last weekend i delivered twelve paintings to be exhibited in the 2011 HWAT* art exhibition - including my large painting 'lichenscape' (or liken-scape, based on my liking of lichens) which seemed to suit the spot above a dark grey marble fireplace. these are different paintings to the ones recently exhibited in six abstract painters at the halesworth gallery.in this exhibition, the paintings are mostly dark blue, brown, violet and grey in colour, a more subdued palette - perfect for a british summer (which obviously began this week, heralded in by much falling of raindrops)...
six paintings waiting patiently; edgescape meld/rain (left) and voda (right), and four small edgescape paintings on constructed panels.sometimes it seems like a very long & arduous journey from the beginning of creating paintings to having a cohesive & meaningful exhibition of them.
edgescape #29 and 30, mixed media on panel, 23cm x 23cmi am very pleased to be showing some of my art as a guest artist along with the environmental artist jane ivimey in HWAT 2011. it's a creative contrast that works really well as there are some interesting, small similarites in subject matter, colour palette and materials. jane ivimey has spent the last few years in new zealand and is very involved in conservation & environmental issues in her work.this year's HWAT art exhibition has been expertly curated by caryl challis (the gallery owner) and the artists david page and jane german. i took these pictures of my work in the gallery last weekend when the show was being hung - the tags are left visible to assist placing the corresponding exhibition labels.
meld/rain, 2008 and two small edgescapes #30 and #26the harleston gallery is located in a listed georgian building (it's an old bank building) and it has two very light and spacious exhibition gallery rooms upstairs. on the ground floor there is a more informal café gallery, with a colourful & eclectic mix of art on display, including the popular, ever-changing wall of mini-works (all these artworks are priced under £50). this year the gallery is celebrating its tenth anniversary in business as a venue for contemporary art & crafts, with much of the art in show by professional artists based in the region and some works from further afield.from today (saturday) and for the next three to four weeks the harleston gallery will be hosting the annual HWAT art exhibition, featuring artworks from around thirty local, professional artists. this is the special taster exhibition to coincide with the annual Art Trail or open studios, a starting point from which people can plan their visits to the artists' individual studios. unlike the county-wide open studios this Art Trail is more selective & intimate in scale - all the artists live/work within a ten mile radius of the gallery and HWAT artists are selected by committee. i bowed out of doing the 'art trail' again in 2009 so i feel very honoured to be asked back as a guest artist for this year.
edgescape #30, mixed media & copper leaf on panel, 2006-2011, 23cm x 23cmyesterday evening was the exclusive preview of the art exhibition - a very lively & convivial social event, with cava & canapés heartily consumed by a chattering, bustling crowd. it really didn't matter that it was drizzling with rain outside. many of the artists were in attendance along with alot of other people who i had not met or seen before. i was complimented on my work by many people (which was very nice). some people said that the room in which my work was exhibited had a very calm, contemplative atmosphere (which was also very nice). i will need to go back to take some more pictures of the HWAT exhibition soon. the exhibition opens today and is open daily until 11th july 2011.
edgescape #29, mixed media, acrylic & copper leaf on panel, 2006-2011, 23cm x 23cmsome artists make paintings, exhibit and sell the work within weeks - i am not a fast-track artist; my paintings evolve very slowly & methodically - sometimes i subtly edit them if they are stuck with me for too long - it's that sense of a history in the surface, forever changing. many people have told me i should be exhibiting my art in london - such an opportunity would be a joyful thing, but it seems london has more than enough contemporary art to deal with (and far too many artists competing for limited exposure).i find it comforting to live & work here in the rural hinterland, but sometimes demoralising not to have as many exhibition opportunities as i would like - rocks, hard places and the places between come to mind. often, i wish i lived in a much larger house with more open & expansive views of the landscape as i think that a sense of being physically restricted, detached or just 'hemmed-in' is quite evident in my work. sometimes i see places on my journeys and think it would be quite nice to live there, life would change, one could do this or that - as i suppose we all do.
little & large... shown left voda, right edgescape #24 and #29the series of large edgescape paintings on canvas (meld/rain and voda are in this exhibition) were started in early 2008. in late october 2008 they were couriered off to the capital city of london for display in centrepoint tower (a notable, tall office building situated on the corner of oxford street & tottenham court road). a few days later there was a financial crisis in the city and the paintings returned in early 2009.in the summer of 2009 i then showed some of the edgescapes in a farm outbuilding (next door to where the painter dee nickerson lives & works). one of the edgescapes, rost (the fiery red painting) was shown in the 2009 HWAT summer exhibition and it was then selected for the elements exhibition in norwich in early 2010. this series of paintings seem to be moving around like transitory, shifting elements or displaced beings - they have come to be what they once just represented - or perhaps they are just my museum pieces.pictured below are two of the smaller edgescapes (which were begun in late 2005 to early 2006). they are called edgescapes to suggest the physical and the metaphysical aspects of the environment, where surfaces, edges, borders or boundaries of things seem to shift, merge or dissolve. each time i say this i express it slightly differently because i am always drawing on what's currently on my mind. borders and boundaries are a factor in my daily life - such as the flowing course of the river and having to cross the watery boundary it geographically makes, passing from one county to another. i had planned today to go by the river but i have spent the afternoon writing this blog instead.
edgescape #24 and #29, mixed media & copper leaf on panel, 2006-2011, 23cm x 23cmin perception (in drawing, for example) there are no hard, defined edges to things, just changes in colour and tone because things continue around or past the point where you perceive there to be an edge or a line. in these works there is an absense of a clearly defined edge or line on the pictorial surface although there is the implication of one forming or in the making, which is contrasted with the physical boundary or hard edge of the panel (i make these panels myself).this area, with its fusion of agricultural fields & pasture with woods, lakes, meadows and marshes, inevitably figures in many of the HWAT artists' artwork. i find it fascinating how we should depict it or draw upon it as a subject or creative influence so very differently....*HWAT is an acronym of The Harleston & Waveney Art Trail and is, as the artist David Page (a founder member of the HWAT art collective) once pointed out, almost identical in sound and spelling to the first word of the epic poem 'beowulf' - hwæt - which i think approximates in modern terminology to listen up, look here or hear.i have a copy of seamus heaney's new translation, and on the book's cover is a painting by barrie cooke, entitled 'then rain' - i like this tenuous link as i have a large painting in this exhibition influenced by days of rain. barrie cooke is represented by the kerlin gallery in dublin - i like all of the artists' work that the kerlin gallery represents. one day i should like to visit ireland (or eire) - i think that the boggy landscape could be quite inspiring.
mouldscapes II, I and VII, 2010, mixed media on wood panel, 15cm x 15cmthis week i also received back three of my very small mouldscape paintings (pictured above)- a little too late to be included in the aforementioned HWAT exhibition. so, i guess i'll being looking after (and at) these little 'uglies' for a while... is this the end of the world? well, yes and no... that's what the work is driven by, really - sensing a slow demise or quiet transition of things......HWAT exhibition 2011 @ Harleston Gallery 18 June - 11 July 2011
open tuesday to saturday 10am - 4pm, with opening hours extended during the HWAT art trail, saturdays 10am - 6pm, sundays 11am - 6pm. (click the hyperlink for more details)
i hope that if you are in the area you will be tempted to view the HWAT exhibition and also visit some of the artist's studios on the art trail - hwæt HWAT!...images & text © jazz green 2005-2011...current exhibitionsReunion Refresh @ Reunion Gallery, 5 Feb – 22 Oct 2011HWAT exhibition 2011 @ Harleston Gallery, 18 June to 11 July 2011...
the bumper christmas art show
400+ affordable artworks by 40 artists... here are some pictures from the current exhibition at the harleston gallery...
the warm colours and energetic brushwork in this small painting in the downstairs café gallery immediately caught my eye: 'willow tree' by the notable painter gill levin, oil on board. gill levin trained at the chelsea school of art and was taught by the artist prunella clough. gill is also a well-respected and nationally known jazz musician - perhaps that musical influence is evident in her painting style...
as you will see, the walls are filled with art of all styles and genres: nature studies, urban scenes & rural landscapes, bold, expressionistic works in oils & acrylics, surreal & refined portraits, mixed media pop pieces & geometric abstracts on paper and canvas... on the shelf above is displayed a row of small, decorative pots by the acclaimed ceramicist clive davies...
just around the corner is a large, impressive landscape painting by norfolk artist david page, 'ploughed field at gudja, malta', oil on canvas. page's more recent works depict the working patterns of an agricultural landscape, a pictorial history of the land keenly observed on the norfolk suffolk border. below this painting is a series of small ink & acrylic paintings by the very collectible artist dee nickerson, nickerson's colourful, narrative paintings convey with a gentle humour aspects of life in the countryside and all its inhabitants...
a small corner in one of the upstairs galleries...
centre left is a very intricate, stitched textile work by christina greathead, which seems to reference biomorphic or water-like forms. just glimpsed to the right are some very quirky & humorous mosaic wall-pieces by the artist jayne wurr - the large mirror above the fireplace is a stunning work of supremely-crafted kitsch. wurr's close attention to colour, pattern and structure is much influenced by her previous background as textile designer...
i like the sombre, muted hues in this small, delicate painting, 'water lilies' by miles fairhurst, oil on canvas. fairhurst is very well known for his atmospheric, east anglian landscape scenes, much inspired by the victorian painter edward seago. fairhurst's paintings have been widely exhibited & collected, in the uk and internationally...
a wall of mosaic pieces by the artist bazil leith. classical roman & byzantium influences hybridize with more arcane & pop imagery in these works. bazil has a distinguished background in the commercial art world, having been the original prop maker, animator and director for the wombles & paddington bear, amongst others...
another gallery wall chock-full of paintings, prints & drawings, in the adjacent upstairs gallery...
even the humble stairwell has some art on the walls...everything on view, naturally enough, is for sale and any artwork can be purchased and taken away immediately - perhaps some of these have already sold..?did i mention i have some artwork in this exhibition too? a few collagraph prints, some small framed paintings on paper and a couple of larger works on canvas - but this is not just about me...there's wall to wall art in a range of sizes, formats and media, with styles & prices to suit every possible taste & budget - a required christmas shopping experience for both the discerning art collector and for anyone with that difficult to buy for relative or friend... all works on view are original artworks which have been created solely by the artist; there are no giclée or mass reproduction prints here...there is much more to see and you are warmly invited to just gaze for a while but perhaps you might also be tempted to buy - it's art that's just in time for christmas, but also art that's not just for christmas... this bumper art exhibition is up until christmas eve......bumper christmas art showover 400 affordable artworks by forty regional artistsat the harleston gallery, norfolk5 november to 24 december 2010...
life on mars [a red painting]
[edgescape rost...]newly installed for the taster art exhibition HWAT 09 (opens 20 June 2009) at the Harleston Gallery in Norfolk... fellow artists Jane German and David Page hung the diverse range of work beautifully in the five gallery spaces... here, to the left and right of the fireplace are gesso panels by Dinny Turner, and on the right wall some driftwood sculptures and paintings by HWAT guest artist Derek Nice... and a nice leather sofa too (no relation)...
[edgescape : rost; 95cm x 95cm including frame, gesso and mixed media on canvas]...i was inspired to take another mission to mars (courtesy of NASA)...a robotic lander, The Phoenix [as part of the current exploratory Mars Phoenix Mission], has been looking for more evidence of life on mars in the planet's mineral-rich but arid soils... evidence of salt deposits suggests that there was once water and thus life on mars... i have been enjoying viewing the nasa images of this martian, desert-like environment, composed of expansive volcanic craters, craggy rocks, dry valleys and delta basins... it's a bit frosty there too, not at all warm as one might assume.. the relative redness is attributed to the red iron oxides present in the soil, and many images of the surface of mars are digitally enhanced with false-color... the potential origins of life are there to see on nasa...so, why on earth do some people twitter on about eating cake (as nice as the cake may be) or whether or not to mow the lawn...?nasa inspired me to do a miniature surveillance of the surface of my painting edgescape: rost...
[detail 1 of edgescape : rost]
[detail 2 of edgescape : rost]
[detail 3 of edgescape : rost]
[detail 4 of edgescape : rost]rost meaning a strong current or tide, the Germanic origin of rust, meaning red, rost is also a small crater on the surface of the Moon... Mars, known as the red planet, is not truly red... mars red, the whole of life painted in red... fire and fury, power, glory, blood and guts, of war and peace... the blush of ripening fruit, the rush of life, energy, passion, belief, resoluteness, and enlightenment...edgecape: rost ii is on exhibition at the HWAT taster exhibition (opens this weekend)... and there's a second taster to follow at the cork brick gallery (small-scale artworks)...view my other paintings in the edgescapes series..