Jacqui Dodds Art

20:20 Print Exchange 2011

2012-01-25T10:41:00.006Z

In September last year I took part in the 20:20 Print Exchange organised by Hotbedpress Printmakers Studio in Manchester. Above is my new print of the Doges Palace in Venice that I created especially for the exchange. If you would like to see more of the prints and printmakers that took part in the exchange please see the Flickr site here.

Below are some photos of my work in progress:

Clare Woods, The Unquiet Head, Hepworth Wakefield

2011-12-31T14:13:00.010Z

At the end of October I took a slight detour in my journey home with the intention of seeing Clare Woods' latest exhibition The Unquiet Head at one of Yorkshire's newly opened art galleries The Wakefield Hepworth. The immense scale of Woods' work evokes the 'motif of rock formations found within the British Landscape' and allows the viewer to stand back and observe these 'canvases' in a similar way that the viewer would do outside. Woods responds to the subject just as modern British artists Graham Sutherland, Paul Nash and Barbara Hepworth have done before. However,Woods prefers these works to be 'directly related to sculpture':

Sections on these aluminium canvas appear to be painted as smaller scenes, creating psychologically resonating worlds within themselves and the larger whole appears to take on figurative organic forms:

Individual areas explore texture and colour:

The gallery itself is an impressive space with large windows enabling close up views of the surrounding old renovated buildings and rushing water of the river outside:

Clare Woods exhibition continues until Sunday 29th January 2012. Other exhibitions included some British landscape artists, paintings and drawings of Yorkshire and an ongoing exhibition exploring the processes of Barbara Hepworth at work:

Ditherington Flax Mill, Shrewsbury

2011-11-17T13:23:00.005Z

In September my work was included in an exhibition at Ditherington Flax Mill near Shrewsbury. The mill ceased to be operative quite a while ago, however, it is open on Heritage Days run by English Heritage and it was on one of these days that I visited and photographed traces of its previous life. Here are some snippets of these research photos from my visit:

I am looking forward to exploring memories of Ditherington Flax Mill further and producing more work inspired by the site.

Lino Printing, Blind Embossing, Making Journals workshop at Birmingham Printmakers

2011-11-13T23:24:00.007Z

If you would like to come and have a go at printing, blind embossing and making journals similar to the ones in the photo above or this post below and this one, this Saturday 19th November, please drop me a line at:
jacquidodds(at)yahoo(dot)co(dot)uk

Lino Printing, Blind Embossing, Making Journals workshop - latest

2011-11-09T21:20:00.018Z

This is the latest set of images from my recent workshop for The Cultural Sisters held at Birmingham Printmakers. Firstly we start off cutting the lino blocks and making some blind embossings. Then we get on with the printing and it is always a pleasure to see all the different ideas that everyone comes up with:

Even more exciting to see all the finished concertina journals:

Private View, Blue Gallery Shifnal

2011-10-21T22:19:00.024+01:00

Wednesday was the Private View for the Christmas Exhibition at Blue Gallery in Shifnal in which some of my prints, cards and journals are being exhibited. I was very excited to be included as the gallery is a lovely space and is local to me. Above you can see my work in the space with that of other artists' work and below is a close up of my two prints:

My cards and printed Moleskine journals:

Snowdrop cards and Reflecting Winter & Spring cards with matching printed Moleskine journals:

Another view of my work alongside prints by my fellow Birmingham Printmaker Tim Southall:

Tim is a very talented printmaker and had one of his prints accepted in the RA Summer show this year. This lovely etching is called 'The Rivals':

Below are some beautiful vibrant and colourful paintings by artist Jan Park and further views of the exhibition. If you are near to Shifnal or passing by call into the gallery to see the exhibition and also have a cup of tea and cake in the cafe downstairs. The exhibition will be on until January:

Christmas Exhibition, Blue Gallery, Shifnal

2011-10-16T14:31:00.012+01:00

I am really excited to be involved in this new exhibition that will be opening this week at Blue Gallery in Shifnal. It features some of my work and also that of my friend and fellow Birmingham Printmaker Tim Southall.

Please come along nd bring your friends to the Private View which is on Wednesday 19th November at 6.30pm - 9.00pm.

Kitchen Lithographie

2011-09-17T15:55:00.003+01:00

Found via Printsy: Printmakers of Etsy

Lino printing, blind embossing, making journals workshop at Birmingham Printmakers

2011-08-30T17:10:00.020+01:00

Earlier in the summer I ran a print workshop at Birmingham Printmakers which started with designing and carving a lino block which was then used to print with:

Then the lino blocks were used for blind embossing:

Finally made into journals to take home:

I shall be running another two of these workshops at Birmingham Printmakers on Saturday 24th September or Saturday 19th November. If you would like to book on one of these courses or request further information please email me: jacquidodds(at)yahoo(dot)co(dot)uk

Impression - The Gallery, Masham

2011-08-09T21:28:00.010+01:00

On the way home from a holiday in North Yorkshire I called in at The Gallery in Masham. I had already bookmarked to visit this gallery when I was up in North Yorkshire and was very glad I did,especially as it was a rainy day.

The Gallery is in the square at Masham and contains high-quality contemporary art from established and emerging British artists. These are some photos from their latest print exhibition Impression:

The exhibition features the work of printers:

Hester Cox - collagraphs and solarplate

Janis Goodman - etching and aquatint

Helen Peyton - reduction cut lino prints

Angie Rogers - woodcuts

Catherine Sutcliffe-Fuller - etching combined with linocut

If you are 'passing' I would really recommend stopping by as there are some beautiful original prints by very talented printmakers. Unfortunately you only have until the 15th August to do so.

Cy Twombly

2011-07-06T16:19:00.006+01:00

American artist Cy Twombly died yesterday in Rome. I was lucky to have seen a retrospective of his work at the Tate Modern three years ago, but somehow managed to miss his exhibition 'The Rose' at the Gagosian Gallery in London a year later.
See this article about him.

A new exhibtion of his work has just opened at the Dulwich Picture Gallery - this time I must ensure I see this one and the art world will be a much sadder place without him.

Window and Plant Memories, Wightwick Manor

2011-06-28T19:32:00.015+01:00

This is my 'Window and Plant Memories' concertina book that I made for the art project that I have been involved in at Wightwick Manor. The flowers that you can see in the book are screen printed onto Chinese paper and are inspired by a book that I found in the house which was Gerard's Herball printed in 1693. Although the flower drawings in the Herball are not botanically correct they were inspiration for the flowers of William Morris, along with the Netherlandish Medieval paintings of Van Eyck and Hans Memling.

On the inside of each of the covers I placed my blind embossing prints which were inspired by the windows at Wightwick Manor. Here is the book again without the bars at the window:

We had a wonderful private view for the exhibtion which was organised by the National Trust who also provided a small booklet which included all of our work in. At the private view one of the lovely volunteer guides pointed out that if you looked out the window behind my book there was a large bed of flag irises. This was a wonderful coincidence as these were one of the flowers I printed into the above book - I didn't know that these irises were going to flower there at the time that I started printing in the winter:

MATERIAL, exhibition - Bear Steps, Shrewsbury

2011-06-20T16:38:00.007+01:00

Turquoise Acanthus Swirl, Wightwick Manor

2011-05-30T23:10:00.010+01:00

The exhibition at Wightwick Manor has been a great success and above is the test piece for my screenprint onto aluminium which is inspired by William Morris' textile print called Acanthus. This was then scaled up and printed onto a bigger piece of aluminium which I have been very lucky to have been able to display in the Rose Garden at Wightwick Manor:

The garden is very much part of the aesthetic at Wightwick and printing my own version of one of Morris' designs onto aluminium to be placed outside, involves taking the inside out as Morris himself was a great lover of the outdoors:

Making Art History Exhibtion, Wightwick Manor & Gardens

2011-05-17T21:16:00.003+01:00

Well we have finally all finished our artwork for the project that we have been involved in at Wightwick Manor House and gardens. Above is the poster for the exhibtion which starts tomorrow and finishes on Monday 30th May.

Please come along if you can and see this exhibition as it is in a beautiful setting - great for a day out. The house and gardens are only open Wednesday to Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday. Also be aware that there are admission fees unless you are a member of the National Trust. More information about the exhibtion can be found on the National Trust website here.

Wightwick Manor Art Project - Blind Embossing

2011-05-09T09:18:00.011+01:00

Here is an update on some of the art that I have been producing for an art project that I have been working on for the past few months at Wightwick Manor which has been organised by Enter Arts in Wolverhampton and Making Art History of the National Trust. It has been a real privilege to be able to view Wightwick Manor at its quietest time during the winter months and also to see the seasons change into spring and summer as the house and garden come to life.
I have been fascinated by the windows in the house firstly from the light coming through the dark blinds that cover them in the winter months creating different colours and shapes. I also took some photos of the windows from the outside and cut a lino block which I then used for blind embossing which is where the lino block is pressed into wet paper and leaves its impression behind. This is one of the techniques that I have been teaching in my recent workshops:

Here is the blind embossed print again with the actual lino block that I cut:

The windows that I used for inspiration:

More Than Floral - Bilston Craft Gallery

2011-04-06T17:58:00.019+01:00

Yesterday I visited Bilston Craft Gallery to see their latest exhibition - More Than Floral where artists, designers and craftspeople have been inspired by the world of plants. The viewer is invited to explore and reassess their perception of something that is all around them and that we take for granted.

The exhibition is very well presented and two works of art that I was particularly amazed at were created with such ordinary media as coloured pencils and pressed flowers. The space in the main gallery is light and airy - perfect for viewing works of art. If you haven't been to Bilston Craft Gallery then I recommend that you do and this exhibition where there is something for everyone: printing; drawing, textiles and glass is on until June 25th.

Lino printing, blind embossing, making journals workshop at Birmingham Printmakers

2011-04-04T10:43:00.007+01:00

Above you can find details of two one day workshops that I am running at Birmingham Printmakers to make lino, printed and blind embossed journals. If you are interested or just want further information please don't hesitate to contact me.

Lino printing, blind embossing, making journals - School Workshop

2011-03-24T10:09:00.040Z

Yesterday I ran a 'Lino printing, blind embossing, making journals' workshop at William Brookes School in Much Wenlock. The Year 10 students were just about to embark on a new project with a theme of landscape for their GCSE Art and their teacher wanted me to explore images and ideas using two artists - Henry Moore and Kurt Jackson for inspiration. Firstly we talked about the kind of mark making that these two artists use and then the students used their ideas to sketch out images that they could use in printing:

Then the students started to cut their lino blocks:

When their lino blocks were ready I did some blind embossing with them which unfortunately I don't have photos form this session but you can see some from this other workshop with the link here. Next I talked about the way that the students can create patterns with their blocks and then they printed them with different colours:

Finally I helped them make their lino prints and blind embossings into concertina journals that the students may use in their GCSE Art work to record any inspiration, sketches, ideas, artists e.t.c.

The students really enjoyed themselves and felt that they had learnt new skills and enhanced their drawing techniques whilst working towards something that could help them in their GCSE Art module. I really enjoyed running it too and am looking forward to my next 'Lino printing, Blind embossing, making journals workshop'.

Making Art History/EnterArts Art Project - Wightwick Manor

2011-02-19T13:04:00.015Z

For the past few months I have been lucky to have been accepted and have been working on an Art Project which is based at Wightwick Manor, which although it looks like a medieval Manor house was actually built in the late 1890's. It is well known for having been furnished under the influence of the Arts & Crafts movement and the house contains many examples of William Morris designs on fabric and wallpaper and William de Morgan designs on ceramcs and tiles.

The project is run by Enter Arts under the Wolverhampton Adult Education Service and Making Art History which is a project run by the National Trust.

The idea is that as professional artists we can take any inspiration that we wish from Wightwick Manor and use it in our art work which is then to be displayed as final pieces in an exhibition at Wightwick Manor in May.

My inspiration is being led to the natural plants, flowers and foliage outside as well as the obvious natural inspiration from the designs of William Morris and de Morgan:

These photos were taken when there was a wonderful hoarfrost which totally transforms the landscape and emphasises the structure of everything:

As well as William Morris designs all over the house there is an extra exhibition at Wightwick Manor of his work which starts at the beginning of March - I will post more details when they become available.

20:20 Print Exchange - Receiving Prints

2011-01-07T16:14:00.009Z

I have been posting about the 20:20 Print Exchange that was organised by Hot Bed Press Printmakers of Manchester. I took part in this exchange with ten others from Birmingham Printmakers and last month was very exciting as we all received our prints.

The idea was that each of us produced twenty four prints and every participant would receive back twenty randomly selected prints from all the other printmaking studios that were taking part. Above you can see some of the prints that I received they are by (from left to right): Fred Jones; Anya Scannell and Jill Randall.

The Printmaking studios that took part were:

Birmingham Printmakers
Black Church Print Studio, Dublin
Cork Printmakers
Dundee Print Studio
Hotbed Press, Manchester
Leinster Print Studio
Red Hot Press, Southampton
Seacourt Print Workshop, Bangor
West Yorkshire Print Workshop

All the prints can be viewed at this Flickr site here.

Further prints shown below that I received are by: Deidre Stanley; Ruth Barrett-Davies and Martin Kochany:

The Print Exchange was very well organised and everyone received prints packaged in this screenprinted box:

This has to be one of my favourite prints by Sylvia Taylor of Cork Printmakers. It is very intriguing and leaves me wondering how it was made as it appears to be printed onto black transparent paper and the design can be viewed from the reverse side:

Birmingham Printmakers at Staff House Gallery, University of Birmingham

2010-11-16T09:30:00.007Z

I am taking part in this exhibition along with other members of Birmingham Printmakers at Staff House Gallery, University of Birmingham from 8th November - 17th December 2010.

See map for directions.

Exhibition at Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury

2010-11-09T10:52:00.003Z

I have been invited to take part in an exhibition at the Theatre Severn in Shrewsbury from 5th November 2010 to 29th January 2011. This is quite exciting as it is a combination of artists that have previously exhibited at Gateway Gallery3 in Shrewsbury.
The Private View is on Monday 15th November from 6.00pm - 7.00pm

The winner is.......

2010-10-23T14:56:00.008+01:00

The winner of the blog giveaway for one of my new prints is ... Leslie Avon Miller. Leslie's name was randomly chosen by my daughter out of all the names that commented on this post. Thank you to everyone who commented.

Leslie could you please send me your details to my email:

jacquidodds(at)yahoo(dot)co(dot)uk and I will send the print out in the post to you.

I will soon be posting another different giveaway on my other blog Venetian Blue so keep reading for a chance to win.

Giveaway!

2010-10-12T21:29:00.011+01:00

I have printed a limited edition of my new prints of Ditherington Flax Mill and have decided to offer one of these unframed prints in my giveaway to celebrate the second anniversary of my blog. The print is hand screenprinted by me onto an off white Somerset Satin paper.
If you would like to win this unframed print please leave a comment on this post. I will leave this open up to Friday 22nd October at 6.00pm (Greenwich mean time) and then will randomly pick a winner from the comments.

Sarah Mitchell book binding workshop

2010-10-11T15:50:00.008+01:00

On Saturday I travelled up to Preston for a very exciting workshop that was being run by Sarah Mitchell, whose blog littlepaperbird I have been following for a while now. Sarah makes the most beautiful hand bound books and I was delighted when I received an email from her to say that she was having a workshop to make this gorgeous concertina album:

The workshop was held at PAD shop and gallery in Preston which has some wonderful art and crafts on sale so that in between making the books we could wander round and look at all the artists' work. Sadly PAD is closing at the end of this month due to funding cuts which I think is a great shame as it showcases the work of about two hundred artists and is a great source for ideas and presents.

Sarah showed us how to inlay a piece of paper on our covers and I chose a piece of Japanese paper with silver leaves and flowers on it:

My finished book:

Sarah also had an exhibition of her books on display in the gallery and it was lovely to see all her books for real after seeing some of them on her blog:

Sarah also makes exquisitely crafted boxes:

These are some of Sarah's bound books which I was amazed at as they are so beautifully finished:

I particulaly like these herringbone books and they would make ideal presents or even just to treat yourself! See these books and others for sale in Sarah's shop

New Print - Ditherington Flax Mill, Stage 2

2010-10-08T12:38:00.009+01:00

This is the new print of Ditherington Flax Mill, near Shrewsbury finished. I added the final layer of magenta and am very pleased with the result:

Then finally to add the title, print number and my signature to the print and then it will be on its way to Hot Bed Press in Manchester for their 20/20 Print swap exhibition.

I have decided to produce another limited edition of this print and this will be part of my giveaway which will be announced soon.

New Print - Ditherington Flax Mill, Stage 1

2010-09-24T22:33:00.023+01:00

Sometimes when I have a project deadline to work to I think I cannot possibly come up with viable ideas. However, just lately I am beginning to realise that these deadlines and projects are essential in motivating me to produce work.

At Birmingham Printmakers some of us decided to take part in a print exchange titled 20:20 organised by Hot Bed Press, Printmakers Studios in Manchester. The idea is that each printmaker taking part produces 24 prints that are on paper 20cm x 20cm. Each artist will then receive a portfolio of one of their own prints plus 19 other prints selected at random and no artist will receive an identical portfolio.

I decided to base my idea on Ditherington Flax Mill near Shrewsbury which is in the process of being conserved by English Heritage along with other partners. The above is a preliminary print I made onto cartridge paper to see if my sketches were working out. The next stage was to mix up a colour for a background sky and print onto Somerset Printmaking Paper:

Printing the next layer of grey for the building:

I am very pleased with the result of this days printing, even though there were a few challenges along the way:

BVA Open Studios 2010

2010-08-10T09:52:00.025+01:00

A few weeks ago I took part in the Borderland Visual Arts Open Studios 2010 near Oswestry. I was really lucky to be able to exhibit my work at the home and studio of sculptor Judy Greaves whom I know from University. There were five artists exhibiting at Judy's, one of which was me.
This was the amazing sight that greeted visitors as they came to the studios. This wonderful stag was made by Ben Broadbent who has also been exhibiting his work recently at the RHS Tatton Flower Show:

Another of Ben's lovely sculptures for the garden this time an owl:

My paintings, prints and cards:

Charcoal and oil drawings and paintings by Darren Fraser and bronze sculptures by Beatriz Cabrera Molleja:

Darren and Beatriz brought along their gorgeous puppy Mika who spent most of the time looking cute and napping:

Judy Greaves gave demonstrations of her work in progress (love the ear defenders on the sculpture!):

More of Judy's and Ben's sculptures around her garden:

There were many more artists in and around Oswestry for this Open Studios but because I was taking part I didn't manage to visit many. One I did get to see is the studio and art work of Janie McLeod:

I have visited Janie's studio a few times now and love her studio at the bottom of her garden. It is not very big but prefect for painting and displaying art work:

I have realised that last month marked the second anniversary of starting to blog and it's great to look back on all the things I have done. To celebrate I will be having a giveaway in the next few weeks either on this blog or on my other blog - Venetian Blue which will also be two years old, so hope you will keep reading and take part.

Print Workshops 3: Lino printing and making journals

2010-07-21T22:52:00.013+01:00

After the blind embossing was finished I then asked the students to devise pattern repeats for their printing and they began to print with their lino blocks:

Prior to the workshops I had designed some concertina books that I thought would be reasonably easy but effective for the students to make. After experimenting with some printing at home I had two examples of journals that I made in order to demonstrate the techniques to the students:

After demonstrating the method of making the journals I then helped the students to make their own and here are the results:

Print Workshops 2: Lino blocks and blind embossing

2010-07-15T16:27:00.013+01:00

This is the second post with information about workshops that I have been running with my artist friend Claire Harrigan. We asked the participating students to collect images and then to make a design that could be transferred onto linoleum and then cut into a block for printing.

The images that the students used were amazing and very quickly they transferred their ideas onto the linoleum:

I had an idea that before they actually printed the cut blocks with colour they could use the blocks for blind embossing where the block is pressed into the paper and these are the fabulous results:

Print Workshops 1

2010-06-18T07:21:00.014+01:00

For the last six months I have been involved in a training programme called Radiate which provides professional development for artists across the West Midlands. This has been a great opportunity for me to develop my workshop teaching skills particularly in schools. We reached the stage a couple of months ago where we actually have been going into secondary schools to introduce a project to the students of the school that we have been placed with.
As part of this I have been developing a project along with my colleague Claire for the students to take part in that is based on my own art work which uses the ideas of sense of place.

I decided that part of the work for the students would involve lino printing and I wanted to practice on a lino-cut of my own so I took the above image of a window and balcony in Venice and firstly drew the design on the lino and then started to cut out the design with my lino cutters:

This is the finished lino cut that I will use to demonstrate the techniques to the students:

'Florentine Lilies'

2010-06-10T12:21:00.010+01:00

This is a new print that I have recently made which is hand screen printed onto Somerset Satin paper and is a limited edition - it is on show at the Borderland Visual Arts Open Studios . This is the 10th anniversary of the Open Studios and I was very pleased to be accepted as a member and to be able to exhibit my work at the studio of sculptor Judy Greaves.

The Open Studios are held over two weekends - June 5/6th and 12/13th and open from 10.00am until 5.00pm although many of the studios can also be viewed at other times as well - details can be found here.

I took some photos of our work last weekend and of Judy's lovely studio and garden which I will post later. The weekend was very successful as I sold one of my prints and some of my cards.

Visiting London

2010-06-06T21:57:00.029+01:00

This week my daughter and I visited London and our first port of call was at the Tate Modern. This time we did not visit any special exhibitions but just had a look round the galleries which was fun as usually there is something new to be seen. This can also have disadvantages as you may go expecting to see something you like and the curators have moved the work!
Of course we had to pop into the cafe for a hot chocolate:

This is one of the paintings that I wanted to see Almanac by Robert Rauschenberg which he made in 1962. This interests me as it contains both screen-printed images and also applied paint in the brushstroke style of the Abstract Expressionists:

Also of interest were these paintings by another American artist Barnett Newman. They are titled Adam and Eve. Eve was of special interest as I have recently completed an Art History assignment on this work. When writing about a piece of art work I definitely recommend viewing the original for yourself as seeing art in the flesh is totally different to seeing a reproduction of it in a book:

I love this work by Claude Monet of Water-lilies:

One of my favourite artists is Gerhard Richter and I was longing to see these paintings of his Cage (1) - (6) which pay homage to the American composer John Cage. They are in a room of their own and I really recommend seeing them, although I do not know how long they are on display at the Tate Modern for so it is best to check the Tate's website if you wish to see them:

I have not photographed all six of the paintings as there were quite a few people in the room where they were exhibited. They are very large paintings and it is fascinating seeing all the different layers of paint laid down by Richter with very large brushes.
It is also very interesting to see the mark making Richter uses and many separate sections of the paintings that could be seen as smaller paintings in their own right:

We also visited the Victoria and Albert Museum which had many visitors. We took a look at some of the fashion that was on display and would have liked to see the Grace Kelly exhibition but all the tickets for that day were sold out. (I think we were a little tired by this time as well!)
I had a quick look around their new Medieval & Renaissance Galleries but decided to leave a closer look at these for another day as there are three different levels all packed with art works.
One thing that was could not be ignored was the Dale Chihuly Chandelier in the entrance to the museum:

Acrylic Resist Etching

2010-05-31T19:29:00.015+01:00

Reading Carol's blog post the other day about Acrylic Resist Etching reminded me of a workshop I attended last summer with Sue Corr in Betws-y-coed, Wales to further my skills in this technique.

We used the safe etching method of dipping the prepared aluminium plate into a saturated copper sulphate solution. This is a close up of the plate which I find quite beautiful in itself:

The first print that I made was using black ink:

and the second using different thickness of ink in order to build up the layers of colour in the print. I am resolving to experiment more with this technique:

Paper Landscape

2010-03-11T09:00:00.007Z

My very talented friend Nada Velickovic has just opened her latest exhibition at Gateway Gallery3 in Shrewsbury. This is very different to anything that we have had in the gallery before and is a really exciting piece of work.

The 'landscape' is made up of many painted canvases that Nada has painted in oils over many months and is very textural when viewed closer:

I was really touched by this piece of work as I know some of the background behind it. When Nada was describing it to me as she made it I thought it may turn out to be quite sad - however I feel that it is very hopeful and uplifting.

If you are in Shrewsbury call in and see this at Gateway Gallery3 on Chester Street. The exhibition ends on April 12th.

Pandy Mill Exhibition

2010-01-08T08:12:00.020Z

Some of my paintings have been in an exhibition at Pandy Mill Gallery near Llangollen over Christmas and the New Year. These were some of the paintings that I made for my degree show and its interesting to see them arranged in a different grouping. The photos have been taken by Myk Briggs.

Venetian Lion

2009-10-12T10:27:00.013+01:00

After a local gallery has taken some of my my cards to sell in their gallery and they require further designs, I needed to start work on these and chose this image of one of the Venetian lions in Saint Mark's Square, Venice. I have also been rethinking the printing process too as usually I print my cards via my Gocco machine. However, Gocco have ceased production of their machines and supplies which has meant increased prices for the supplies that are still in circulation. This lead me to actually try screenprinting the cards and since I have joined Birmingham Printmakers this seems like a sensible way forward. The above is my image on the screen before I have printed it and then during printing:

I have not decided yet whether I like the design as it is or whether I need to do more to it, also whether it would be better to put this card out at the start of next year or spring, rather than now, when it may be more appropriate for summer holiday time?

Per Kirkeby, Tate Modern

2009-09-08T12:32:00.017+01:00

Last week we visited the Tate Modern in London, especially to see the exhibition of Danish painter Per Kirkeby. Previously I had seen a few of his paintings in books and was intrigued to see his paintings in the 'flesh'.

We visited the gallery on a Wednesday when it was very quiet and as the weather was not so good our first port of call was the cafe:

In the first rooms Per Kirkeby's paintings were very much like pop art but more subtle. Further on in the exhibition he had been using blackboard paint as a base and created many different layers of mixed media on the top. His work was quite varied from watercolours to immense canvases, although the colours and techniques that he uses pulls all his work together. Per Kirkeby was trained as a geologist and this is evident in both the way that he treats his media as if investigating the build of of different layers and also in the subjects that he chooses to represent.

The exhibition was really good and what was unusual was that there were not many people in the galleries and so we virtually had the exhibition to ourselves. This was good from the point of view that we could really get a good look at the paintings without having to manoeuvre around people. It was really worth visiting and appealed to both myself and my daughter. I Iook forward to seeing more of Per Kirkeby's work in the future.

Charleston Revisited

2009-08-24T21:55:00.022+01:00

I guess this shows that I have been posting on this blog for just over a year now as I revisited Charleston when we went to Sussex for our holidays last month. This was the house and meeting place for the Bloomsbury group of artists and the interior was painted by the artists Vanessa Bell (Virginia Woolf's sister) and Duncan Grant.

I love this place in the peaceful Sussex countryside, even though it just started to rain as I went into the garden, it was very beautiful. This is the lawn that Vanessa Bell's French windows opened out into. Apparently her husband made her move her bedroom downstairs when he moved back into the house. It must have been lovely on a hot summer's day to open the doors of your bedroom onto this:

Although it is quite a small garden the planting is lovely and there are some statues as well:

Last year when I visited I went inside the house and I nted to go around again and was not disappointed. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to take photos inside the house, so I cannot show you the wonderful painted interiors here. There were some new paintings in the house that were on loan that I had not seen last year and also another room had been opened that I had not actually been in last year.

The shop is always really special to visit and this year they have added some lovely textiles that are designs by Duncan Grant and Cressida Bell. If you want to see more paintings and textiles by the Bloomsbury group there is an exhibition on at the Courtauld Gallery called Beyond Bloomsbury until 20th September.

I felt that I was really starting to get to know the house and the characters who lived or visited there and am hoping that I will be lucky enough to go there again next year.

Cambridge Open Studios 2

2009-08-20T11:27:00.025+01:00

When I visit any artists' Open Studios I obtain the brochure beforehand and try and choose just a handful of artists to visit, otherwise it can leave you exhausted trying to look around them all. Usually I choose an artist whose work I am familiar with, but often it is nice to be surprised by someone whose work you don't know. Bearing in mind that there were over one hundred and fifty artists exhibiting for the Cambridge Open Studios I flicked through their leaflet for just one other artist to visit, as did not know Cambridge at all and only had a limited time to spend there. My eye was drawn towards the above painting by Melanie Max in the Open Studios brochure and I decided her work would be another to view.

Melanie's work is wonderful; abstract landscapes inspired by East Anglia and the West Country. I was particularly interested in her most recent work which incorporated the drawn line and an exploration of space both of the scene she is inspired by and on the canvas:

Another bonus of going to see Melanie's work was in the beautiful surroundings her work was exhibited in which is the Kaetsu Centre in the New Hall in Cambridge. This was a really lovely space to exhibit work and I would love to see some of my paper hangings in this space as my work often has a Japanese aesthetic to it.

Exhibiting alongside Melanie was ceramic artist and printmaker Clare Crouchman. Clare's work is an exploration of order and chaos informed by maps, cities and mazes. Again another added bonus and lovely surprise of viewing an artist that I hadn't heard of before:

The artists' work complemented each other really well in this beautiful space and I shall be putting the Cambridge Open Studios in my diary for next year and looking forward to visiting these artists again and finding new ones to enjoy.

Cambridge Open Studios 1

2009-08-20T10:52:00.009+01:00

A few weeks ago I travelled over to Cambridge to visit the annual artists' Open Studios there. I had not been before and have wanted see the studio of artist Charlotte Cornish whose work I have been admiring for a few years. Charlotte's work is gorgeous - really vivid coloured abstract prints and paintings with inspiration taken from places she has travelled to:

Charlotte's studio is one of the most ideal spaces I have seen for creating wonderful works of art. I love the idea of being able to sit/lounge on this chaise longue and contemplate the work you have just produced. However, I think in real life this would be just a dream as I know how busy life is for a practising artist!

I love the floor of Charlotte's studio too as it is like a painting in itself:

The studio is really in a gorgeous setting, how can you fail to be inspired and produce good work in a place like this?

Shrewsbury Open Studios

2009-07-22T10:34:00.029+01:00

A few weeks ago I visited some artists' studios in the Shrewsbury Open Studios weekend. I usually choose about four or five artists to visit, however, this does not always go to plan!

One of my first ports of call was to see Pam Newall's garden studio; located very space efficiently in her shed! This was a treat to also see her beautiful house and garden. Pam has just completed the Professional Print Diploma course at Wrexham Print Centre and is now looking to take an MA in printmaking.

The weather was ideal for this weekend, hot and sunny and Pam had very kindly supplied visitors with glasses of refreshing orange juice on ice, perfect for such a hot day. Pam's work is lovely; her prints feel like moments captured in time and the colours are subtle and beautiful. You can see her work in the Print Centre up to 24th July in the 'Print Out: Professional Printmakers' Exhibition and Pam also has a print in the Wrexham Open at Oriel Wrecsam.

After spending quite a lot of time talking to Pam and some of her visitors, I then drove to the studio of another graduate from the Professional Printmaking course, Heather Prescott:

I received another warm welcome from Heather and spent a lot of time talking to her (I think this is why I don't get to see so many artists! But the ones I do see are just so interesting). Her collagraph prints are beautiful with lovely colours and textures. Also Heather is experimenting with some prints onto Chinese paper which will be exciting to see how they develop. Her studio is fascinating with so many lovely things to see:

Then I was invited to view the studio of Heather's neighbour, artist Mike Priest:

Most of Mike's abstract paintings are on a really large scale, as you can see and he has an exhibition coming up in the autumn at Shrewsbury School. The colours he uses and his mark making techniques are what make his paintings special. Mike has a really nice studio space, situated in his garden. On the day I visited some of his paintings were propped up outside and the light filtered through these into the studio giving a kind of Japanese feel:

Although a lot of Mike's work is large scale he also paints smaller works in preparation for the larger canvases and these along with some of his monoprints can be seen in Wenlock Fine Art

Fresh from Wrexham

2009-07-13T10:56:00.005+01:00

I was lucky to be chosen to exhibit one of my pieces in the show chosen for Oriel Wrexham gallery. I was really pleased with how the gallery had exhibited my work - which as you can see is a long tall hanging which trails onto the floor.
My screenprinted paper hanging was hung next to my friend Jude Hill-Davies' exciting installation. You can find more of her work along with some of mine here.

Degree Show Exhibition

2009-06-22T19:23:00.016+01:00

This week is the last week that our degree show exhibition is on view at North Wales School of Art & Design until the 26th June.

I was very lucky (or not!) to be given two spaces for my degree show one was a lovely contained project space where I had already tried out some of my work earlier on in the year. I have been exploring the idea of memory in my work throughout my degree and especially memories of places that I have visited. This project space was ideal for my work revolving around the theme of Venice:

The second allocated area was my own studio space which I already felt comfortable with. I decided to contrast the mainly printed media in the other space with paintings that are based upon reflections I discovered in Birmingham City Centre:

I really enjoyed making these paintings which were oil and acrylic on board. Although they are 2D they appear quite textured and almost like slate. Making these has afforded me lots of new techniques and ideas and I am looking forward to trying these out.

Beth Fletcher, Gateway Gallery3

2009-06-15T20:10:00.002+01:00

At Gateway Gallery3 in Shrewsbury this month and next is Shropshire artist Beth Fletcher. If you haven't seem Beth's landscape paintings before then you really should come and see this exhibition which is on until the 13th July.

Victoria Hilton, The Hills Studios

2009-06-05T23:06:00.028+01:00

My friend, artist Victoria Hilton, invited me to see her paintings at The Hills Studios near Market Drayton. It has been a year since I last viewed her work and these 'Painted Reliefs' of hers were stunning and well presented amongst the rustic buildings:

More of Victoria's work will be exhibited at Gateway Gallery3 during July and August.
The upstairs gallery was just as lovely and inviting:

I was also very pleased to see paintings by Midge Naylor whose work has already been recommended to me:

Midge also had some of her prints on display, which were mainly collagraphs. I was especially taken with these and their subtle handling of colour and texture.
At the far end of the gallery was work by the multitalented Monica Grohman who specialises in ceramics and mixed media paintings. Also the unusual and intriguing sculptures of Neil Wood in the corner:

Janet Creed's ceramics were also a delight with their 'soft tactile qualities '. Through the window you can see a lovely view out to the countryside surrouding the Hill Studios:

For a full list of all the artists visit the website here.
Unfortunately if you wish to visit there is only one day left to do so - Saturday 6th June. However, I will keep you posted on further events held at The Hills Studio.

Degree Show, Summer Exhibition

2009-05-28T22:01:00.008+01:00

This is the reason for my lack of blog posts. I have been preparing for my end of Degree Show at North Wales School of Art & Design. I think many of us have had little sleep over the past few weeks! The first and second years have been brilliant in helping us to prepare for the show: filling in, painting walls, scrubbing and cleaning floors. I think all of us could graduate as painters and decorators! I think it is very exciting now that everything is ready and quite sad for us all to have a parting of the ways.

It is the Private View tomorrow night, Friday 29th May and the show is open weekdays 1st - 26th June.

'Reflecting Winter and Spring'

2009-05-14T07:45:00.016+01:00

This screenprint onto aluminium was inspired again by a little waterfall in the village of Llanarmon DC. It is exhibited in an outside exhibition at the village until 25th May. Last year I exhibited a similar piece, however this year the work fits into the theme of the exhibition which is 'Time & Place'. Earlier in the year the small waterfall was frozen and the icicles hanging from the rocks in amongst the beautiful green moss were really inspiring:

I really enjoyed making this work (taking my mind off the stress for our final degree show at university!) I felt that the colours and line worked really well so next it will be printed onto paper so that I can have a print of it on the wall at home. As the icicles are printed in white I cannot print it onto white paper so will have to choose another colour; what do you suggest?

New Painting

2009-04-26T16:57:00.012+01:00

This journal has been neglected lately for a couple of reasons - one my camera was stolen so I could not take any photos and the other I have been rather busy working towards my final degree show which is at the end of May. Decided to work much bigger than I normally do and started working on a canvas that will measure 168cm x 120cm. Above are the base layers on the canvas and below showing the scale I am working on:

One of the media I really enjoy is screenprinting so decided to screenprint my Venetian Windows onto the canvas. This was quite a challenge because of the size of the screenprint.

I took over the print room and the floor in order to try out my design on the canvas:

After printing the canvas was back up in my studio space:

Then I stretched the canvas onto a large frame and tried it out in one of the project spaces at college to see how it would look:

Beaux Arts Bath

2009-03-09T18:35:00.006Z

To look for some inspiration I visited Beaux Arts Gallery in Bath, specifically to see an exhibition by one of my favourite artists Naomi Frears. It is a lovely gallery with a light, airy exhibition space and has paintings, sculpture and ceramics. The girl on the desk was very friendly and helpful, and to greet you at the door is this life size dog:

He is gorgeous and inevitably receives a lot of attention from passers by

Thank you

2009-03-05T10:05:00.007Z

We have taken down our exhibition at the Gateway which was quite sad as the gallery space was excellent to exhibit our work. Our private view was very well attended so thank you to everyone who came to that and also to the many people who have visited the exhibition and provided us with some very positive feedback.

Thank you also to everyone who left such wonderful comments in the book and one that I found really touching was from a girl who wrote that she found my Florentine Lillies (above) 'very refreshing' and also that she loved to come into our exhibition on a Tuesday to take her mind off things.

Above is another photo of my Venetian Lillies which were screenprinted onto Chinese paper and next to them are my Venetian Memory paintings. On the left by the window is a long hanging screenprint onto Japanese paper - part of a series of Waterfall prints.

'Memory of Place' Exhibition, Gateway Gallery3, Shrewsbury

2009-01-25T20:20:00.008Z

My joint exhibition has started this month at Gateway Gallery3 in Shrewsbury. The Private View on January 16th was well attended and we had some really positive comments about our exhibition.

One of my pieces that I am exhibiting I would have liked to hang either at the window with light shining through and trailing on the floor as it is entitled Waterfall - however this was not practical as visitors would have been stansing on my work so had to rethink it and hang against the window as above.

If you are in Shrewsbury please feel free to pop into the Gateway and see our exhibition - if you are coming on a Saturday please phone the Gateway to ensure they are open first on 01743 355159.

Exhibition details:

Christine Bradshaw & Jacqui Dodds
‘Memory of Place’
at GATEWAY GALLERY3, Shrewsbury
Exhibition dates: 17th January – 23rd February 2009

Year 3 (Final Year), work up to Christmas

2009-01-17T19:33:00.000Z

In the summer I painted the three paintings on the left of the above photo which are called Venetian Memory I, II and III, based on an overall theme of Memory of Place. Then I had them framed for my assessment, which was due at Christmas and also for an exhibition that I am having at the Gateway in Shrewsbury. Some people ask if they are prints as they are on paper, but they are actually acyclic and mixed media paintings on paper. I have also been working with metaphors of architecture, structure and memories and the large layered print in the middle of the photo is based on one of the boarded up windows I found in Spinalonga:

After painting the Venetian Memory series on paper I then decided to try and paint the same images onto canvas (shown in the right of the photo) and although they were alright I have decided that they look better on paper. Again the large layered 'thistle' print in the middle and below is printed onto Japanese paper and is also inspired by Spinalonga.

I also created a long turquoise hanging screenprint which was a continuation of my reflecting waterfall theme:

The two larger paintings to the left of the Waterfall print are continuing my Venetian Memory theme; where I am now starting to add more layers to my paintings with oil paints:

Collecting Colour Combinations

2009-01-08T23:00:00.000Z

One of the things I have been doing lately is to collect examples of colour combinations that I like that I have come upon by chance. These I may then use in my work. The above is from an upturned mixing palette (recycled plastic tray) that I was using. I love the combination of blues and then that random addition of brilliant lime green.

This one below appeared from mixing etching inks for printing:

Here is the etching that I made from the ink:

Private View - Postcards Exhibition

2008-12-03T10:22:00.000Z

The Private View for the Postcards exhibition was on Friday night and was exciting and busy. We had twenty-six artists entering the exhibition and most of them brought their friends along on Friday evening as well. Above are the 'Postcards' that I entered and which are on show - they are screenprints, printed onto Arches 88 printing paper. The entry conditions were that any original artwork could be submitted, in any media (apart from photographs) of postcard size. Also the work was not to be signed so that viewers/buyers were not influenced by the 'name' on the artwork. It was great to see so many different artworks and media and a great guessing game to 'name' the artists that had submitted work.

The exhibition is on at Gateway Gallery3 until January 13th 2009 so feel free to call in if you are in Shrewsbury.

Postcards Exhibition - Gallery3, Shrewsbury

2008-11-09T09:38:00.000Z

Yesterday was the official handing in day for the Postcards Exhibition at Gallery3 in Shrewsbury, where I am on the art panel. This is a great opportunity for all artists to exhibit their work and to try their hand at a small size artwork. The range of mediums was very exciting from pencil drawings, acrylics, watercolour and gouache, oil on board, and collage even through to printing – etching and screenprint.

Please note - the postcards on the poster above are not the artworks being exhibited.

More details can be found here:

http://www.gateway-gallery3.co.uk/home.htm#postcards

The exhibition will be at Gallery3 in the Gateway Arts & Education Centre in Shrewsbury from 28th November to 13th January 2009 with a Private View on Friday 28th November 7.00pm to 9.00pm.

Mini print - Bridge of Sighs, Venice

2008-10-21T15:43:00.000+01:00

This new mini print (7cm x 10cm) has been created from a drawing from the Bridge of Sighs in Venice which I visited a couple of years ago. It is screen printed in turquoise which is reminiscent of the colours of the Venetian canals. After making the prints on the right of the photo, I have also printed some cards from the image, seen on the left.

Continuing Ideas

2008-10-17T11:37:00.000+01:00

Continuing the theme of Spinalonga and its isolation, I zoomed in on the image and enlarged my drawing up to A1 size. One of the functions that I am trying to achieve is to endeavour to treat the piece as a window, so drew the image onto tracing paper with water soluble pencils.

When I was pleased with the result I put the drawing up in my studio space near to my previous painting.

Ironbridge

2008-09-21T11:03:00.000+01:00

We are really lucky to live a 15 minutes drive away from Ironbridge - 'the Birthplace of Industry' and I visit there usually once a month and have seen it in all weathers: snow, rain, flooded and yesterday it was sunny (I hope this good weather continues).

When it is a really nice day I find it is best to visit Ironbridge first thing in the morning when there is hardly anyone about and you can walk along the river with the sun is just starting to bring a hazy atmosphere to the place and swans and ducks swim along the river.

Yesterday it was really busy and I didn't manage to walk along the river , although I did take a few photos including the one above of the Iron Bridge which is the world's first cast iron bridge built over the River Severn in 1779.

After a short walk by the bridge we stopped here for some Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough ice cream:

As this was a quick visit we didn't stay as long and as we headed back in the car I spotted this at the Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron:

I had to stop the car and go and take a closer look at this old fairground ride.

The ride was at the entrance to Enginuity I am not sure why it was there but there was no one around at all. I would have loved to have a ride on it and was wishing that I had my sketchbook with me.

As I walked up the hill to take more photos I noticed the tiles on the floor. I am interested in patterns that I see around and may use this as inspiration for my artwork.

You can see this clock tower from the road and the architectural features are really interesting as you get closer.

There are lots of old pieces of machinery around the Museum of Iron and I came across this wonderful old boiler. Again I wish I had brought my sketchbook with me. I am going to have to come back at a later date and take more photos and definitely bring my sketchbook with me.

Sunshine and Cards

2008-09-19T20:55:00.000+01:00

Well looks like we have an Indian Summer which really lifts the spirits. I have been making these cards this afternoon using a design that I call 'Venetian Abstract'. In the past I have made larger prints of it but decided to scale it down and print in silver which really worked well.
I think I might make some more and print them in turquoise.

The Forgotton Island

2008-09-17T09:54:00.000+01:00

With the autumn weather quite overcast here in Shropshire (at the moment - I am keeping my fingers crossed for an Indian Summer!), my thoughts keep returning to the much warmer weather that we had on our holiday to Crete in August. Mainly I am remembering the lovely island of Spinalonga and have recently been making some sketches of the island. Above is a pencil sketch I made of one of the Venetian fortifications on the island with the sea and part of the mainland in the background

I wanted to try and capture the feeling that this was once an island that people wanted to forget, but also the beauty of the island that it is today. So I made this acrylic wash and mixed media painting in my sketchbook:

The blue shapes along the bottom of the painting are reminiscent of Venetian architecture as the Venetians once occupied Spinalonga and helped to shape its character.

Then this progressed to a painting on canvas 24cm x 30cm:

Birdhouse Exhibition

2008-09-10T12:37:00.000+01:00

My very talented college friend Katy is part of a new group exhibition at the Ebenezer Centre, Cefn Mawr, which is just north of Oswestry. Feel free to go along and take a look if you are in the area:

Birdhouse exhibition at the Ebenezer Centre, Cefn Mawr, Wrexham:
Amanda Roberts, Katy Webster, Jim Fleming, Simon Howe,

Tony Jones, Jim Heath,

Heather Prescott & Ken Gowers
1 - 30 September 2008

Venetian Design - photo etching

2008-08-28T12:44:00.000+01:00

A few weeks ago I went on a photo etching course to Birmingham Printmakers and this is a design I have been developing with a Venetian theme that I thought would work well with this technique, which it did. This photo is of the plate being developed. I haven't printed anything substantial with it yet as I am waiting to go back to college to print it properly. I will post more about this design as it develops.

Spinalonga - 'The Island'

2008-08-22T22:06:00.000+01:00

The second week of our holidays we went to Crete and the week before I mentioned to some friends that it had been recommended that we visit an island just off Crete called Spinalonga. 'Oh - you mean the island as in the book 'The Island' by Victoria Hislop' one of them said. Well it hadn't clicked with me that it was 'The Island' - and I hadn't read it! So Friday night, Gatwick airport I purchased the aforementioned book. Sunday we were visiting 'The Island' and I had only just started reading it. However I was really looking forward to visiting Spinalonga as the book had me interested from the start and we love boat trips.

For anyone who hasn't read the book, Spinalonga was Greece's main leper colony from 1903 until 1957 and also has a very rich history, having been occupied by the Venetians who built a fortress on the island and then later by the Turks.

Victoria Hislop's book starts in the year 1953 and tells the moving story of a family touched by leprosy and follows it through to the eradication of the disease and beyond.

After alighting from the boat, visitors go through this tunnel - what the islanders called Dante's Gate:

Although a lot of the buildings were being held up by scaffolding what I wasn't prepared for was the sight of a row of shops and buildings that would have been a school, hospital, church and even a town hall.

There was a whole infrastructure to this community that I think many are suprised at.

These buildings were built by the Ottomans when they occupied the island.

I found Spinalonga fascinating and even though there were many people visiting there it was very peaceful,

The island has a real beauty of its own and I started to question why we were all visiting; was it purely as a beautiful island, the bizarre fascination of it being a former leper colony or because of the publication of Victoria Hislop's book? Possibly a mixture of all three? Wherever you go on the island it is a sobering thought that for some people it was both a prison and freedom and when people first went there they thought they would never leave.

In the sixteenth-century the Venetians fortified the island to stop it being invaded.

The north of the island is more rugged and the wind picks up the dust as you walk around the headland, apparently in the winter this wind is really cold and for the colony it would have been very uncomfortable as there was no electricity when they first went to Spinalonga.

All too soon we had to head back to the boat, which seemed far too early for me, I wanted to stay longer, but a beach barbeque and swim had been booked for everyone on the boat.

I am really glad I visited Spinalonga and wanted to revisit, but unfortunately we only spent a week on Crete. I continued to read the book and was glad that I had visited first before I read it as I was able to formulate my own memories of the island.

Charleston, an artists home and garden

2008-08-15T21:45:00.000+01:00

For as long as I can remember my good friend Darcy has admired the writer Virginia Woolf and one of her favourite artists is Duncan Grant. So when I told her that we were going to Sussex for the first week of our holidays she immediately recommended that we should visit Charleston which was where Duncan Grant lived with Vanessa Bell and was a meeting place for the writers, painters and intellectuals known as the Bloomsbury Group. So this was where we visited on the Sunday.

The garden was so peaceful despite quite a lot of visitors and the weather was really sunny.

There were suprises around every corner:

The house itself is a real gem. I decided to visit on a Sunday as this was one of the days when you can wander round the house without a guided tour (although the really helpful and interesting guides are there on hand to offer information). Unfortunately photos are not allowed inside the house so there are none to show here. I was amazed at the decoration inside as the Bloomsbury group had hand decorated most of the walls and lots of other places as well with beautiful taste.

Of course we had to have tea in the delightful tea room and then there was the shop where of course I had to buy the official guide book of the house to make up for the photos that I could not take inside! There is also a small gallery to the side of the shop where they show modern contemporary painters.

This was a great day out with wonderful memories. Thank you Darcy!

Print Workshop - Venetian Doorway

2008-07-20T20:38:00.000+01:00

I have been to a Waterless Plate Lithography & Monoprinting workshop today in Birmingham with Chris Doran who was an excellent teacher. The technique is very good at reproducing the drawn mark and is one which I will be using more of in the future.

Cy Twomby at the Tate Modern

2008-07-18T10:11:00.000+01:00

Cy Twomby, Quattro Stagioni:

If you are in London this summer this is one of the must see art exhibitions to visit. I have admired Cy Twombly for a while now and went to see this exhibition a couple of weeks ago and it did not disappoint. I would recommend hiring one of the Tate's excellent audioguides as these really do enhance your experience and the Tate were keen to know my opinion of the audioguide when I handed it back. Each room is set out in chronological order which made it easy to see how Twombly started in monochrome and slowly built up his work over the years to a crescendo of colour.

Tate Modern: 19th June - 14th September

http//www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/cytwombly/default.shtm

'Reflecting Waterfall'

2008-07-16T22:33:00.000+01:00

This is one of my pieces that I entered for an outdoor exhibition called 'Inside Out' in the village of Llanarmon D.C. in the Upper Ceiriog Valley. Over thirty artists entered the exhibition and it was opened by the broadcaster Mavis Nicholson to whom my daughter was asked to present some flowers.

My piece is inspired by water that flows through the village and mainly by a small waterfall which lies directly opposite the piece - hence it is called 'Reflecting Waterfall'. I have screenprinted my own design onto aluminium in a turquoise blue - the colour being inspired from colours in Venice; which is another theme that I have been working on.

'Viewpoint 2' Exhibition

2008-07-16T10:50:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I helped set up a new exhibition at Gateway Gallery3 in Shrewsbury. Showing there are two lovely people, father and daughter; Graham and Jayne Stokes.
Graham's paintings affectionately look at the development of the urban landscape and Jayne's landscapes predominantly focus on painting and explore the use of form, texture and colour using assembled fragments of images.

The Exhibition is one of many that we hold throughout the year at Gateway Gallery3 and runs from 19th July - 25th August.

http://www.gateway-gallery3.co.uk/