Kit Glaisyer is based at St Michael's Studios, which stands at the heart of the remarkable community of artists, writers, musicians, photographers, illustrators and designers in the Art & Vintage Quarter of Bridport, West Dorset, UK.
The first thing I have to mention is that after 7 months of work, I've finally finished my latest landscape commission.
I will unveil "Lewesdon Tree" tomorrow, Saturday 8 January, from 11am-5pm, at St Michael's Studios, Bridport, Dorset DT6 3RR
"Lewesdon Tree" is a 42x56inch oil painting on linen, and is a commissioned painting that has been seven months in the making. It captures the intricate subtleties of a late spring evening, as the sun sets between Pilsden Pen and Lewesdon Hill, and is the latest in my ongoing series of west Dorset landscapes inspired by my experience of living in the West Country and by my memories of growing up in north Dorset.
Saturday Open Studios
I will continue to open my studios to the public on Saturdays from 10am to 3pm throughout the Spring. Please contact me if you would like to discuss a commission or arrange a studio visit at another time.
If you're thinking of a commission... If you'd like to discuss commissioning a painting then this is how it works - I'm always preparing new ideas (photos, collages and sketches) for paintings, and these form the basis of a discussion with the patron about what could be my next work. We tend to quickly find a subject that inspires us both, and then we agree on the size and price. So, if you would like to discuss some ideas, please contact me and we'll arrange a studio visit.
Kit Glaisyer, St Michael's Studio, Bridport, Dorset DT6 3RR Tel 07983465789
Coming Up next time... In my next post I'll be sharing news of the first "Spirit of Bridport" launch event at the Bridport Arts Centre, on Sat 5 Feb, also looking into controversial new plans to develop the St Michael's Trading Estate. I'll also post some pics from a rare gig by PJ Harvey at Eype Church that I went to in December... plus reveal details about my upcoming Edinburgh show this summer 2011...
St Michael's Xmas Art Open Studios, Sat 4 & Sun 5 December 2010
Explore the studios and galleries of a dozen artists at St Michael's Studios in Bridport, for an Open Studios exhibition on Sat 4 & Sun 5 December, 10am to 5pm. The open event offers art lovers and collectors an inspiring taste of this remarkable community of award-winning painters and illustrators at the forefront of the growing Bridport art scene.
A dozen artists are taking part including Kit Glaisyer, Caroline Ireland, David Brooke, Paul Blow, Prue Heward-Morgan, Jan Zajac, John Boyd, Philomena Harmsworth, Marion Taylor, Annalisa Renee, Sally Davies and Marion Irons. (More details about all these artists can be found at www.bridport.org)
Kit Glaisyer will be showing his latest commission, "Lewesdon Tree" that he has been working on since the summer. It is part of a series of paintings of views across the Marshwood Vale that each take from 6 to 12 months to complete. He works in a large scale with oil on canvas, using multiple glazes and a highly refined technique to create powerful evocations of light, space and mood. www.kitglaisyer.com
Marion Irons has recently moved into a bigger studio, and is inspired by the beauty of the Dorset coast and landscape, exploring the textures, forms and surface qualities of the natural landscape. She says "I paint the way light and the force of the natural elements affect the landscape, and I use mixed media to interpret what I see in a more expressive and tactile way."
Annalisa Renee is the most recent artist to join St Michael's Studios. She has just started a new body of work based on the horse, following the magnificent tradition of horse painters from the past, such as Rosa Bonheur, Landseer and Degas. She says "I've drawn horses since childhood, but never spent time painting them. They have such strength and wonderfully fluid shapes and a also such a rich mythology."
Philomena Harmsworth has been working on a painting of the well-known local potter Katkin Tremaynet making her 'salmon” pottery', which explores the conflict between the imprisonment of routines, and the need to create. Philomena says "I have been considering how people can make a journey in their heads. Children make it quite naturally, slipping easily into play and imagination. Adults have to work more consciously to achieve it, by being creative." www.philomenaharmsworth.com
Caroline Ireland has been working on a series of still life paintings using pastel on black paper. She says "this really makes a gorgeous and vibrant combination, I try to reduce everything I see to a map of patterns and lines and blocks of colour. I think composition is really important, but for me this is more instinctive than organised. I paint lots of pots of flowers as I love the contract between natural forms and human artefacts."
David Brooke is a former president of the Society of Graphic Artists, and will be showing his acrylic paintings, including "Growth", a painting loosely based on the theme of the Green Man, which is a symbol of regeneration, but can also appear as strange and confusing.
Marion Taylor will be showing a series of landscapes depicting Dorset's ancient hills. She says "I am fascinated by variations in the landscape bought about by changing seasons and I strive to portray the lyrical and sensual spirit of the landscape bought about by thousands of years of use by man & beast."
Jan Zajac comes from a family of Belgian artists; his uncle was a leading painter of the Ostend school based at Marienkerke. These painters tended to paint maritime subjects, often with a knife, and Jan has started to do the same, also painting portraits and nudes.
Sally Davies is an artist who likes to push boundaries with her work. She says "I'm interested in Art Deco and Art Nouveau, and my themes vary from nature to spiritual. It may be trees in the shape of a cathedral or a Green Man somewhere in the sky behind a tree with magical light coming through."
St Michael's Studios is located in Bridport's Art & Vintage Quarter, on the St Michael's Trading Estate, in a red brick building with a tower, visible from the Waitrose car park.
The Xmas Open Studio will run from 10am to 5pm on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th December 2010. Visit www.stmichaelsstudios.com for more information.
Right, LOTS going on in Bridport (of course). First up, I've been enjoying opening my studios to the public from 10-3pm every Saturday. I spend most of my time painting on my own, which I love, but it really doesn't mean anything unless I share my work with others. I also love that people can come and see my work progress and get a taste of an artist's life.
Also, Bridport's Saturday market just seems to get busier every week, and more & more people are discovering the Art & Vintage Quarter down on the old St Michael's Trading Estate.
The new Red Brick Cafe is just 50 yards down from my studio, and serves the most delicious food I've ever eaten (made with love), all for under £10 ! It's truly remarkable, and yet another example of the unique quality that makes Bridport stand out as an example, not just to the West Country, but to the rest of the UK.
It's all very well talking about 'Big Society' and 'empowering local communities', but we all know most of it is just political spin and hot air. The fact is that Bridport is a real example of 'big society' in action, where the community has come together naturally. If politicians really want to encourage community initiatives, then they should visit and learn from the people of Bridport, where it's already happening.
With Christmas approaching, there are several exhibitions opening, and I've also been to 3 Private Views in the last 3 days.
Thursday evening was an opening of an exhibition of George Wright's photos at the upstairs of Beach & Barnicott, South Street Bridport.
On Friday evening I went to an opening of paintings by Gerry Dudgeon, in his studio near Melplash.
Then on Saturday evening I went to the opening of "Sea" at Sladers Yard, West Bay, where I met artists Alex Lowery and my old London studio colleague Rufus Knightwebb.
I've also started 'Twittering', mainly in order to keep the front page of Bridport.org up-to-date. I'm going to be covering exhibition openings, interesting events, inspiring links, as well as the development of my own work, so click on the link below to follow my thread...
I'd put off signing up to Twitter for ages, because I didn't really appreciate what it means... but now I'm doing it, I'm beginning to realise it could be quite revolutionary. I think all of these new 'social networking' tools are going to have a profound effect on the way we communicate, share ideas and do business in the future.
Obviously I'm already familiar with Blogging, and I maintain a Facebook page... But what I like about Twitter is that it offers an intimate taste of the thoughts and ideas of anyone we choose to follow. We don't have to apply to be their 'Friend', and while it's possible to follow 'fan' pages on Facebook, it all seems rather complicated compared to the simple efficiency of Twitter, and if someones tweets are uninspiring, you can simply 'unfollow' them.
So, next up for me is my next Saturday Open Studio this coming 20 Dec, and the following Sat 27 Dec. Please pop in if you're in town on a Saturday, you can see the exciting (and rather intense) progress of "Lewesdon Tree", my current commission...
Then we've got our annual St Michael's Xmas Open, on Sat 4 and Sun 5 December, with a dozen artists taking part. More details on that in the coming weeks...
Artist Kit Glaisyer will be opening his studio to the public on Saturdays from 10am to 3pm, starting October 30. He is based at St Michael's Studios in the emerging Art & Vintage Quarter of Bridport, on the St Michael's Trading Estate.
Kit will be showing a wide range of recent paintings, including his current commissioned project: a late-spring view from Lewesdon Hill looking towards Pilsdon Pen. Visitors can talk to the artist, see several works in progress, and buy original paintings, prints and cards.
Kit Glaisyer is probably best known for his popular series of paintings of the "Cafe Royal" - the 50's style diner located down by the old bus depot. He followed this with a series of life-size "Drip Figure" paintings, first shown at a solo show at the Bridport Arts Centre in 2004, and then in an exhibition in London in 2007. He is now gaining widespread acclaim for his series of large-scale landscape paintings, many showing views across the Marshwood Vale.
Kit says he wants his "art to remind people of the beauty and mystery of the world, whether it's an old cafe or an epic landscape.When we feel inspired by life then our inner creativity is unleashed, and we realise we already have all the talents and resources we need."
St Michael's Studios is located in the red brick building with a tower, on the St Michael's Trading Estate, visible to the south-west of Waitrose car park. The area is now becoming known as Bridport's Art & Vintage Quarter, with art studios and dozens of antiques & vintage shops opening, as well as a monthly Vintage Market and the new Red Brick Cafe.
Kit Glaisyer's studio will be open from 10am to 3pm every Saturday from October 30 until December 2010. Visit www.kitglaisyer.com for more information. To make an appointment to view his studio at another time call 0798 3465789.
Also on: The monthly Vintage Market takes place this Sunday 31 October. A group of local artists are exhibiting at Eype Centre for the Arts this weekend. Recent graduates Alice Jones and Helen Jones are part of a group show at Artwave West, in Morecombelake. Simon Quadrat is showing alongside Peter Swanson and Petter Southall at Sladers Yard.
Painting the Sublime I've been busy working on my "Lewesdon Tree" commission. After some time spent gradually building up the background, I've now moved onto the foreground, and it's becoming a very intense process. This is where it gets fun, and also more complicated, as I have to switch between painting on several different picture planes. It's the point at which the painting really begins to communicate with me, to beguile and seduce me. This is always encouraging because there's still a fair way to go...
Some landscape painters develop short-hand techniques in order to express certain effects of light, shape and ambiance, but I'm not interested in mimicking these sensations, I want to get to the essence of the experience, and capture the over-whelming emotional complexity of the moment.
We've got so used to getting scientific explanations for how we 'interpret' reality, but all of these lack an appreciation of the mystical, the infinite, and the unknowable. The truth is that we're just a part of something far bigger than us that we'll never fully understand. But we can always feel it. And we can all have a mystical experience simply by standing in a field, watching a sunset or looking up at the night sky.
Thinking of skies, I've also been working on the stormy clouds in the latest in my series of paintings of views from Allington Hill looking out across the Marshwood Vale. I always start from a photographic reference for my skies, because they contain such a dense fluid complexity and chaos, and I don't want to only paint the parts I understand. This for me is how Science and Art can complement each other, the photographic process offers a form of scientific reality, and my painted poetic interpretation expresses my subjective reality.
Art Fairs It was the Frieze Art Fair in London last weekend. This contemporary art fair has established the Frieze Art Week in the 2nd week of October, and has led to several satellite fairs popping up to mop up some of the visiting international art collectors. This year these other fairs included the Plus Art Projects underneath Atlantis (the largest art materials shop in Europe) just off Brick Lane in the East End. There was also the Sunday Art Fair, and the Street Art focused Moniker International Art Fair, plus the Future Can Wait - yes it can in their case...
Before I go to London I like to check out what's on in all galleries, and I tend to use the Art Forum Magazine online listings page. I also use Artinfo.com which has a smaller selection of galleries.
I also like to keep abreast of happenings in the art world while I'm in Dorset, so I subscribe to a weekly newsletter from Artinfo.com which offers a wide range of stories covering the international art scene. Another good source of art world info comes from the Art Newsletter. Then there's Artnet.com, which is broader contemporary art resource and also has an online magazine with some good reviews and stories.
In terms of 'real' magazines, there's Art Review, Art World magazine, and Modern Painters - which unfortunately seems to cover less and less actual painting...
For broader cultural insights KultureFlash is a weekly online magazine that has been covering contemporary culture since 2002, and is well worth a read.
In terms of videos, the Tate Museum offers a wide selection of artist interviews and exhibition reviews, for instance, here's a short film on Peter Doig. There's more interviews on the US TV /Internet Show "Charlie Rose", and while it doesn't have many fine artists on, it does have lots of Film Directors (JJ Abrams) and much more besides. Here's his interview with Damien Hirst from back in 2008.
I've started October with a major clear-out of my studio. I seem to accumulate so much stuff, but everything interests me, so it's hard to chuck it out. But I've also been working on my "Lewesdon Tree" commission, which is quite a large painting at 42"x56", so I want all the space I can get.
Another painting I've been really enjoying is a view of the path on Lewesdon Hill, disappearing into the darkness as you head up hill. The row of trees actually reminds me of Moby Dick, as the trunks are like a whale's ribs... I guess I thought of this because Steph Goodger, a painter I've known since college days, loves Moby Dick, and also the painting "Raft of the Medusa", by Gericault.
I've also updated my website www.kitglaisyer.com which is a constant job, but it's now so easy to share what I create with an international audience. I've also added a 'share' button because I've found that I often share things I've found on-line on Facebook or Gmail. I might as well make it easy for people to share my work!
(I've also added a Share button to this Blog if you'd like to spread the word...)
I've also very excited about all the new works I've got planned for these coming months. I've got many more panoramic paintings in my mind, with vistas from Eggardon Hill and Shipton Hill, and more across the Marshwood Vale. I was also out today, photographing and sketching the brilliant Autumn skies. So watch this space...
I love living in Bridport; this town is full to the brim of people rich in imagination and independent in spirit. We love it here because we have managed to retain a quality of life and sense of community that seems to have been lost in most other towns. And in recent years Bridport has been experiencing a renaissance that is the envy of our neighbours -
* The Electric Palace goes from strength to strength, with a packed house at most events * The Bull Hotel has expanded with it's own Pie & Pizza Bar in their Stables * The St Michael's Studios complex is thriving, raising the national profile of our art scene * Next door the Antiques & Vintage district has now transformed the old Top Gear garage, with dozens of small businesses providing a cornucopia of furnishings, clothing and adornments * While over the road, the new Cafe in the Red Brick House is proving to be a major hit * The Lyric Theatre - formerly at threat of residential development - has been bought by performers Niki McCretton and Mark Parrott, and will re-open to the public next year * Our 1st Hat Festival was a great success, and a brilliant celebration of a local family business * The Vintage Market really is THE place to be on the last Sunday of the month * The Literary Festival is about to start, it runs from Fri 29 October to 7 November, with talks by the likes of Andrew Graham-Dixon and Peter Snow giving talks.
You'll notice that all of these lovely enterprises are driven by inspired individuals and supported by the local community, and yet they're receiving national acclaim, and pulling in visitors from across the country. We're not waiting for some government policy, Council approval or 'social initiatives' to get us started, we just rely on our own ideas and passion to make things happen.
I mention this because recently there have been some indications that developers are once again eyeing up Bridport's historic St Michael's Trading Estate, in the hope they can get mixed-use planning permission (it's currently just light industry), cash in and convert it into Poundbury mk.2, despite the fact that it is now home to a thriving Arts and Vintage district.
What these misguided architects, developers and Councillors don't appreciate or understand is that the majority of people love this untouched part of town just the way it is, and certainly don't want it to be 'gentrified'. The other key concern is that if the new development plan is anything like the last one, then it will turf out dozens of small businesses - that rely on low rents - and replace them with units that only solicitors, accountants and estate agents will be able to afford.
If you would like to register an interest in protecting Bridport's Art & Vintage Quarter, please give us your email HERE and we will be in touch about future development plans.
On a lighter note, in art, there's some great art coming up this month, first of all with an Autumn Exhibition coming up a Artwave West Gallery, in Morecomelake in a couple of weeks.
The exhibition includes work by recent graduates Helen Jones and Alice Jones. I'm particularly looking forward to seeing Alice's drawings after meeting her at the Bridport Open Studios launch in August. She is also the winner of the Young artist of the year award awarded by Clarke Willmott, Bristol, UK. I haven't met Helen Jones, but judging by her website, she makes remarkable charcoal drawings of the sea.
Meanwhile at the Sladers Yard Gallery in West Bay, Simon Quadrat is giving an artists talk on 15 October at 7pm, as part of "In My Mind's Eye" (until Nov 7), with Peter Swanson and Petter Southall.
You'd think that things would quieten down a bit now that we're out of the tourist season and into autumn, but September has been a very busy month for Bridport. Recently we've hosted the firstHatFestival - check out this big crowd in Bucky-Doo Sqaure, as well as having packed Gala screenings of "Tamara Drewe" and "From Time to Time" at the Electric Palace, which has also had saxophonist Courtney Pine down to play.
This weekend has been particularly entertaining, starting with dinner on Friday evening at the new Cafe on the St Michael's Trading Estate, which the Jalopy pizza van has already make into a great venue over the summer. The Cafe is run by Anna and Joy, who provide delicious and very affordable home cooked food from Wednesday to Saturday.
Of course on Saturday we have the main Market on South street, which stretches all the way down South Street, and was packed once again. This was followed on Sunday by the latest Vintage Market on the St Michael's Trading Estate. It has an amazing atmosphere, with people of all ages, with their children and dogs, and this week live music from Mitch Norman and a Jazz Duo. If you haven't yet visited, then I highly recommend exploring this thrivingantiques district just a little bit further on from St Michael's Studios.
Then I went to the opening of the freshly painted Bridport Arts Centre on South Street, and met with the new incoming Director Holly Gifford. Current Director Lindsay Brookes had asked Abbotsbury artist John Meaker to set up a life modelling session, only this time the models were the guests to the event. John also teaches at his studios in Abbotsbury and also leads life drawing sessions at the Bridport Arts Centre.
Next up was the two day event at the Jam Factory in Uplyme, organised by artist Gail Sagman, called "From the Absurd to the Ridiculous, a feast of Live Art." A few artists from Bridport were involved, including Jollyon Carter and Linzi Light, as well as various Lyme artists, amazing poet Sally Crabtree from Cornwall and wacky Martin Zet from Czchecoslovakia. (Please let me know if anyone has filmed the event, and I'll upload a link to Youtube.)
First up is my triptych of the Three Graces - Euphrosyne, Aglaia and Thalia for the "Six by Nine" launch exhibition at the Bull Hotel, for the Bridport Open Studios event over the August Bank Holiday weekend.
It was a great little exhibition, and I'm sure we'll repeat it next year. It also set the tone for the Open event, which was excellent as usual.
Next up is a computer mock-up preview of my exhibition (just on for tonight) at the Electric Palace, Bridport, for the Charity Gala screening of the new Stephen Frears film "Tamara Drewe". There's still lots to do, but we're all looking forward to it!
This exhibition is only on for one night as I'm including a couple of works I no longer own. If you'd like to see my work in the flesh, just email/call me to arrange a studio visit. Also check out my online portfolio at www.kitglaisyer.com (where you'll also find contact details).
Just a few days left to listen to this weeks Gilles Petterson on Radio 1, this week in conversation with rising superstar Janelle Monae. I've been listening to Gilles for years, brilliant selection of funk, jazz, r&b, contemporary and classic.
Some other artists I'm enjoying include this current New York exhibition by Jean-Pierre Roy. and a site of video art by Franci Alys, plus here's a Tate interview with one of my favorite artists - Glenn Brown, and a link to the website of the remarkable New York artist Inka Essenhigh (pic above).
Monday morning painting, listening to an endless loop of "Tank" by Audioporn (see previous post). Painting, for me, really is the best way to start the day/week, getting into a pure creative space, also in this case a celebration of nature, just as the seasons are changing.
This is my current commission, the evening sun dazzling through the branches & leaves on the path up Lewesdon hill, bleaching out the trunk of a young tree.
It's a complex painting, which is why, once I've sketched in the basic composition, I then work my way from back to front. I love to challenge myself, and I wouldn't envy anyone undertaking this painting, but I just get on with it, believing I'll eventually pull it off.
This afternoon I've got to put on my 'business head' and get my exhibition ready for the Tamara Drewe Charity Gala this coming Friday. I'm looking forward to it.
("Sunburst", 72"x48", oil on canvas, work in progress)
Lots to catch up on this week...
The Bridport Open Studios launch at the Bull Hotel was a great success, and set the tone for our busiest Open event so far. We had over 700 visitors to St Michael's Studios over the August Bank Holiday weekend, which makes me wonder if we should extend the Open event over a whole week next year...?
I've been having a well-deserved break from helping with BOS, and I've had a great week painting in the studio, getting on with commissions, and a whole series of new works based on Lewesdon Hill and the Marshwood Vale.
I've also been invited to exhibit my recent West Dorset paintings at the Gala launch event for the new Tamara Drewe film at the Electric Palace on Friday 17th September. I'm looking forward to putting on a really great exhibition & I'll have more information about that in my next blog.
"As Tamara Drewe was filmed in the nearby locations of Salwayash, Dorchester, Beaminster and Yeovil, the Gala screening at the Electric Palace will make the evening even more special with the director, writer and cast collectively returning to Dorset for a final time.
Stephen Frears came to international attention in 1985 with his production of ‘My Beautiful Launderette’ for channel 4. The film received theatrical acclaim and received a nomination for an Academy Award and two nominations for BAFTA awards. Frears went on to make films of great acclaim including Dangerous Liasons (1988), High Fidelity (2000), Dirty Pretty Things (2003), Mrs Henderson Presents starring Dame Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins and The Queen (2006) for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
The film stars Gemma Arterton (Prince of Persia, Disappearance of Alice Creed) as the eponymous Tamara, British star Dominic Cooper (An Education, Mamma Mia!), Tamsin Greig (Cuckoo, Sean of the Dead) and Roger Allam (The Queen, The Wind that Shakes the Barley)."
The Palace will also be hosting a Gala screening of Julian Fellowes new film "From Time to Time" on Friday 24 September.
"This will be Julian Fellowes’ second Gala screening at the Electric Palace in Bridport. The Premiere of The Young Victoria was held at the Electric Palace in March 2009 which attracted a full house audience and went on to win an Oscar for Best Costume Design."
The Palace is also going to be hosting a number of live Video performances over the next few months, including several by the National Theatre and also Operas, as disclosed by Real West Dorset. A full list of events is available on the Electric Palace website. They are also continuing to host a number of high calibre gigs by the likes of Courtney Pine, Reg Meuross and Neville Staple.
Meanwhile, great things have been happening down the road on the St Michael's Trading Estate, now known as the Art & Vintage Quarter.
The trading estate was absolutely packed with hundreds of visitors on the Sunday of the August Bank Holiday weekend, with both the Open Studios event on and the latest Vintage Market (held on the last Sunday of the month).
It seems that word of the Vintage Market is spreading quickly by word-of-mouth, and I think it embodies what makes Bridport so unique, with a vibrant mix of enterprise and our eclectic community, experienced in the lovely laid-back surroundings of the historic rope & net making estate. There's also the excellent Jalopy Pizza van and an amazing new Cafe, serving wonderful food at very reasonable prices.
The couple behind the Vintage Market are Sharon and Michael from the Old Albion store. Like so many Bridport folk, they fell in love with the town when on holiday here, and have been instrumental in bringing about the vintage Renaissance on the trading estate.
They had the imagination to see the potential in the Vintage Quarter, following on from the Cornucopia stores started by Nigel and Kate, and the subsquent influx of antiques stores in the former Top Gear workshop, led by Bob of Les Allees. You can see a list of these traders at Bridport Antiques.
On Friday night Old Albion hosted a promotional event called "No Country for Old Albion", with several bands playing for the entertainment of the public. It was a remarkable evening, and my favorite band were "Audioporn", playing a brilliant 3/4 hour set with a full version of their classic 1st album "Tank". You can watch my short video of their performance here, watch them perform it at the Brighton Festival here and visit their Myspace page.
You've probably gathered by now that something quite amazing is going on in Bridport, and just to prove the point, next up is the Bridport Hat Festival, set to run between Friday 17 and Sun 19 September, at venues throughout the town. (We'll be having an Open Studio at St Michael's).
As far as art goes, one exhibition I'm hoping to visit is the "Artists of the Jurassic Coast" at Eype Church Centre for the Arts. Here's a review from Bridport Radio (it's NOT actually a radio station, but I guess is named as such because it aims to provide a service as if it was a local radio station?)
Meanwhile the Artwave West Summer Exhibition continues until 11 Sept, and the "Voyages" exhibition continues at Sladers Yard, West Bay, until 12 Sept.
Just a few days to the start of the Bridport Open Studios event, taking place over the Bank Holiday weekend, Sat 28 to Mon 30 August.
The new Bridport Open Studios website is now up and running, and you can find out about participating artists and download a PDF of the event.
To kick things off we've got the official launch of the event at the Bull Hotel, Bridport, on Thursday 26th August, from 6-9pm, to which everyone is invited.
We will have an exhibition called "Six by Nine" in the Ball Room, showing examples of small works from many of the participating artists. Join us for a (discounted) drink in the Vena bar, and grab a bite to eat at their award-winning restaurant or get a freshly made pizza from their Stable Cider House.
Other art events worth checking out include an exhibiton of Walker Evans photographs, part of Burr Projects at Axen Farm, on until September 5.
Here's an introduction from the Real West Dorset Blog:
"The exhibition has around 40 black and white photographs taken by Walker Evans in the Deep South of the USA in 1935-36, during the Great Depression.
Evans was employed as an Information Specialist in President Franklin D Roosevelt’s Resettlement (later Farm Security) Administration. His job was to record the work of the FSA and document the lives of farmers and flood victims.
Evans travelled to Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and South Carolina photographing sharecroppers’ homes, churches, graveyards, busy streets, shops, cafes, signs and billboards. He also took portraits.
The show is on tour from London’s Hayward Gallery. It’s accompanied by an exhibition book, with examples of Evans’ writing, interview excerpts and articles written by James Agee and Lincoln Kirstein."
Meanwhile, in Morecomblake, there's the Artwave West Summer Exhibition - Featuring work by Linda Mattock and gallery artists. It's on until 11th September, open Tuesday to Saturday 10-5pm.
Down the road in Sladers Yard there's the "Voyages" exhibition, on until Sept 12th. Artists include Simon Garden, Alfred Stockhamand Stephen Jacobsonpaintings with David Worthington sculpture.
Of course the other major local event is the Melphash Show, taking place at the Showground, West Bay, Bridport.
The Melplash Show is the premier agricultural show in the South West and is a great day out for the whole family. One child is admitted free for each adult ticket purchased. Public opening is 7.30am to 6.00pm. This year's show welcomes celebrity Guest Valentine Warner who amongst other things will be signing copies of his popular What to Eat Now books.
There's now only two weeks to go before our annual Bridport Open Studios event, which takes place from Saturday 28 to Monday 30 August 2010.
You can now view this PDF of this year's event catalogue, and it's also is available from the Bridport Open Studios page on www.bridport.org
The catalogue contains information about over 100 artists in 46 venues across West Dorset, with an image and short descriptions of their work, along with websites, telephone and email contacts.
We're still in the process of translating this information onto our new website, which you'll soon be able to find at www.bridportopenstudios.co.uk
You're also ALL invited to our launch party at the award-winning Bull Hotel, on East Street, Bridport, from 6-9pm on Thursday 26 August. Come along to have a drink and meet the artists, many of whom will be showing some examples of their works in the magnificent Ball Room. There's also freshly made pizzas and a wide range of pies and cider available from the Bull's new Stable block.
Meanwhile I've been busy working on my latest commission as well as a body of new work I've started in my studio. Last year I spent 8 months working on a commission showing a view from Lewesdon Hill across the Marshwood Vale, and this area of west Dorset has now inspired a whole new series of paintings.
A major source of inspiration has been a winding path that leads through a copice of young trees at the base of the hill, and up past a row of ancient twisted beech trees that are surrounded by bluebells in the spring. Look through these trees out across the panorama from Pilsden Pen to Charmouth Gap, a view that becomes gradually more obscured by leaves as spring turns into summer.
My landscape paintings are all about the feeling and memory of a place. I'm not in the least bit interested in the superficial appearance of a pretty scene, but in the deeper atmosphere and mood that a place evokes. Of course I love this beautiful countryside, the infinite subtleties of light and colour, as the sun begins to set over Pilsden Pen and light cascades through the canopy of entwined branches, but there seems to be a grander idyll, a sense of presence, perhaps of our forebears, and even before them, of forgotten times, somehow recorded in the soil and the rain carved hillsides.
A walk in the countryside offers a connection with nature that is both profound and sublime, and it also deserves to be savoured. Find a leafy bank to sit on, or a tree stump, and just watch the world go by. It's almost as if by relaxing and letting go of the modern world, we remember the part we play in nature, we merge back into the foliage and wildlife, and become invisible, like the hundreds of tiny animals going about their business all around us. This return to nature is something that is available to all of us, at any time, and is something we should all experience, and this is what my paintings are all about.
Of course it's different back in my studio. I sometimes work outside (plein air), but I'm quite happy to work in my studio, and with much of my work it's vital, as I spend weeks building up subtle glazes, rather than simply trying to spontaneously respond to nature. And if you think about it, every painting is really an expression of what the artist sees and feels in their mind. A landscape is always our translation of our perceptions onto canvas. I remember one visitor saying to me that she'd never seen the landscape as I showed it until she saw my paintings. I believe the same is true for all of us, that we see the world around us through the eyes of all the artists in history, we see the drama that Turner saw, the light that Monet saw, and we can find eauty in a clump of weeds because Albrecht Durer first saw it 500 years ago.
I'm hoping to show both finished works and works-in-progress at the Open Studios event, so I look forward to seeing you there.
One of my favorite subjects for my paintings are the views across the Marshwood Vale, in the far west of Dorset, leading up to the Devon border. There's a row of three hills - Lamberts Castle, Pilsden Pen and Lewesdon Hill that lead up from the coast towards the village of Broadwindsor. You can see these three hills as you drive over the ridgeway along the A35 from Dorchester towards Bridport, and when you climb the hills themselves, you can clearly see far across towards Chesil Beach and Portland.
These three hills each have a very different feeling. To me it feels like Lewesdon was the Druid hill, as it's got a mysterious and magical feeling. Pilsden Pen feels bleaker to me, like a military stronghold, and at Lamberts Castle I can almost see the ancient settlements, a community of families, soldiers, traders and children.
It's also easy to imagine everyone sat round camp fires at night, under the stars, talking, eating, making music and dancing. What's remarkable about this is that we can have exactly the same experience today, and for sheer pleasure it still beats all our technological distractions. Frankly I'd far rather be sat round a fire with friends on a clear summers night, than watching a movie, or playing on the computer.
Anyway, there's a camp organised by a local family that takes place over a week in July, just to the west of Bridport, near Whitchurch Cannonicorum. A dozen or so families decamp to a field and set up tends, yerts and bell tents. Here's a taste of a summer evening sat round the fire...
Lovely.
Some thoughts on creativity and perception I sometimes feel that our accomplishments in life are laid out before us like a row of choices, each leading to the next, and when we're 'in the flow', we naturally and easily glide from one to the next.
What tends to impede the flow is when we procrastinate, and avoid doing something that might not be as exciting or entertaining as we would wish. But it is only when we finally follow through with the 'natural' action that it transpires that our entire destiny was lined up beyond that event.
I had one of these moments a few days ago. I'd been wanting to rearrange my studio for a while, but could not seem to even get started. So it remained in it's current state, with paintings stacking up, as if waiting for me to resolve the situation. Meanwhile, there was a large painting on one wall that I've been working on and off for a couple of years now. I'd been thinking about the painting recently, considering the next layer, but because it was now several months since I'd touched it, I didn't feel sufficient urgency to tackle it. Finally one evening I decided to set to work on it, partly helped by some new paints I bought in Bath, which I was eager to try out. I worked on the painting for a while (Marshwood Sunburst, 72"x48"), not long, perhaps an hour or so, and then I sat down to look at it. All of a sudden it occurred to me exactly what I needed to do in order to rearrange my studio. It was a very obvious and simple change that I'd not remotely considered before, but it only happened when I got on with the task at hand.
If you imagine that everything you want to achieve is available to you, and laid out before you, then accomplishment only requires a state of 'allowing', rather than a 'plan of action'. Just look at how many people give up on their dreams because they just don't seem to get that 'lucky break' or figure out 'how' to achieve it. Perhaps those opportunities were there all along, but they were disguised as apparently ordinary decisions that they had considered and then dismissed? We have to reach an understanding that rather than working 'harder' and 'trying' to realise our dreams, perhaps these dreams are actually trying to get to us, and all we need to do is to allow our ideal life to unfold is to follow through on these simple ideas that occur to us.
This reminds me of the way that artistic progress seem to occur. It seems to be the result of a combination of very ordinary decisions, alongside the 'big' ideas. Being a successful creative person really isn't about trying to be 'amazing' every moment of the day, but instead, of trusting in the small decisions that allow us to build momentum and confidence, without being distracted by the countless rational excuses we might have.
I think that hesitation and procrastination are particular embodiments of our rational, or left-brain way of thinking. In our increasingly secular and logically/scientific society we're encouraged to explain, justify and quantify everything we do. The problem with this is that it neglects the right-brain 'intuitive' mind, and in fact many creative (and scientific) solutions are only discovered when chance has intervened, or seemingly illogical decisions have been made.
I experienced a fine example of this recently when I was looking at a couple of small recent paintings I'd made (of paths up Lewesdon Hill). They were lying next to each other on the floor, and the outer edges were obscured by furniture, so all I could see was a combination of the left side of one painting and the right of the other. The resulting configuration appeared like a new painting that I had unintentionally made - the unlikely fusion of two different projects.
As I was enjoying this 3rd painting that I'd inadvertently created, I became acutely aware of my rational mind trying to explain what I was seeing. It was obviously confused by this new discovery, and was urgently trying to tell me what was happening. If it had had the chance it would have pointed to the various parts of each painting and told me what they really were. But I didn't want to know what they were, I was too busy enjoying what they had become, and one of the greatest pleasures of being an artist is when you are pleasantly surprised by your own work.
Anyway, I managed to keep my logical brain at bay long enough to allow my creative or imaginative brain to enjoy and remember the experience, but it was my clearest indication yet of the 'yin and yang' of perception that we utilise. To function at our best we need to balance both sides of our brains, so that we can enjoy both structure and discovery.
See for yourself There's actually a great way that we can all experience our two left/right perspectives. Have a look at this image of a spinning girl. At first she looks as if she is just spinning round and round in one direction, but then, all of a sudden you will probably see her change direction. You might think this is just a random series of clockwise and counter-clockwise rotations, but in fact there's an easy way that you can change her direction whenever you want...
Here's what you do - look at the shadow of her pointed foot at the bottom of the image. You'll notice it seems to either move from left to right or from right to left. If you just relax for a moment and watch the shadow, you can begin to see how it is actually going from right to left to right to left, a movement that corresponds to your brain also switching right to left to right to left. In order to make the girl spin clockwise you simply wait for the shadow to start moving from right to left, and then lift your eyes to see the movement continued in the spin of the girl. Likewise, to make the girl spin counter-clockwise, catch the shadow as it begins to move from left to right and then lift your eyes to see her keep spinning in that direction.
