A picture guide to the Open Art Exhibition and Art and Vintage Market

Just look at everything that is going on in Nelson today...

First up - The Victory Centre...

 

 

Then follow the footprints to The ACE Centre...

 

Or follow the signs...

 

Then there are more stalls and the 30th Annual Pendle Open Art Exhibition at The ACE Centre...

It really is worth a visit!

Setting up for the market

It's not just Open Arts Weekend! We are also hosting the 4th Nelson Art and Vintage Market.

Here's a visual guide to set up in action...

 

We start off with empty spaces and tables...

 

and then the bags and boxes and suitcases start to arrive...

 

and then we get to see all the beautiful goods for sale...

 

 

and in no time at all we have some completed stalls...

 

 

it's looking really good!

 

 

More Artists and Set up for open arts

We carried out a couple more interviews with some of the artists entering the open arts...

 

 

 

 

Valerie Hunt

 

Valerie has entered the Open Arts Exhibition before and has been painting on and off over the years, she is inspired by faces and loves to paint portraits either from real life or from pictures.

 

The inspiration for Valerie’s piece comes from an eccentric gentleman that lives in her area and sits outside his house most days, she told us that she ‘loves an interesting face’ and he fit her artistic criteria. Valerie decided to approach the gentleman who introduced himself as Ken and was surprised when she asked is he could sit for a portrait.

Ken was stunned by the results of the painting and will be attending the exhibition to see his face amongst the other portraits.

 

Valerie’s hopes for the exhibition are purely for people to enjoy the art and for Ken and his wife to like the painting.

 

Valerie was really pleased to hear that the size restriction for entries had been abolished and thinks the solo exhibition prize is an excellent idea.

 

 

Paul Graham

 

Paul entered the Open Arts last year for the first time and is really looking forward to seeing how his new 3D creations will be received by the public.

 

Paul found himself in a position where he was out of work and felt that he wanted to explore his skills and use them as an outlet for creativity. He began collecting unwanted junk from around his area and started up-cycling. He has entered two large freestanding sculptures.

 

He created the Giraffe and Komodo Dragon out of thermalite bricks, using down piping for shape and structure and then finished off by covering the pieces with Papier Mâché. The final process was to paint and decorate the animals.

 

Paul now works making and designing lighting structures at Lomeshaye village but continues to make his own pieces at home and hopes for commissions to build his confidence as an artist and continue to explore his skills. Above all he hopes that his pieces are a conversation starter and people enjoy them.

 

He believes changing the entry size to open should stay like this for the future as art shouldn’t be restricted. He thinks the solo exhibition prize is great exposure and what all artist need!

 

So now we had all the work, all 180 pieces and the next job is to lay out the exhibition and hang it....

 

 

First we gather our supplies....

 

 

 

 

and then we ponder where everything will fit, and how it will all look together, and try our hardest to make sure every artwork gets a good space that shows it off to it's best advantage....

 

 

and then we end up with a temporary gallery that looks a bit like this below....

 

It's not quite all done, don't worry - we have almost 24 hours before the preview! So here are some close ups of some of the work....

 

Textiles and 3D is a very strong category this year....

 

 

 

Portraiture has some very impressive works....

 

 

 

I'm especially pleased with the layout and looks of our Pendle in Paint category this year....

 

 

 

 

 

As always, we show some very talented, young artist's work....

 

 

and we have an open category, which can be (and often is) as weird and wonderful as you like!

 

 

 

 

 

Plus some landscapes, which again, looks like a very strong category this year....

 

 

 

 

Plus two photography categories; edited and unedited...

 

 

and I couldn't resist showing another farmer and sheepdog, well we do live in a rural area after all!

 

 

I hope that has made you excited to come and see the exhibition for real? We have the preview for exhibitors tomorrow night and then the exhibition is open Friday, Saturday, Sunday from 10am until 4pm.

Tomorrow also sees the first of the market stalls setting up - items that are handmade, or vintage - and we have over 65 stallholders descending on Nelson to sell jewellery, crafts, art, clothing, collectables and edibles. The stalls are also open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10am until 4pm.

It's a great weekend, full of colour and inspiration, we hope you can join us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's Open Arts time....

It's Open Arts time again and to begin with we collect all the work... on Friday and Saturday just gone over 100 artists came and brought us 180 pieces of artwork (not everyone enters two!).

 

We spoke to a few of the artists...

 

 

Mark Brennand – Portraiture

 

Mark has been entering the Pendle Open Arts Exhibition for the last 3 years and loves everything about it. His main passion for art is in portraits and has been painting for the past 16 years since he left school. Mark has recently started selling his paintings in a local sandwich shop which has been a great experience so far.

 

Mark has entered a portrait of one of Burnley Football clubs rising young stars - Danny Ings, Mark used a photograph of the footballer as inspiration for the painting and chose to paint with watercolours for fluidity. Mark told us he can churn out a painting in 3 hours and is currently working on a portrait of French football legend Eric Cantona.

 

When asked what he hoped for he said he’s not in it for the prize but because he likes to exhibit and really enjoys it.

 

Here are two pictures of Mark, I had my camera on the wrong settings for the first one, but he had such a lovely smile I wanted to show you it anyway!

 

Nice smile, bad settings

Better settings, missing smile

 

Aaah, photography is hard!

 

 

Peter Shackleton

 

This is Peters first year exhibiting his work at the Pendle Open Arts Exhibition, as a retired plumber Peter has worked in every street in Burnley and Nelson and found he wanted to try something new since retiring. This is the first time Peter has painted in the past 58 years and has recently discovered his passion for art.

 

The first piece Peter has entered is called ‘Mekong Delta’ and took his inspiration from the beautiful scenic photographs in holiday brochures, Peter decided to add a Jungle in the background to his water scene for depth and atmosphere.

 

His second piece is from Peters thoughts about our environment; set in the Southern Hemisphere this piece invites the viewer to make their own conclusions about our environment by naming the piece ‘Global?’ He decided to use Acrylic paints for their quick drying nature and tactile texture and used matte varnish for the finishing touches and attention to detail.

 

Peter isn’t expecting to win as he is a newbie to painting but has found that his art works have become a favourite amongst his family members and wanted to enter for the public’s feedback on his new hobby!

 

 

 

 

Carl Hazelden

 

Carl is a part time artist who has exhibited his work across the country but never in the north where is originally from. Carl has mainly sold his work in London and Kent.

 

Carls 2 pieces are part of a bigger series and are scenes are inspired by his previous home on the South East coast of Kent. Carl took inspiration from houses made from old boats in Dungeness on the Kent coast line. The pieces convey the ultimate idea of recycling!

 

Carl prefers to paint on A3 and used ink pens for control and used watercolours for landscapes and to create contrast.

 

Carl would love to show his work and sell them on but exhibits his works for people to enjoy. He would delighted to win and he hasn’t won a competition before apart from receiving a certificate for entering the Edinburgh Fringe at 12 years old.

 

 

 

 

Janet Rushton

 

Janet has been entering the Open Arts for over 10 years now and loves to let others see her work.

 

For her first piece she drew on the inspiration from one of her favourite painters Caravaggio which she has entered into the (?category?)

 

Her second piece has been created using soft pastels for bold colour and depth.

 

Janet prefers to work on all different sizes but feels better that there are no size restrictions for entrants as it gives more freedom to work on different sizes. (Kirsty: we do listen to all the feedback, and have abolished the size restriction this year).

 

Janet told us that she thought it was a great idea for the winner to get the opportunity of a solo exhibition, but mainly enter the exhibition because she really enjoys it.

 

Janet wasn't up for pictures! We don't mind...

 

 

Oh and no artworks yet as the exhibition isn't ready - it does take hours to hang, and layout, and match the labels, and place all the boards! Phew, good job it's a labour of love!

 

More to come soon... and don't forget - the exhibition is only on show Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10-4pm.

 

 

 

 

Our new exhibitor David James

David James is our current exhibitor and is a photographer based in Foulridge. He was born and bred in Manchester, but moved to Burnley twenty years ago before coming to live in Foulridge at the end of 2009.

 

His interest in photography started whilst at school but this took a back seat with marriage and family commitments.

 

 

David has always loved the great outdoors and in the late 1990’s his passions for photography and landscapes collided.

 

A member of the Padiham and District Photographic Society for 16 years and also of the Postal Photographic Club, David has enjoyed success as a photographer at club level and also in international competitions.

 

He has exhibited at our annual open exhibition (which is on again in October – forms are available from the ACE Centre or you can email Kirsty.rose@pendleleisuretrust.co.uk )

 

David loves to work outside, particularly in Autumn and Winter and 2011 was a spectacular time for him. He has produced a collection of Christmas Cards, on sale here, based on this season in Pendle.

 

David has even had images on the front cover of Pendle Pages magazine.

 

I spoke to David in more detail about some of the work on display:

 

 

 

Forgotten

September 2011

£50

 

 

David says “’Forgotten’ is a composite image. The building is an outbuilding at Stoneyhurst College and the little girl's face was from a portrait session that I did a few years ago. I thought that it represented a period from time past, such as the workhouse.”

 

 

 

Lady in Waiting

June 2012

£50

David says “I was taking photographs in Manchester and on Deansgate by John Rylands Library I saw this lady sitting, apparently waiting for someone. Across from the library is a new building with a staircase leading into the basement from the outside pavement and it has a glass cover. The shot was taken from partway down the stairs with the camera at ground level. After that I was asked to move as I was on private property. ‘Too late’ was the cry!”

 

This image was Commended in the Brownedge Parish and Community Festival, Bamber Bridge 2013.

 

Violin Maestro

March 2013

NFS

 

David says “We were setting up for a portrait session at camera club when someone asked our chairman to sit in for a lighting check. At the time he was looking at an old violin brought in as a prop. This was just a grab shot. Later, I realised that the instrument only had three strings so I had to clone the fourth one in”

 

This image won first prize and the H.G. Wilde trophy for David at the Brownedge Parish and Community Festival, Bamber Bridge 2013.

 

There are many more photographs on display, all beautifully framed and displayed and they are very reasonably priced.

 

 

I do hope you have chance to come and see the exhibition in person. But if not, more of David’s work can be seen on www.townandcountryimages.co.uk