Open Arts - Judges Winners

Hello,

Wow, Open Art is such a wonderful exhibition, it always inspires me to go off and create something, but also makes me really proud of all the local artists sat at kitchen tables, walking around our fields and countryside and parks to take pictures, sewing away on sofas and painting in their gardens all year round to create art. How great is it that we get to see all this? It takes courage to exhibit your artwork and to open yourself up to praise and comments, so it is important to say well done to everyone who exhibited.

This year I made some changes to the exhibition including adding new categories and adding a critical vote to the usual popular vote.

Here are the results....

There were two votes this year; a critical vote which took place on Friday 21st October with Joe Hesketh, a Pendle based professional artist, Richard Dyson, owner of Dysons Arts in Barrowford and myself choosing first and second place in each category.

Young Artist Aged 7 and Under

2nd Place
Sophie Wilkinson
Royal Horse

1st Place
Louis Gillett
At the beach


By the way, Louis is only 2 years old! Can't wait to see what the future holds for this budding photograher!

 Young Artist Aged 8-11 years

2nd Place
Harry Wilkinson
Fly the Sheepdog

1st Place
Sam Rose
Prison Monster


Can I just add that I did not take part in the judging of the 8-11 year old group as my son and step-son had both entered pictures in this. And, my son won, above! Am massively proud mummy, although still quite distrubed about the subject matter he picked!

 Young Artist Aged 12-16 years

2nd Place
Lily Fontaine
Iconic

1st Place
Ruby Haworth
Girls by the Piano


The quality of this one was amazing; and the judges particularly liked the way Ruby had done the arms...

Close Up
Ruby Haworth

 Textile and 3D Works

2nd Place
Freda Reeves
Wave

1st Place
Kathryn Sutton
Perfect Place



And here is a close up of the details...

Close up
Kathryn Sutton

The judges were very impressed with the textiles work, it has been a good category to display too and I am looking forward to keeping this category now. Kathryn above has been asked to discuss selling her work at Dysons Arts, and she was very pleased and surprised to win. Her whole family came with her to the presentation ceremony and they gave a collective gasp as she was announced. It was a lovely moment.

 Photography, Edited Section

2nd Place
David James
Palm Tree

1st Place
Graham Dean
Setting for a Saucy Rendezvous



If you like this one - Graham will actually be exhibiting here as part of our Christmas Exhibition which launches on the 21st November.

Photography, Natural Section

(Bit embarrassing this, but I seem to have lost my pictures of this section! Sorry folks, but I managed to find replacement pics).



2nd Place
Heather Sheldrick
The Walker



1st Place
Paul Kirkup
In the Spotlight

 Paul actually emailed me after winning and here are his comments, with permission...

Dear Kirsty, I was both surprised and thrilled to receive first place in the natural photography category as there were some very worthy contenders for that award on show. I'm especially pleased as I hold a candle for what old photographic equipment and techniques can achieve, and in this case I took the photo of my daughter in the tunnel in Victoria Park with a 50 year old basic snapshot camera which cost me £2 at a car boot sale, on cheap film from China and processed it in developer I made at home from 25 year old chemicals!! It was just a case of being in the right place at the right time with a camera in my hand.

 

Some other pictures I took with the same set up are here http://www.flickr.com/photos/borninyork/sets/72157623314741012/

 

The exhibition was splendid and I'm already looking forward to next years.

 

With kind regards and thanks for staging the event,

 

Paul Kirkup.

 

Portraiture Category (New)

2nd Place with both works
Richard Thorpe
Pensieve

2nd Place both works
Richard Thorpe
Runners and Riders

1st Place both works
Angela Britton
Madonna and Child



Little bit of info; Angela was last years overall winner with a portrait of Kylie.

1st Place both works
Angela Britton
Washed Up


The portraiture category had a very strong presence and the judges thought both works by these artists were great. Ricahrd from Dysons Arts also asked that both artists contact him with regard to selling their work in his shop. How is that for a result?

 Landscapes Category (New)

2nd Place
Richard Stevens
Eilean Donan Castle, Loch Duich

1st Place
Mavis Nuttall
Staines


I do hope you all enjoyed the new categories and thought they worked out ok? Do let me know if you have any comments.

 Open Including Abstract

2nd Place
David Cumpstey
Mussell Shells

1st Place
Maureen Arnolds
Astor Border


While I am here, can I just say thanks to our marketing department for all their hard work on signs, layouts etc and a big thanks to our admin team for the labels. Doesn't it look lovely here?

 Pendle In Paint Category

2nd Place
Mavis Nuttall
The Tackler, Bancroft Mill, Barnoldswick 1960's

1st Place
John Rickard
Nelson Street

So that is the critical winners, the next post will be all about the popular winners.

Ta Ra

Kirsty



Pendle Open Art Exhibition 2011

 Hello all,

It was a really beautiful day on Saturday when we had artist submissions, and here is a picture I took on my way to work.

So while I was taking the pictures in I spent a few minutes talking to some of the artists and taking some photos of them and here are the results of my mini interviews.

Young Artist Jade Smith, 9 years old.

Jade goes to Barrowford School (and her grandma knows my mum! – little random fact for you there).

I asked Jade why she painted and she explained that it was “just fun”. She tends to think about the colours first rather than the picture and her favourite colour is blue.

Jade with Stormy Sea

Jade also entered a picture of frogs, but she doesn’t actually like frogs (course not, silly me for asking!) and painted this image because she saw a picture of frogs which she traced as she was inspired to create her own version.

 



Kathleen Ormerod



Kathleen has entered two works; Night Sky and View from Barden Mill.

Kathleen tends to take photos wherever she goes and wherever ‘appeals to her’ and the picture is what she was thinking when she took the photograph.

Kathleen is retired and lives in Fence and is a member of Colne Art Group and she also attends two more classes too.

Kathleen describes art as a hobby and a constant work in progress. She mainly works in watercolours and pastels and explains that beautiful views inspire her. Kathleen does sometimes create portraits and works from her converted dining room (which does still have dining space).

Steven and Jacqueline Smith

Here we have a very creative husband and wife team, Jacqueline has brought in two paintings of Flowers and Steven has brought in…. 'Billy and the Preposterous Pachyderms'.

Steven explains his work was inspired by his quirky father, the stories are all stories from his fathers youth and his father claims they are all true.

Jacqueline explains that she doesn’t usually paint flowers but she did some geraniums and Steven really liked them so she decided to create more, and has been inspired by some photographs.

Both live in Colne and Jacqueline describes herself as an amateur artist and would like to do more. Steven says he ‘just plays’ although he is a writer and has had a couple of poems published. Steven is currently working on two novels; one a historical drama around the civil war and one that is a dramatisation of actual events which explains why his father ended up being so quirky!

Heather Sheldrick

Heather is pictured holding her photograph, ‘The Walker’.

Heather took this picture using a little camera and says “You don’t have to have  fancy or expensive equipment to create great art, it’s how you interpret the world around you”

The picture is of Heather’s mother walking towards Barnoldswick. Heather is a freelance graphic designer and her mother is a walk leader and between them they have created a book “Explore the Barnoldwick Countryside” and are currently researching walks for book 2. Heather says that this picture might even be the front cover.

Getting to know Heather a bit more (in the five minutes I had to talk to her – it’s gets rather busy taking in all the artwork for the Pendle Open) I found out she is a born and bred Barlicker and considers herself an amateur photographer. This particular picture was taken with a compact camera but Heather wants a Canon with a big lens. (Other brands are available and Heather herself agreed she would be happy with a Nikon!)



Edwin Monk



Edwin has submitted works called Henry (its actually Henry Matisse but Edwin wasn’t sure how to spell his surname) and King of the River. Edwin is a longtime Painter in Pendle and has won the Pendle in Paint category 4 times!

When I asked Edwin about the Henry work, he said he just saw a picture of him in a bookstore and thought he would have a go at impressionism (and what a go…)

 

The kingfisher painting is a just his own idea.

Talking to Edwin, he lives in Barrowford, overlooking the river. He lives alone and is now retired. He has been ill recently but is now feeling better and painting much more.

Edwin is a professional artist as he sells his work and has done commissions for people, and he very kindly brought me a photo album of some of his work…

Jess the sheepdog

(I do like sheepdogs, have had 2 in our family now, Poppy and Fitz – hi Fitz!).

Here is a picture and the close up is of Edwin himself and his dog.

Close up of Edwin, bottom left

Young Artist Amelia Robertson

Just wanted to show these pictures by 8 year old Amelia who is sight impaired.

Lisa Dewhurst

Lisa is pictured with her work, Other World

I asked Lisa what is the story behind this picture and she explained that this is a world which is different, as it has two moons and is an image of the female character nurturing her son. It is a world created in Lisa’s head and then added to canvas and it’s the quirky details that Lisa likes, for example is his head facing towards or away from you?

Lisa paints as a hobby, and is a home-mum with three boys all under 6 years (busy!) and lives in Barnoldswick. I asked Lisa what inspires her and she said “anything and everything”. Lisa sits in the kitchen to paint and usually uses acrylics.

So these are just a few of the Open Art exhibitors. I hope you get chance to come and see the exhibition, it is on Friday 21st to Sunday 23rd October and the exhibition is open from 10 until 4 everyday, although voting for favourite pictures finishes at 12 noon on Sunday.

 

 

Ta Ra

 

 

 

Kirsty

Interview with Foulridge Art Group

Keith Parkinson is the tutor of the group. Keith comes from a teaching background and now works professionally as an artist; carrying out schools work, community work and exhibiting across the North West.

Foulridge Art Group meets Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6.30 - 8.30pm at the village hall. New members are welcome and the group costs £45 for 6 sessions. If you want more information you can email Keith - keith@thekpgallery.com

The group has about 18 members regularly attending and 13 members of the group have brought their work to the exhibition. Of these 13, some have been attending for two years, but some have been part of the group for less than six months.

Keith describes the group as "a friendly group who learn a bit, improve our drawing and painting, but it is also a social gathering." Each block of six sessions focusses on a different topic and includes a mix of demonstrations, lessons and practice. For example a drawing block might include basic and first step drawing skills. Each time a new topic is started the group decide together and blocks might include; still life, portraiture or landscapes, for example.

I then chatted to Keith about how the group interacts, well I actually said "What is the group dynamic like?" Keith explained that there is a wide range of skills and experience, some are really confident, some are not, some have exhibited in the past and some are complete beginners who have made rapid progress.

The above work is by Roger, he has only just joined the group and has never had any formal training, although its apparant he has heaps of natural talent. I think this work could be very commercial and it reminds me slightly of Annie Tempests work. Click here.

This work is by Tracy, who lives on a canal boat and paints on a massive easel. Oh, I immediately asked if she had to sit on the roof to paint... she doesn't, she sits inside but with all the windows open so she only paints on nice days.

Tracy said she started coming to the group, a year ago, for a bit of 'me time' and she felt really welcome when she joined, saying "it really doesn't matter what your ability is".

I was a bit obsessed with the living on the boat comment, so asked nothing else about painting but about what she missed from a house... I know, you'll all be on teeterhooks too...well the answer is... a hot bath, and space to build lego!

This work is by June who makes a living painting dog portraits (I'm not surprised, did you know there are 8 million dogs in the UK?) but has started doing different subjects since coming to the class.


And there we have it - the current exhibition. Next up is Open Arts - it's a big one! Up to 200 artists, 400 works, 700 visitors, 3 judges, and one very tired me at the end! But it's all worth it.

I'll post next week about how to enter.


Ta Ra




Kirsty

Foulridge Art Group

Hello,

Here are some of the artworks on show in the current exhibition. I have done an interview and have lots of details to tell you, but I thought you would be keen to see the artwork first! Enjoy...

By Auriol Taylor

By Auriol Taylor

By Jackie Clegg

By Tracy Simpson

By Clare Bennet

By Jane Learoyd

By Bill Henderson

By Clare Bennet

Close up - By Tracy Simpson

By Clare Bennet

By Roger Bell

Close up - by Roger Bell

Close up - by Roger Bell

By Jane Learoyd

By Clare Bennet

By Margaret Tudor

Close up - by June Henderson

By June Henderson

By Kathryn Webster

By Kathryn Webster

By Jackie Clegg

By Lin Partridge

By Jackie Clegg

By Jackie Clegg

By Tracy Simpson

By Tracy Simpson

By Trish Thompson

By Margaret Tudor

Ta Ra



Kirsty