New exhibition - Emerson Mayes

The new exhibition of work by Harrogate based artist Emerson Mayes is now in the gallery and it looks wonderful.  I first came across Emerson's work about 10 years ago when I bought my cousin one of his wonderful landscapes (from another gallery!) for her wedding present.  The minute I gave it away I regretted it!  So finally I have managed to get a whole exhibition of his work here.  The only problem I have now is that I will have to let other people buy them ...

The paintings and prints on show are from Emerson's wildlife work which is a relatively new departure for him.  A couple of years ago he suddenly realised that he could paint the landscapes he was then concentrating on in his sleep and decided to set himself a challenge.  He took a year off from painting and took up printmaking, a discipline he had enjoyed as a student.  As he wanted a complete break from his landscape work he decided to work on a subject which, as an amateur twitcher, was a personal passion of his and started to depict the flora and fauna around him.

The results are a series of wonderfully detailed, yet still fresh and lively studies of birds and mammals.  He frequently works in the medium of drypoint which has allowed him to keep up with the ever-increasing demand for his work.  There are also a number of paintings and drawings, adding subtle touches of texture and his intuitive use of colour to create a really great show.

The preview is tomorrow evening - Friday 17th February - and the exhibition runs on until 24th March.