Mottisfont and Marwell - Exhibition Reviews

Well, its been a busy summer for me with two exhibitions to prepare for and attend whilst juggling the children on their summer holidays.

Mottisfont

The first was at Mottisfont Abbey in Hampshire, as a member of Oakwood Artists. This was our first exhibition as a group and I'm glad to say it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and went very well, with some good sales, including one for myself!

Lots was learnt and we are now looking forward to our next exhibition to be held at The Discovery Centre in Winchester. (See below for further information).

Marwell

The second exhibition was at Marwell Wildlife for the MIWAS annual summer exhibition. This was a much larger affair, with some of the top professional wildlife artists in the country in attendance rubbing shoulders with us mere mortals!

The quality of artwork on display was absolutely stunning, not only in the main exhibition but also in the art market that was held over the bank holiday weekend. I have to admit that I was rather intimidated setting up for the art market, being surrounded by so many talented people. However, I had a very good show, selling not only several large and mini prints, but also my original of 'Stealth'. I even had a couple of commission enquiries! I was absolutely thrilled and am so glad that I plucked up the courage to attend. I met so many lovely people over the three days who had so many kind words to say about my work that I felt totally buoyed up at the end of it all, if not emotionally exhausted!

 

Meet Molly and Ziggy - my latest commissions

Thought you might like to see my latest finished commissions.

Molly

Molly was a challenge I can tell you! This is a friend's dog. She has a beautiful nature and is really fun loving and cuddly.

This was painted from their favourite photograph of her, standing on the wall outside their farmhouse in the welsh mountains in the early morning sunshine. I had a lovely phone call from my friend who informed me she'd been in tears upon receipt of the painting. Delighted tears I'm happy to say!!

Ziggy

Ziggy was done a little while ago but I haven't been able to post it on my website because it too was a surprise present!

I'm glad to say that the owner has now received it and was delighted.

"Poised" wins Wildscape Award

"Poised", my Sika Deer Painting, has won the Editors Choice "Highly Commended" award in the 2010 Wildscape Magazine Artist of the Year competition". (Amateur category).

The original is now sold, but prints are available.

On Safari!

In March I fulfilled a lifelong ambition when I travelled to Tanzania on safari. Seeing these incredible animals in their natural habitat is something I have dreamt of ever since I was a little girl - and I have to say, I wasn’t disappointed! The whole trip was an amazing experience for so many reasons, not only because of the animals, but also because of the rugged beauty of the ever changing landscape, the people, the culture, the smells and sounds, the good company and traveling companions, and also just the most wonderful sense of freedom and adventure!

Our time was mostly divided between the Selous Game Reserve and Ruaha National Park. Both were quite different in their landscapes but similar in the fact that they were both located on huge, spectacularly beautiful rivers.

Selous threw up some real gems. Everything was fairly flat and much greener than I had expected and so to start with game viewing seemed to be quite tricky, but as time passed suddenly animals just seemed to appear out of nowhere! When I saw my first herd of elephants, drinking in some shallow water I definitely got a lump in my throat. Nothing can prepare you for seeing these incredible creatures in the wild - quite an emotional experience.

We saw numerous impala, giraffe, hippos and elephants and also birds of so many stunning varieties and colours. We also saw a few lions, but the highlight had to be the very rare privilege of encountering two separate packs of wild dogs. The delight of everyone in the group was evident as we all knew how hard it was reported to be to spot these fantastic animals. This was emphasized to us by the manager of our camp, who later informed us that in his four years of living there he had yet to see even one! Unbelievably, we ate our packed lunches sitting in our jeeps just watching the dogs bundled together lazing in a shady ditch!

Ruaha was quite simply stunning. It was very wild and remote and much hillier than Selous and so afforded some spectacular views and scenery. Once again we saw so many giraffe, elephants and impala, and also plenty of zebras, which I was personally delighted about! However, the highlight for me was when we came across a group of about half a dozen young male lions who had banded together. This moment was one of the most breathtaking experiences of the whole trip for me as we were able to get quite close to them. I was fortunate that they were on my side, so I stayed hunkered down and photographed them through my open window. After a while, one by one they gradually got up and walked behind and past our land rover, passing so close that I could see right into their eyes! A wonderful and thrilling experience that certainly got the adrenaline going!

One of the undoubted delights of both the Selous and Ruaha is that they are both still relatively unknown as safari destinations in comparison to somewhere like the Serengeti or the Okavango. As a consequence there are basically no other vehicles around. We had the hunting dogs and lions all to ourselves! An incredible privilege. The whole trip was an experience of a lifetime and the fulfillment of a dream for me. If you ever get the opportunity to go all I can say is take it, I promise you won’t regret it.

Solent Life Magazine

In March the Solent Life magazine did a feature on me for their Artist Review section.

I have to say that I was very surprised and flattered to be asked and was more than a little bit nervous at the prospect of being interviewed!

My worries proved to be unfounded however, as their journalist, David, was very kind and funny and soon managed to put me completely at ease.

You can download the magazine here, my interview is on pages 6 and 7. (Beware if you are on a slow connection, it's 12Mb).

The Beauty of British

With the onset of the lighter mornings and better weather I’ve been making the most of things and have been getting out early into my local woods to watch the deer. I’ve been rewarded by some wonderful close encounters, not only with some exquisite Roe deer but also Fallow and even the odd Muntjac!

And it’s not just the deer, there have been buzzards soaring overhead, rabbits and squirrels scuttling about everywhere, woodpeckers hammering in the trees and incredible birdsong which has been truly delightful. The buzz I get from seeing these beautiful creatures in the wild is equally comparable to being in Africa. Our British wildlife is just so beautiful and is just out there waiting for us to go and find it. The only problem I have now is deciding what I want to work on next........ African or British?

Not a bad dilemma really!

Exhibitions

• Oakwood Artists 'Pencil Me In' Exhibition
  Winchester City Space Gallery
  The Discovery Centre, Jewry Street, Winchester, Hampshire SO23 8SB
  October 9th - November 6th (free admission).
  
  Sponsored by Derwent, this is an exhibition which celebrates the use and versatility of pencil and dry media, with the inspiration for most of our work coming from the natural world. Opening day is also national 'Big Draw' day. All the artists will be there with various drawing activities available for you to have a go at. Click on the link above to find out more about the other artists involved.
  
  
  
• Whiteley Art Society Exhibition
  Whiteley Community Centre, Gull Copice, Yew Tree Drive, Whiteley, Hampshire
  30th - 31st October (free admission).
  
  A really lovely exhibition featuring a wealth of talent from the local and surrounding communities.