“Ebb and Flow”

An exhibition of recent work by Clare Money, Peter Sarginson and Jim Wright

Now that the summer holidays have arrived, it’s always nice to spend some time beside the sea, but just in case the British Summer weather lets us down, it might be a good idea to head to the gallery instead!  The new exhibition, entitled “Ebb and Flow” celebrates the drama and beauty of the sea, whether in glorious sunshine with the light sparkling off the water, or in its less benign state, with the majestic pounding of stormy waves. 

"Sunrise" by Clare Money

The work of three artists from the North East will be on show.  Clare Money from Whitley Bay is renowned for her large scale paintings and pastels of the North East coastline, sometimes incorporating aspects of the region's industrial heritage.  Her recent post graduate studies in Newcastle have led her to explore a sense of place and how to convey it in her paintings, and her coastal landscapes on show in this exhibition certainly convey the strong identity of our magnificent coastline.

"Towards the Pier, Saltburn" by Peter Sarginson

Peter Sarginson was born and raised in Marske-by-the-Sea, in Cleveland.  His paintings reflect his obsessions with the sea, the tide and the water's edge, with many featuring the interplay of water and the beach.  "In the 1950s I used to take my Jack Russell dog, Scamp, along the beach nearly every day," said Mr Sarginson, who still returns to paint there and at Saltburn, Sandsend and Whitby.  "It was the atmosphere and all the elements of it that inspired me as an artist - it's kind of spiritual, almost." 

"Lost Horizon, Barra" by Jim Wright

Kirkbymoorside artist Jim Wright’s work is an emotional response to his experiences in the more remote areas of the moors, mountains and coastline of Northern Britain, feeling the full power of the energy in these places, and transferring this energy into his painting. He says “It is the quality of light and the energy of the sea that I strive to capture”.

All three artists will be at the exhibition preview from 6.30 to 8.30pm on Friday 3rd August.  The exhibition runs until 14th September.

Art for the House of Lords!

A few weeks ago I was very excited to be invited by the House of Lords Works of Art Committee to submit works for consideration for display in the newly refurbished offices and communal areas of Millbank House. 

The works were required to fulfil a number of specific criteria, in particular that the subject of the work of art represented the UK in some way – whether it be a representation of an area of the UK or an aspect of its cultural, technological or industrial heritage or its flora and fauna.

Putting together a suitable portfolio of work was extremely challenging but great fun and eventually I selected a group of nine artists, submitting a total of 20 works.  I tried to select a variety of works that would fulfil the selection criteria and also work well as a group. 

"Where Turner once Sat" by Emerson Mayes

Works by Emerson Mayes of Fountains Abbey and by Anja Percival of Durham Cathedral were selected to represent the architectural heritage of UK. 

 

"Cathedral Light IX" by Anja Percival

Esther Tyson's wonderful bird paintings represented the UK's flora and fauna. 

 

"Goldfinch on Feeder" by Esther Tyson

Irene Sanderson submitted some of her beautiful Chinese ink paintings of the landscapes around her home in Cumbria and  Patricia Haskey Knowles from Lancashire submitted a dramatic seascape of Morecambe Bay.  Paintings of the west coast of Scotland and the North York Moors were submitted by Jim Wright from Kirkbymoorside.

"Cross Fell Heather" by Irene Sanderson

"Approaching Storm - Morecambe Bay" by Patricia Haskey Knowles

"Chimney Bank Rosedale" by Jim Wright

Lynne Wixon's exciting work based on coastal structures combined studies of specific regions of the UK with references to our industrial heritage.

"Whitby West Pier" by Lynne Wixon

And finally Linda Farquharson's quirky linocuts added a touch of humour, depicting the very British sports of croquet and bowls!

"Running the Hoops" by Linda Farquharson

 

After a very eventful trip to London with the portfolio of work, involving cancelled trains, unhelpful taxi drivers and getting lost in a less than salubrious area of London, I spent 2 weeks with my fingers crossed, hoping that I would not have to make another trip back to London to collect all 20 works.

Last week I got the excellent news that 17 of the works had been selected!  This was a much better result than I had dared to hope for and I then had the very pleasant task of letting the successful artists know the good news.

It's really thrilling to think that so many works by artists I know are now in the permanent collection of the House of Lords!  Thank you to all the artists involved for their time and hard work.

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.  

Spring is here (well almost!)

The first exhibition of 2012 is now underway at Bianco Nero.  In celebration of the fact that Spring is now just round the corner we are currently showing a selection of Carol Nunan's beautiful monotypes and collagraphs of Spring flowers.  It's really nice to see some snowdrops and erythrium to brighten the days in January. 

Carol is showing a range of her new lights and coasters, with the same designs as on her monotypes.

Alongside Carol's work, we are showing some of Richard Spare's hand-coloured drypoints of flowers which add a wonderful vibrancy and exuberance to the gallery. http://www.richardspare-kayspare.com/

The 2012 exhibition schedule is also now on the gallery web site so you can have a look at all the exciting things that are coming up during the year ahead.

Spoilt for choice ...

The Christmas exhibition is now starting to come together and everything should be looking great in time for tomorrow night's preview.

The show features paintings by fifteen different artists, some regular exhibitors at Bianco Nero and some brand new ones.  Among the regulars are some works by Emma Holliday (http://www.emmaholliday.co.uk/), full of life and vigour and all completed "on the spot".  Included in the show is one that Emma describes as her coldest painting ever, entitled "Sandsend, High Tide" and completed on Sandsend beach with a nor'easterly blowing straight from Siberia.  Emma certainly suffers for her art!  I came across her sitting on a bench in Stokesley Market Place one cold but bright day last winter while she was working on one of the paintings in the exhibition - "College Square, Stokesley".  It really captures the individuality of the lovely Georgian town houses but also the energy of a bustling market town.

Other works in the show include some wonderfully evocative landscapes by Robert Newton (http://www.robnewton.co.uk/), some jewel-like still lives by local artist Susan Dugdale and some fun and vibrant paintings by Jane Kitching from Crathorne.  Among new artists to Bianco Nero are Lancashire-based artist Patricia Haskey Knowles (http://www.phk-art.co.uk/) and Emerson Mayes (http://www.emersonmayes.co.uk/), both of whom will be having exhibitions in the gallery during 2012.  Emerson has sent along some of his beautiful hand-coloured drypoints of birds including "A very fortuitous fielfare" pictured below.

There really is a very diverse range of visual treats in the gallery at the moment!

New Jewellery for Christmas

It's feeling like Christmas already in the gallery!

The deliveries for the Christmas show continue to come in thick and fast and I get the pleasure of opening up the parcels to see the treasures inside.  On Friday Sara Lusvardi delivered her latest jewellery selection and she has made some really beautiful pieces.  Sara, from just up the road in Great Broughton, originally trained in textiles but was inspired by some coral beads she saw while on holiday with her husband in his native Sardinia, and couldn't resist buying some.  She started making jewellery on her return and she has passed on her obsession to her young daughters who have their own jars of beads to make things with.  In years to come I could be showing work by a whole family of Lusvardi jewellery makers!

Other jewellery in the Christmas show includes stunning pieces by Kate Wood (http://www.glintjewellery.co.uk/) and also a great selection of new work by Thalia Tomlinson from Stokesley.  Thalia's work is always popular and this time we have some of her latest hand-felted pieces.

With prices starting at under £10 there are lots of great ideas for Christmas presents (or even just a treat for yourself if the man in your life doesn't take the hint!).

Christmas preparations

The current exhibition of paintings by Winfred Hodge is on show for one more week and is definitely worth a look if you haven't already seen it.  In the meantime new work for the Christmas exhibition is arriving daily.  Today the new ceramics by Helen Beard will arrive (http://www.helenbeard.com/) and some beautiful baskets from the Norfolk Basket Company (http://www.norfolkbaskets.co.uk/).  The baskets have a slightly checkered history as the original baskets intended for the Christmas exhibition were stolen from the van they were being transported back from an exhibition in Belgium in and had to be remade.  Hopefully no misfortunes will befall them on their journey to North Yorkshire today!  More work by glass artist Charlotte Sale (http://www.charlottesaleglass.com/) and ceramics by Rowena Brown (http://rowboatlondon.co.uk/index.php?id=8&image=23) are also due this week and will all be included in the Christmas exhibition which starts on 18th November.  More information on exciting new jewellery and paintings to follow soon ...