Hidden Treasures. Cotswold Open Studios 2013

One weekend was far too short a time for the Hidden Treasures found in this year’s Cotswold Open Studios. Dotted in and around Cirencester were 19 venues showing an inspirational range of artwork – covering painting, sculpture, illustration, ceramics and more.

We made it to 10 studios over the two days. I don’t want to give a full rundown of each one as it would take too long, and I’m also not comfortable with illustrating this post with images of the artists’ work. Instead I will mention my personal favourites, and direct you to their websites to see their galleries. While I enjoyed more or less everything I saw, I was particularly interested in the painters. In no particular order…

I loved the expressive landscapes of Karen Bowers. She works in watercolours and oils, mostly from nature, and explores the emotional power that comes with a ‘sense of place’, as well as the possibilities inherent in the act of painting itself. She cites Georgia O’Keeffe and Paul Nash as important influences because of their connections with their environment. Some of the winter paintings had something in their coloration which put me in mind of ‘The Hunters in the Snow’ (1565) by Pieter Bruegel. I liked how this made me consider the strand that runs through the tradition of landscape painting; the intimate human connection, and need to respond, to nature.

Christopher Johnson also takes his inspiration from the landscape (although still life and the figure also feature). He paints with really thick, buttery paint, and colours that are rich and multi-layered. I don’t know the evolution of Johnson’s work, and didn’t get the opportunity to talk with him about it, so I don’t know if even greater expressionism (perhaps to the point of abstraction) is his direction. I enjoyed the physicality of the paint on his canvasses and I left feeling that I’d like to explore that more fully within my own painting.

A more abstract approach to landscape painting is the core of Jude McKenna’s work. The atmospherics of light and the elements, coupled with the contemplation of moments in time make for images that draw the viewer in. The painting technique is nothing like my own, and that allowed me to enjoy them for their own sake.

The almost polar opposite to the very painterly work mentioned so far, are the exacting watercolours and pencil drawings of Darrell Warner. With a background in portraiture, he has worked for over a decade with costume designers for film, creating the visuals that help the characters evolve. His most notable work has been for ‘The Pirates of the Caribbean’ franchise. It was interesting to hear him talk about how he composites fabrics and photographs (from a varied range of sources) to create each detailed drawing. It was clear that his years of experience with portraiture and the figure have been invaluable in giving him the ability to do this so successfully. He also recently took part in Sky Art’s ‘Portrait Artist of the Year’ competition. While he didn’t make it to the final, he progressed far and did well. I can’t imagine the pressure of working in a marquee in Trafalgar Square, with dozens of other artists, cameras in your face, and a time constraint of just a few hours. I have mixed feelings about this competition, as I feel it undermines the serious working practice of artists in general, and of portrait artists specifically. In making a TV event, adding the pressure of time in amongst a circus atmosphere says nothing really about art (in my opinion). That said, Darrell was amazed at the high standard of the other artists. I also noted how he singled one out for praise who had been through the Florentine system of atelier training, feeling that it had definitely helped her to lock into the shapes and get a broadly painted likeness down very quickly. I will certainly watch the series when it airs, but hold on to my reservations.

Very quickly, I want to finally mention Fiona McIntyre, whose lush, energetic landscapes I really admire. I recently started sharing a studio with her, so I’ll save most of what I have to say for a future post about studio practice. Suffice to say, she has a wide art history knowledge, which has been really inspirational for me.

Sadly, I didn’t have time to visit John Lendis or Richard Kenton Webb. From what I have seen, both of these artists have more narrative elements to their work (in both a literal and conceptual sense), which I would have been interested to learn more about.