New faces!

All change this weekend! From today we have 2 new artists in the shop, I'll start with the awesome Nicolas Waters! In his own words . . . . Born 1947 – Brought up Lancs, Yorks, Lincs. Finally settled down aged 50 to a career as a linguist having for many years careered as a non-linguist around England, then the continent, in search of proximity to mountains and wild places - the only places where you can hear yourself think. Discovered oil-painting upon opening a Christmas present of paint tubes in 2004, thus simultaneously discovering the ultimate way to communicate.

I can’t remember how many years I’ve been daring myself out onto our wildest uplands, knowing on each occasion that  I’ll end up hurrying across those dark and blustery sky-lines like a man pursued by demons, aware that something absolutely immense and ancient is already out there, presumably working on some never -ending project.

What’s more, despite the overwhelming majesty of that ‘Presence’, I sometimes feel that it is not entirely benign. Everywhere I find walls that have crumbled, or barns that have collapsed and turned as black-hearted as the clouds that stalk overhead, and from time to time I come across some soft young rabbit inexplicably disassembled into a spray of tiny, fine teeth, a ribcage and scattered fur, or the wreckage of a heavy-coated sheep that has mysteriously ’been tipped over’ in the marsh to soak quietly under, legs up.

 I am driven to respect the innocent courage of the creatures that inhabit these unvisited places, living with the fogs and frosts, the wind-blown sleet, the silent, heavy snow, and the days of steady rain.  And they must wait out every black night, whether in unbroken silence, or blasted by the storm. I love them all for bearing it so patiently, and, deep down, I think I covet their animal durability.

So in fact I don’t think I set out to paint landscapes for their beauty at all. Each composition is really an attempt to capture and convey an awareness and respect for that ‘Presence’, as well as my love and respect for the creatures in it, who know no other world.

Two dreadfully over-looked art movements of the very late 1800s contain at least five geniuses at portraying the moods I would love to portray; The Hague School [Holland], particularly Anton Mauve,  Jan Hendrik Weissenbruch and Jacob Maris; The Itinerants [Russian: The Peredvizhniki] especially Isaak Levitan and Ivan Shishkin. They are truly worth looking up; there was a lot more than Impressionism going on at that time.

Perhaps, paradoxically, by presenting only the wild world, my efforts really amount to one long howl; I’m begging homo-sapiens to remember the whole, natural planet, to regain his fear, love and respect for it, and not to sleep-walk any further into a homo-centric,  urban-centred, vehicle-dependent, tarmac-based, grass-phobic, silicon-nourished, screen-focussed, data-fixated,  learning-phobic, commercially-manipulated, gratification-fed, sensation-driven, resource-ravenous,  unsustainable... virtual world.

We also have another artist exhibiting from today, but so far, i have little information about her - however, here's a taster!

Her name is Jenny Westbrook, and her work is very different from anyone else we have in the shop at present, hope you come in and enjoy it!

Trudi Hayden, sharing the beauty under our noses!

I have lived in Gloucestershire for most of my life and have always felt a close connection to our woodlands and rolling hills and vales.

 

 Living in the lovely Cotswold village of Alderton, and walking with my dog up our beautiful hill, has inspired this love of the countryside to emerge in my paintings.  

I have attempted to recreate some of the local scenes that often stop me in my tracks, to share the moment with others.

I exhibit all around the Cotswolds, and in Bath and Bristol, and am actively involved in the local Arts.  My work is in collections overseas and all over the UK.

My paintings and prints are currently available at:
ByLocal, Regents Arcade, Cheltenham
The Gloucestershire Art & Crafts Centre, Gloucester
Cube Retail, Cathedral Plaza, Worcester
Picturesque Art Gallery, Bourton on the Water
Picturesque Galleries, Bidford-on-Avon & Dumbleton
The Gardeners Arms, Alderton, Glos

Large installation for viewing only at:
Dumbleton Hall Hotel, Dumbleton

Trudi Hayden :- Tel:  0777 6441203
Email:   trudi@trudihayden.co.uk
Website:  www.trudihayden.co.uk

The colours of inspiration

Annie Rowcraft was born and brought up in Great Yarmouth, but left when she first married at the age of 20.  She moved to the west of England in the mid 70s, with her 2nd husband, Pete, when his work took him him in this direction, along with her son and her 2 stepchildren from Pete's 1st marriage.

 Over the years Annie has worked in a wide variety of fields, fitting it around her family, and resulting in a broad spectrum of skills - for instance, when she was young she worked in a large printing company, which has given her an above average understanding of what is required to print her work well. 

She didn't start painting till 2000, when she joined an art club, and took classes in watercolour painting,  Watercolours didn't really suit her style, and she moved on to oils, then, being impatient for the work to dry, onto acrylics!

Annie is inspired by colour, and nature, and combines the two inspirations to produce atmospheric work, reflecting her changing moods, and those of the season.

She started exhibiting in cafes in Wells & Bishops Cleeve in 2005, then at the Open Air Exhibition in Cheltenham in 2007. She was an instant hit in Cheltenham, being voted 'Artist of the Week' in her first week!  Today, she mostly exhibits at By Local and the Gloucester Arts & Crafts Centre, at 4 College Street, Gloucester.

Rosie Lomberg freelance artist!

My work is inspired by the interweaving forms and sculptural patterns of the wild plants, specifically those in my locality. The local landscape is of great significance to my work as, recorded within the walks on hills and in valleys, are the memories of every stage of my life to date.

More recent work is also concerned with the sculptural forms of the plants that inhabit our kerbsides and pavements, in an attempt to give focus on and appreciation for nature’s ability to grow beauty even against the harshest concrete backdrop. Every time I see a plant breaking through the paving slabs of a built up area it makes me smile and feel oddly reassured.

I have also ventured into painting flowers, as opposed to seed heads, but the majority of the focus is still on the leaves and the patterns of layering in colour and form, rather than a ‘pretty’ flower. The petals serve as a contrast, with their flashes of colour. The intention is never to paint the flower really; it is more an excuse to then fill the painting with all of the leaves, which really fascinate me.

The eyes are an extension of the brain and in painting to show you how they see, an artist also reveals how they think. This makes the process as much an exploration of themselves as of the subject matter, and in a way I have grown to see my works as self-portraits- Rosie Lomberg 2009

I work in Acrylic and watercolour pencil on board & use a lot of water, layering thin layers of colour over a dark base to create depth. My secret is to use MDF which absorbs the water and leaves a delicate matt layer.

I studied my foundation art at Gloscat in Gloucester and my Degree in the University of Gloucestershire.

I co-manage the By Local shop in Regent Arcade with local textile and jewellery artist Keziah Kurg. This provides an affordable outlet for Gloucestershire based artists to sell their work, meet the customers and comfortably network with other local artists.