'What I did on my holidays'

A few pictures from my exhibition in Unit 9, South Square gallery, Thornton. This was inspired by a painting hoilday in Wales.  Maggie Brown, the artist/ teacher encouraged us to collect information in sketchbooks and, perhaps, photos and then create pictures in the studio.  This challenged my orthodoxy that landscapes should be painted in the landscape - although i have, of course, always created the textile picture in the studio. The pictures are watercolours with some fabric overlays and stitched onto the paper




January in the park





Here are some pictures from my current exhibition at South Square Thornton. The exhibition was about a stunning January morning when I took my new camera out. The colours were bright and beautiful. I think I got some bright and beautiful colours into the pictures - if not entirely accurate ones.

6 geese

I have sold that one.
  Buy my work online



    Very excitingly my work is now for sale on a brilliant new website called Sable & Ox:

    Click here to have a look...

Saltaire exhibition

Very soon after the sisters show I took part in an AVA group exhibition in the Saltaire festival. There was very little time so I developed a 'two for the work of one idea'. I stretched very fine organdie over paper coated in wipe-clean emulsion. I then painted with watercolour; the paint goes through the fabric and slides all over the coated paper in an unexpected and lovely way. I then embroider into the fabric for one picture and maybe just overlay the paper with transparent fabric for the other picture. I was quite pleased with the result but its interesting that the only picture I sold was one where I had put the fabric back onto the paper; so maybe not. The last picture is a watercolour of the picture that I sold.




Some photos from the show






sisters show

The sisters show was enormously enjoyable. Our work was of course both different and similar. I admired the straightness of Phillida's straight lines and she liked my more haphazard stitching. We both sold and, even more delightful, sold similar amounts. We plan to repeat the experience in Canada in June 2016


sisters across the atlantic



This is the flyer Ellen, my daughter, designed for the exhibition my sister Phillida and I are having in August in Bradford.  I have only ever seen photos of Phillida's work and we have never shown together.  We are both intrigued by how similar our work seems to be and it will be interesting to see how easy it is to  tell us apart on the gallery walls.  Please come and have a look if you are in the area.


This is my third unit 9 exhibition in South Square Thornton and writing this statement for the exhibiton felt like a continuing conversation I am having with myself, always in the hope that other people will butt in.
         I am still interested in the relationship between content and technique.  When I am painting in waterco -lour - flowers or life drawing - I am always trying for a likeness, an accurate or at least approximate representation,



but as soon as I move into fabric I start to concentrate on the surface -the opacity or transparency of the fabric- the shine of the stitching and cease to worry about representation; for example I don't really mind whether the camelia branch looks like a camelia branch because I have really enjoyed  old fashioned stitching with a shiny surface that shifts with the light.


I have added one more cloud picture - the show was entitled 'Clouds, Flowers and one Face'.  This one is called 'Above Grassington'
In October 2012 I took part in the Ilkley arts trail which was started last year to run alongside the well established Ilkley literature festival.  I was in a great space with two glass artists, two ceramicists, a jewelller and a hat maker.  I didn't sell much but I covered my costs and it was great to meet and have time to talk to other makers.




I showed a number of new pictures .
 This is a meadow I saw above Oxenhope, which I have been hand embroidering over a number of months.


The next three are pictures from a visit to my sister in Suffolk when I was riveted by the amazing skies



rape field


elm trees

suffolk skies
  

Bradford Open Studios

At the beginning of June I took part in the first year of Bradford Open Studios, turning my house into a gallery for four days. As it was its first year it was quiet, but it was an enjoyable few days.






These are three new pictures continuing my exploration of the park on my doorstep.  The image of women walking is a watercolour, the other two are watercolours painted onto fine organdie and then embroidered into.  The single tree is machine embroidered and the third image is quite heavily handembroidered.  Exach picture could stand alone but I have sold them as a 'Park Trio'.





life drawing and fabric... a work in progress

I have been trying to improve my life drawing skills in Dean Clough and Cottingley for the past few years and wondering about whether it is possible to combine life drawing and painting with my interest in fabric and embroidery. This exhibition is very much a work in progress. Some of my explorations might lead to further development, some may be dead ends. I would welcome feedback.


See – KUTAC Summer Show

At the end of July I took part in an exhibition in Brighton organised by a group called KUTAC that my daughter is a member of. When visiting her in Brighton I joined some KUTAC meetings, and they allowed me to join them for the exhibition. The exhibition was in Brighton Fishing Quarter Gallery, in one of the arches on the seafront. I exhibited one of my screens, a portrait and life drawing piece. I really enjoyed it – it was a lovely space and sitting at the door drawing the seafront whilst invigilating was a delight. I thought the exhibition hung together extremely well. There were loads of very appreciative comments and it was good to be part of it.




Here are some pictures from the MMCA exhibition



I was really happy with after the exhibition preview on last Sunday. Lots of people came and said nice things - mind you I'm not sure that you ever get stinging criticism at a preview - and I think I sold enough to cover my costs. I was particularly pleased by a number of people commenting that a couple of pictures made Bradford look beautiful and interesting - which of course it is.





'Scapes' is my latest exhibition at Manningham Mills Community Centre, it runs from Sunday 3rd April to Sunday 29th May. The centre is open 9-4pm daily.

I am interested in trying to capture the moments when, driving or walking round Bradford, you catch a glimpse of the fields or hills through the buildings. This is my first attempt. It is 59 cms square
My next exhibition is going to be in Manningham Mills Community Association in April 2011. Manningham Mills is a fantastic building just up the road from me with an excellent cafe. I hope to be able to show pictures and the screens inspired by Manningham and Bradford. The screen above is the skyline in evening from the park with Manningham Mills Chimmney in the background. The screen is roughly 50 cms x 100 cms (as it were fully stretched)
Most of my work, screens and pictures, starts off as watercolours and explore layers and transparency. I paint from life and photographs, then print the watercolours onto fabric using the computer. Sometimes I paint directly onto the fabric. I then sew using hand or machine embroidery using layers of transparent fabric to enhance or subdue the colour. I think of these layers as being like watercolour washes whilst the stitches are like drawing, providing the line and the detail.








Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)