I’ve moved into my studio and I can’t believe the difference it has made to my paintings! My work is larger, looser with more expressive marks and a real sense of freedom.
But let me just explain how I got here… Last December I treated myself to a 1:1 painting session with one of my favourite artists – Bethany Holmes - who's expressive style I love. The aim was not to learn to imitate but to gain new perspective and skills as I loosen up and get to grips with painting larger scale – something I’ve been struggling with. I spent the day with her in her stable block studio using lots of paint for a series of exercises designed to break habits, introduce new skills and develop an alternative approach. The using ‘lots of paint’ was key to opening my mind – to stop being precious about the cost of paint – and allowing myself to let go. Energized by my time with her, I made the decision to move out the home studio into a space more suited to sploshing paint around and working one several large pieces at once. I emptied our under used summerhouse and quickly turned it into my new painting studio. It’s an oasis of calm set amongst the tress, birds and wildlife where I can now settle down and fully immerse myself in creating my best work yet! It’s an absolute dream… Without fear of making a mess, my soft pink walls are now streaked with paint and the wooden flooring is covered in drips and marks, charting my progress back and forth across the space using two very different colour palettes. I love it! On the right I’m working in beachy blues, earthy hues, sunshine yellow and a calming lavender whilst on the left, I’m continuing with my super bright rainbow of colour which have transformed into the most gorgeous vibrant floral abstracts. I've been approaching my paintings with a fresh ‘abundance’ mindset, giant paintbrushes and big trays of paint. I’ve released myself from the pressure of creating finished pieces and am focusing on the process of developing and applying marks which have a renewed sense of looseness, freedom and energy - whilst retaining that dreamy, tranquil aspect of my abstract paintings that I’m known for. I’ve been able to work with ease on much bigger pieces that draw on using my full range of reach and really getting a physical workout some days. It’s very liberating! I’ve also been enjoying painting lots of smaller pieces as small ‘warmups’ to really get my ideas flowing, which surprisingly, have turned into the most stunning paintings in themselves. Three of which have been featured on the front cover of the Art Trail Brochure! Which brings me to this: I must let you know what’s happening over the art trail this year! Whilst I would love to fling open the French doors and welcome you into my new studio space, I don't think it’s fair for you to navigate the dogs & sloping garden to reach me. Instead I've secured the lovely light filled upstairs gallery at The George in Newnham to share my work with you aaaaaand – bonus- it has a great cafe serving delicious refreshments & an enchanting courtyard to enjoy on sunnier days so you can really enjoy your visit with me! It’s listed as Studio 18 on the map, open 10:30am – 4:00pm Tues-Sat, 11-3 Sun/Mon. In the meantime, I encourage you to keep up to date with what’s happening in my studio by subscribing to my newsletter here https://www.charlottekeating.com/pages/subscribe and keep your eyes peeled for the release of “Flourish” – my series of vibrant yet dreamy, abstract floral landscapes in acrylic paint and soft pastel on paper or canvas.
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I now have in stock my 2025 calendar depicting my artwork of classic, vintage and retro cars priced at £10.95 and available from my website, or any event that I will be attending. Two of these events are Coleford Carnival of Transport on Easter Monday, and Border Counties Steam and Country Show on
4 and 5 May at Vauxhall Fields, Monmouth, NP25 5BA. Cut flower grower and award-winning florist Jo Thompson of Wye Valley flowers, is now entering her fifth growing season and reflecting on a bumper year following a phone call asking her to supply flowers for the Coronation ofHM King Charles III. Wye Valley flowers was one of the members of Flowers from the Farm, whose beautiful, seasonal, sustainably-grown flowers from across the UK decorated the Quire and the Grave of the Unknown Warrior of Westminster Abbey for the Coronation Ceremony.
As 20 million people tuned in live to watch the state occasion, Jo was one of those proudly flower-spotting and knowing that the flowers she’d grown on on her plot between the Forest of Dean and the Wye Valley were now part of history. Jo tells us, ‘Wye Valley Flowers is part of a farm diversification plan I drew up 5 years ago on a 13-acre working farm, including glamping. Based between the gorgeous Wye Valley and Forest of Dean, the flower farm covers less than an acre -Including 45 raised beds, perennial borders, hedgerows and a polytunnel to extend the growing season. On the flower farm you will find florals not common in traditional florist shops, such as delicate tissue like ranunculus, wispy cornflowers and cerinthe. Most of my work is for weddings and events, but our new on-site shop supplies bouquets and dried flowers to the locality, visitors and hospitality venues. We also sell wholesale to florists looking for something unusual and DIY brides, as well as through our floral workshops. I studied florestry in her early 20s and have always had flowers in my life - either as a gardener or running floral workshops over the last 12 years. I discovered most bouquets travel over 4000 miles and I was interested to see if there was a more environmental alternative to buying supermarket or wholesale flowers, so I retrained in sustainable floral mechanics and began growing. More information on the 40 events, workshops and volunteer days on the fair Farm is available on this link: Inspired by Tim Ingold, in his book Correspondences, farOpen artist Carolyn Black has been developing work for the Watermark Exhibition in Worcester dedicated to those around the world who are affected by flooding, rising sea levels and loss of habitat.
Her displayed work focuses on her research on the river Severn and future flooding due to climate change, by exploring notions of inscription, eruption and erosion. Using a fascinating range of techniques including drawing, printmaking and video, Carolyn’s work sets out to depict the future landscape of the River Severn. She works with local pigments, graphite putty and powder. Often employing ice as a flooding medium, with Sumi ink (made from soot), the melting process is filmed as the drawings form, resulting in beautiful, subtle images on fine Japanese papers Follow her on Instagram @severnsideartist Watermark is an exhibition dedicated to those around the world who are affected by flooding, rising sea levels and loss of habitat. From January to June 2023 Meadow Arts, in partnership with five Worcester organisations, will explore water and flooding through a multi-site exhibition across the city. Watermark will reveal how artists have responded to the element of water, how they have picked the urgent concerns of rising levels, flooding, drought, and invite visitors to reflect on their own relationship with the elements. Artists: Suky Best, Carolyn Black, Emma Critchley, Simon Faithfull, Gabriella Hirst, Hilary Jack, Naiza Khan, Tania Kovats, Sally Payen, Daniel Pryde-Jarman. Read more on Meadow Arts website. Carolyn’s work will be available to visit in The Hive Jan 28, 2023 – Feb 28, 2023 The Hive, Sawmill Close, The Butts, Worcester WR1 3PD Getting there Open: Monday – Sunday: 8.30am – 10pm This will be the first time these works have been exhibited together in this way. What they share in common is the River Severn. Some celebrate the Severn and the power of the bore. Others are more specifically about materiality, mudstone, weathering, the fragility of the earth’s surface in the face of flooding and subsequent erosion. Marginal wild plants will be affected, fields will be under water, hills become islands. QR codes near some of the works will enable visitors to view some of the films that relate to specific works. Some tell stories, some document the process of making, when ‘significant moments of transformation occur.’ Much of my thinking was inspired by Tim Ingold, in his book Correspondences. Several of the works are performative in nature, recording close contact with the ground, the cliffs, the water. Earth, for example, is rock and soil, but it is also the toil of working with it in the labour of bodies that move and breathe. But if earth is the heaviness of being that keeps us grounded, then air is the lightness in which we dare to dream. We feel the Earth by heaving it, the air by breathing it, the water by drinking it or being soaked in it. Fire is the glowing warmth of the searing heat of flames: we feel the heat of the fire in our bellies and in the malleability of molten metal; we feel the sharp edge of cold metal and it is quenched by water. And it is always at the threshold of the elements where one is about to turn into the other, that significant moments of transformation occur. Tim Ingold, Correspondences, p125 For artist Darragh Hewat, it’s been a year of exploration and development in anticipation of the Blue Magpie Contemporary Craft Fair where he’s been awarded a spot this March. On a Sunday 5th March, he’ll be revealing his latest work and collaborative pieces including cyanotype clocks and his copper globe.
" Since joining farOpen last year my creativity and range of ideas has grown enormously. Things kicked off quite quickly for me this year with ideas flowing well, so I was enormously thrilled to be accepted by Blue Magpiefor their March Contemporary Craft Fair. As a newbie I’ve been given a stand for Sunday 5 March (but the event runs on the Saturday also) and so the pressure is on to make good on these new ideas. I’m particularly excited by the copper globe which I literally grew in the plating tank from just silver paint (real silver paint about £1,500 per litre!!) and copper wire. This is intended to become one of the mantles for my Thermomotor, and rotating and gleaming as it does in the light of the turning tealights, is something that really excites me. Another more bread and butter exercise has been copper and gold plating various real leaves, mounting and framing them. I like to choose leaves that have meaning to me in their form and also in their function in the natural world. I’ll also be taking some collaborative work with me to Blue Magpie in Malvern this March. The hand printed and handmade lamps which are a collaboration between Jane Jones, Sarah Delahoy and myself are a wonderful challenge to make but worth it when complete and turned on. Also coming with me will hopefully be a range of hand made cyanotype clocks, a collaboration between myself and Jane Jones, and looking very nice so far... However, exciting as these multiple developments are, the expression that keeps running through my mind is “all play and no work makes Darragh a poor boy.” I’m hoping Blue Magpie will go some way to silencing that annoying voice! Catch up with Darragh at the Blue Magpie Contemporary Craft Fair at Elmslea House, Malvern 4 & 5 March 2023 Click for more info Do you know the saying there is more than one way to skin a cat? When it comes to framing paper art there is more than one way, in fact there are seven, and a many more variations especially with mounts within those main ways. Which you choose may depend on your budget, the value of item being framed, size constraints, your favoured design option and perhaps the knowledge of your framer. Here is a quick run through of the main seven: Close Framed There is no border to the artwork and the glazing touches the art. Whilst this is not ideal it’s not always possible to get an airspace between the artwork and glass, e.g., with jigsaws that are not on adhesive boards and will fall apart otherwise. Close Framed with glass spacers There is no border to the artwork and the glazing is kept from touching the art with spacers that fit along the rebate (inside edge) of the frame. Single Mount Framed A mount board with an aperture is cut to size so it overlaps the edges of the art a few mms. This along with hinges at the top of the art keeps it in position and creates an airspace. Double Mount Framed As with the single mount with the addition of another mount cut with a larger aperture which sits on top of the first mount. V groove in Mount Framed A small V shaped line is cut out of a single mount so the white core is on display. It can create an illusion of double mounts without adding to the thickness of the work. Float Mounted Framed The artwork is placed directly onto cut to size mountboard and held in place with hinges that come through the back of the mountboard. Ideal for work that has non square edges or interesting deckled effects. Glass spacers keep the glass away from the art. Shadow Float Mounted Framed
This is the same as float mounting with the addition of foam board, cut a slightly smaller size than the art, behind the artwork, lifting it up and creating interesting shadows. |
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