The work of a Scottish artist has been selected for a prestigious competition. Aine Divine's painting of herself has been selected for the RWS Contemporary Watercolour Competition 2014. "Last year I won a Windsor and Newton award with my painting of Matthew," says Aine from Midothian, who is currently doing lots of watercolour painting. "It's given me the incentive to apply for membership." Meanwhile her painting of Leonie has been pre-selected for the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours Exhibition, Mall Galleries, Exhibition 2014. "I don't know how many of the pre-selected paintings get through to the exhibition, here's hoping this does," she says.
The work of a Kent artist will feature in this year's Eastbourne Festival. Paintings by Nick Hebditch from Tonbridge form part of Cityscapes, an exhibition at the Birley Centre, Old Wish Road, Eastbourne, part of The Eastbourne Festival 2014.
The exhibition will be open on Saturdays and Sundays between 11.00am and 4.00pm from April 19 to May 25, 2014. All of the paintings on show celebrate or comment on the visible and hidden life of the city, both real and imagined. Nick Hebditch has been commissioned for many private and corporate projects including a number of new Royal Caribbean liners and a London Underground poster. He has written articles for The Artist and Artists and Illustrators magazines and his work appears in a number of practical art books. His love of landscape is a relatively recent development in his paintings, which for many years has been dominated by architectural subject matter and cityscapes.
Apart from a wealth of rich subject matter near his home in Kent, Nick enjoys painting views of The Thames Valley, Norfolk and North Yorkshire. He continues to paint cityscapes of London as well as Venice, Paris, Barcelona and the South of France. "A particular fascination continues to be the Thames seen at night," says Nick. "The theme of buildings reflected in water so recurrent in Venice seems echoed here on a larger scale." Although working largely in acrylic and oil at present, Nick sporadically explores new ideas in his work through his response to light, colour, and a variety of media. He exhibits at a number of leading galleries and art fairs around England and shows regularly at the Mall Galleries in London.
Between May 12 and May 24 the South West Society of Botanical Artists (SWSBA) will return to Taunton Library in Paul Street to hold its annual exhibition of botanical art. There will be 100 paintings on show as well as prints and greetings cards. In addition some of the UK's leading botanical artists will steward the event. They include SWSBA Chairman Sally Pinhey whose work 'Egdon Heath' hangs in the House of Lords and Valerie Bradburn, who has two paintings in the Highgrove Florilegium, a two-volume collection of pictures of plants in Prince Charles's garden that would cost £11,000 if you were to buy a copy. She has also produced a two-volume collection of pictures of the plants in Prince Charles's garden. 'Taunton Library is a good venue for the SWSBA, we have been exhibiting here for a few years now and there is always a strong footfall,'ˇ says Meriel Thurstan, founder-chairman of the SWSBA.
The Morvah Schoolhouse Gallery in Morvah is hosting its first solo exhibition since being refurbished. Jenny Shaw-Browne from St Ives has been exhibiting at the gallery for the last three years and since re-opening it will feature one artist a month, Jenny being the first. 'The opportunity came up with just one week's notice, for me to take the first slot for February after the reopening,'ˇ reveals Jenny. 'I have put together a display of paintings on the theme of Moor and Coast, as the gallery is situated in the most spectacular spot between the Penwith moors and the north Cornwall granite cliffs.'
There are oil paintings, watercolour paintings and some pen and wash. Dramatic waves, ancient standing stones, expansive moorland scenes, Cornish villages and disused tin mines are all covered in just 11 paintings. As usual they are painting with my vibrant, colourful and impressionistic style.Jenny Shaw-Browne's dramatic paintings glow with vibrant colour and joyous life. The atmospheric landscapes and seascapes are painted from direct observation, capturing her love of Cornwall. Rich strong colours and textures celebrate the elements of weather, land, light and sea found in this stunning landscape.
The show runs from now until February 27. The gallery is open Thursdays to Sundays 11 am to 3.30 pm.
March 8, 2014 onwards The first show this year at the Wykeham Gallery will open on Saturday, March, 8. It will be a three man show featuring work by Harry Brioche, Jonathan Sainsbury and Jake Winkle. In the meantime we continue to exhibit a wide cross section of work by gallery artists. Tel: 01264 810364. www.wykehamgallery.co.uk
