Off The Page

 

Just a few of the exhibits.................

 

 

 

I went to the West Norfolk Artists Association exhibition, 'Off The Page'. It was very interesting and diverse...paintings, drawings, sculptures, ceramics, textiles...........a bit of everything.

 

It would have been more interesting for you if I had made a note of the  poems/ prose that had inspired the pieces. Sorry. If you live here, go see it.

Houghton Hall

 Today I went to Houghton Hall. They have put together an exhibition to show exactly how the house would have looked when it was built, from 1722, for Sir Robert Walpole  . Paintings have been borrowed back from the Hermitage Collection.

While I was exclaiming 'wow' at every painting, Roy was inspecting the doors, frames and furniture. And the floorboards.

I have a particular interest in Grinling Gibbons carving, and there was one piece on show in the rooms of the exhibition. His portrait above a fireplace had the most amazing decorative surround, an intricate wreath of flowers, bugs, etc. Too bad you couldn't really get close enough to appreciate it, and someone had gilded it!....bet Grinling is turning in his grave.

 Not allowed to take photos inside I found a few things of interest outside. The avenue stretching as far as the eye could see.

 The deer in the park.

 An idea for my own garden! Love sculpture.

 It was way too hot to seek  out all the sculptures, which was the plan, but this fascinated me. WATERFLAME  by  Jeppe Hein. How?

 

Loved it all! Do go, if you get the chance, there really is something for everyone.

Yo-Yo

Sixteen  10" x 12"  Oil

 

I have been an emotional yo-yo this weekend. I sold no paintings at a local exhibition in Swaffham and felt really down. So much that I couldn't lift a paintbrush yesterday and wondered at the point of it all.

Then, yesterday evening, I received a call to tell me I had won a prize elsewhere. This was for the members vote for the best in show at the  Hertford Art Society  Annual Members' Exhibition.

I am really thrilled, because I think it praise indeed to be admired by fellow artists, and also because I won the same prize last year! Howzatt!

Woohoo....I'm off to paint!

 

 

Hertford Art Society Annual Exhibition

All the work is in....ready for the off.

The judges, Geoff Hunt, Martin Smith and Jean Noble, scrutinising one of mine and reaching for the X!

Gallery owner and good friend Stephen Lowe waiting in line with my painting to be judged.

It bombed!

Sculptor Paul Bainbridge with one of his works.

Stunning!

Paul judged the 3D work and declared Kathy Burman the winner with her abstact piece. (in the middle here)

The judges perusing the best pieces to pick the prizewinners.

Best in Show 'What's in the Bucket' by Christine Spence

and also my favourite piece.

Best abstract.

Another prizewinner.

As usual I had a fantastic day. It is so, so interesting to see the way it all works. The judges seemed to be rather harsh this year, with very few pieces awarded AAA,  one of which was one of mine, though...woohoo! Something to be proud of, as I saw so many stunning pieces in the reject pile, and many disappointed friends. Best friend, Stella Green, had all four of her submissions accepted. I'm very proud of her, and that has given me something to aspire to next year. I got two out six accepted.

I would recommend seeing this exhibition...it is always excellent and always inspiring.

As Nature Intended

An exhibition of nude bodies

King’s Lynn Arts Centre - 12th to 20th November - 01553 779095 / www.kingslynnarts.co.uk

'We love Nature and most people will admire an art work of a landscape, a flower or a wild
animal. This exhibition features work that admires our own bit of Nature, our bodies. The body
evolved over thousands of years and Nature knew what she was doing. We are hard-wired to instinctively respond to these forms and enjoy the gift that Nature has provided. We enjoy performers and the energy and power in an athlete’s body or the grace and elegance in that of a dancer. Our culture demands we don’t stare at the bodies around us or flaunt our own bodies in front of others. But secretly everyone is peeking! This exhibition features the work of four Norfolk artists, who do more than peek. They admire our connection with Nature: Peter Kavanagh (drawings and paintings,) Becky Robinson (prints,) Janice Alamanou (photographs) and Becky Brown (sculptures.) Peter and Becky are inspired by life drawing, a great way to appreciate the body. Their drawings and prints convey the relationship of artist and model, of looking and showing. The handling of various media is quick and lively as the gesture of a pose has to be captured before the model tires. The pose communicates to us with poetic depth. Janice photographs the body as she would any other aspect of Nature. Light and form are particularly important in her images. Becky Brown creates stylised ceramic figures etched with organic forms that emphasise our dependance on Nature. Enjoy the pictures and sculptures and enjoy your own Human Nature.'

twonaked.blogspot.com

To help promote the exhibition we thought it would be fun to record our drawing sessions
in this blog, illustrating the work in progress along with our thoughts and ideas. Your comments
will be welcome!

I went along to this exhibition and highly recommend it. If you are in King's Lynn, do go and have a look. It's magic!

Peter Kavanagh will be giving a workshop at King's Lynn Art Centre this Friday, 18th Nov, 7pm-9pm, cost £15. Should be very interesting....see you there?

Peter will also be giving a workshop on Dec 4th in Wells. Count me in!

Accepted!

My painting 'Half Full' has been accepted for the annual exhibition of West Norfolk Artists Association, which runs from today until 6th Aug at St Nicholas Chapel in King's Lynn. A sale would be SO nice!

Feeling uninspired yesterday, I came across Jean Haines July challenge and had a go. I'm not sure it counts as it is done with oil paint rather than watercolour. It kept me entranced for a couple of hours, though.