Water and Colour

March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers.....

and....

The Jenny Matthews solo exhibition 'Water and Colour' opens on Friday.
Looking forward to seeing you all then
x

Up The Garden Path with artist Ruth Addinall.

Hello everyone

I hope you have all been enjoying the much improved weather!

So, our Up The Garden Path exhibition continues and is proving to be a perfect fit for the time of year....fingers crossed that the fair weather continues.

There are 10 artists contributing to this mixed exhibition, and the first that I'd like to take a closer look at is Ruth Addinall. I have picked her out as she has been instrumental in this exhibition, even providing the inspiration for the title of the show.
3 years ago I visited Ruth in her studio and I remember the experience well:
It was pouring with rain on a Sunday morning, and all in all the day was looking quite grim. However, walking through Ruth's front door, my spirits were immediately lifted - I was instantly struck by how calm and peaceful her home was. As she showed me round her home, I remember getting excited every time I came across a cracking wee painting casually lying against a wall, hanging on a wall or in progress on her easel.
There was something of an aura in Ruth's house which was very relaxing and brought a sense of contentment to me. I guess it was Ruth's aura. She is a warm, gentle and thoughtful person and I think this radiates not only in her home, but in her work too. Take a look at this:

'Hellebores and Ivy in a Mug', oil on paper by Ruth Addinall.
A seemingly straight forward still life, it sits perfectly and is almost humble in appearance; it is gentle in subject matter, sensitively rendered and endlessly rewarding to look at. It makes me feel relaxed and content to look at.
Apart from her paintings I discovered another masterpiece at Ruth's house, her garden.
Having moved in 6 years ago, she has worked tirelessly to transform her outside space from concrete slabs and overgrown jungle into her very own oasis of calm. This is Ruth's first garden and there has been a great deal of trial and error, which I'm sure many a gardener will recognise.  But after a lot of hard work and commitment, the results have been well worth it.
Before:

and

from chaos.....

comes order

and peace and tranquillity.
Leaving you with this:

Not content with being just a pretty face, a great artist and being green-fingered, Ruth Addinall is also a brilliant pianist who tutors youngsters on how to get the best out of the ivories.
This is her piano in her front room looking onto that lovely garden.
Often when I look at Ruth's work I imagine her sitting peacefully at her piano, mainly in the evening and making beautiful music.

Have a lovely weekend all x

The Orchids

'Orchids and New Moon', watercolour and collage on paper by Jenny Matthews.

Orchids by Hazel Simmons-McDonald 

 

I leave this house
box pieces of the five-week life I;ve gathered.
I’ll send them on
to fill spaces in my future life.
One thing is left
a spray of orchids someone gave
from a bouquet one who makes a ritual of flower-giving sent.
The orchids have no fragrance
but purple petals draw you
to look at the purple heart.
I watered them once
when the blossoms were full blown
like polished poems.
I was sure they’d wilt
and I would toss them out with the five-week litter.
They were stubborn.
I starved them.
They would not die.
This morning the bud at the stalk’s tip unfurled.
I think I’ll pluck the full-blown blooms
press them between pages of memory.
Perhaps in their thin dried transparency
I’ll discover their peculiar poetry.
-Hazel Simmons McDonald

Tulips from Amsterdam

Hello everyone

Some if you will have heard of the expression 'Tulip mania', but for the benefit of those who haven't, here's a quick horticultural lesson on what was once the most precious flower in the world.
Tulip mania erupted in the Netherlands in the 1630's, when visitors to the prosperous cities there were bewitched by the exotic and colourful blooms of the delicate bulbs. As speculation and excitement reached fever pitch, tulip bulbs became one of the most expensive commodities in the world - above spices or gold. The most sought after species were the black variety, at the time known as 'The Viceroy', and which today is commonly referred to as the 'Black Parrot'. Of course none of the flowers produced were pure black, but the trend of the time was 'the blacker the better', and more would be paid for the privilege of owning one.
Here is a particularly fine example of the species:

'Black Tulip Still Life', acrylic and watercolour by Jenny Matthews.

Now this black beauty was snapped up in a heartbeat and I can understand why, Indeed, I was somewhat tempted myself.....I was particularly taken by those 'inky spots'.
Fortunately, for those caught up in the Matthews/Tulip mania there is another damn fine example on display:

Tulips 'Palestrina and Barcelona', watercolour by Jenny Matthews.

Pretty in pink I'm sure you will agree. Better still, these glorious flowers are ever lasting, immortalised and, in modern day terms, a fraction of the price of gold with a life times guarantee of pleasure.
So the 'inky spots' were not meant for me. I leave you with a happy snap of some other 'inky spots'.

Hurry back soon for a closer and very special look at the work of Janet Melrose RSW.