Salcombe Art Club Exhibition preview: Provident

Provident – the featured painting above – is one of five that I plan to submit for consideration of the Hanging Committee of Salcombe Art Club, hoping they will be accepted for the 2017 Salcombe Art Club Exhibition which opens on Thursday 13 April.

On this blog, I’ll post a preview of each of the five paintings, over the next few weeks. If you decide you want to purchase one of them, be quick. The prices go up in April!

 

What inspired me to paint Provident?

For decades, ‘Provie’ was part of the Island Cruising Club’s fleet aimed at teaching children and adults how to sail in the traditional manner. That is: under a ‘tall rig’.

Provie was part of the scenery!

 

Where is Provident now?

Provident is now with Trinity Sailing Foundation, who operate a small fleet of historically important sailing vessels such as: Leader, Provident, Golden Vanity and Heritage.

 

What is the history of Provident?

I am grateful to the Trinity Sailing Foundation for providing full information on all their vessels. This is my potted version regarding Provie.

Provident is a medium-sized ‘Mule’ class of sailing trawler. Built in 1924, Provident was a replacement for an earlier vessel of the same name, which had been sunk during WW1 by a German U-boat. She fished out of Brixham for ten years, was then sold and converted to a private yacht. Provident was laid up in Cornwall during WW2.

Provident arrived in Salcombe, in 1951, as the founding vessel of the Island Cruising Club. She was given a major refit in the late 1980s, and re-launched in 1991. Eight years later, having sailed our waters to everyone’s delight, in 1999, she started working from Brixham as part of the newly-formed Trinity Sailing Foundation.

DartLife invite

Chris Pring – ceramic artist at DartLife exhibition

Chris Pring, potter

I had the pleasure of meeting Chris Pring on Monday 13 March – a week ago today.

Anne and I attended a private preview of the DartLife exhibition at the Ariel Centre in Totnes. The work of Chris Pring was on show together with that of many other artists.

  • Rosemary Bonney (landscape painter, mixed media)
  • Amanda Cardrick (painter, acrylic, mixed media)
  • Ann Chester King (landscape painter, mixed media)
  • Sue Farrow-Jones (printmaker, screen printer, watercolourist)
  • Breda Holden (landscape painter, watercolour and mixed media)
  • Val Uglow (mixed media artist)
  • Ann Yeoman (landscape and botanical water-colourist)
Chris Pring – ceramic artist

Chris  makes functional domestic stoneware and delicate porcelain pieces for the home as well as Goldsworthy-inspired garden sculptures in stoneware and terracotta, and you can see examples of his work on his website http://www.kellatonpottery.co.uk/

Pring potAt the exhibition, one piece caught our eye and was purchased as a gift from me to my wife on the occasion of our recent wedding anniversary.

The ticket reads:

Skeletal gnarled oak
Roots carressed by clear waters
Giving and Taking

I won’t reveal the price!

When we move back into our refurbished home shortly, this vase will take pride of place on the window sill in Anne’s office. According to Anne – she hadn’t seen the ticket and was simply drawn by the image – to her, it spoke of the individual being the tree, drawing strength from the ground and giving / sharing the gifts or talents that we each have. To the outside observer, the beauty of this giving and taking is not always recognised – they only see a gnarled tree. Their loss …

DartLife invite

You still have time to visit the exhibition

This exhibition is on now until 30 March 2017. Entitled ‘DartLife’, it explores the River Dart, which runs as a thread through the work of all the artists, uniting them in a common theme. Don’t miss this one.

If you are a local artist and would like to feature on my blog, let me know when/where you will be exhibiting. Invite me to the private preview! And I’ll spread the word about you and your art. Click here for my contact page.

 

Blackstone

Salcombe Art Club Exhibition preview: Blackstone

Blackstone – the featured painting above – is another of five I plan to submit for consideration of the Hanging Committee of Salcombe Art Club, hoping they will be accepted for the 2017 Salcombe Art Club Exhibition which opens on Thursday 13 April.

On this blog, I’ll post a preview of each of the five paintings, over the next few weeks. If you decide you want to purchase one of them, be quick. The prices go up in April!

 

What inspired me to paint Blackstone?

BlackstoneImagine: Dad has rigged the Mirror (or whatever small craft he has towed down to Salcombe). You can see it, set against the backdrop of cliffs, in wind and tide, navigating safely past a beastly reef we call Blackstone.

 

What were the challenges?

The challenge here, for me as an artist, rather than me as a sailor, was to capture the sheer scale of the sea on the horizon, and the cliffs, with the brave dinghy in the foreground. I wanted to create the atmosphere of adventure since the daunting rocks spell danger for any small craft exploring the estuary. But also, I wanted to spell out the delight as the sails fill.

Capturing all this in one painting is a challenge in itself.

Add to this the fact that acrylic tones tend to darken as they dry. However, this proved fortuitous for me – it served to emphasize the solid damp cliffs.

Racing Past BlackstoneI enjoyed the challenge of the composition so much, I produced a second Blackstone painting: Racing Past Blackstone. This one is a watercolour.

 

Affordable Art

Both Blackstone images are available as a fine art greetings card. The range is now 59 strong, and on sale at Malborough Post Office.

Just think: for less than 1% of the sales price of an original painting, you can invest in a fine art greetings card. Send it to a friend or frame it for yourself. Whistlefish sell frames that fit … about £10 each.