, if you have time, go along to the Broadgate centre, next to Liverpool Street Station, and see how Mr Hare is coping with the bright lights of the City! (Barry Flanagan’s ‘Hare on a Crescent and Bell’). 
Chandra Ward