Contemporary Passions XII

Contemporary Passions XII showcases the work of eleven very different artists who want to share their passion for art. Expressing themselves through painting, textiles, sculpture, printmaking, drawing, mixed media work and jewellery, what links these members of the South Hams Arts Forum is their fascination for the colour, form, light and texture found in natural forms and their passion for both their technique and inspirational source.

Bev Carson is inspired by the unspoilt landscape of the South Hams, particularly areas of woodland, and responds intuitively in her paintings. She says, “for this exhibition I would like to expand on my love of the natural world to create a series of contemporary multimedia pieces that are both colourful and textural.”

Steve Kenna's professional training has been in architecture and commercial design, and his passion in recent years has been in painting: watercolours, oils, pastels and acrylics. In his paintings and etchings, drawing remains a strong element, and he works to find expression for figures, sometimes full-scale studies, and sometimes incidental characters in a gig regatta.

Karen Marshall's work is eclectic, and she enjoys experimenting with different mediums and surfaces. Karen has mainly worked in acrylics and pastels, and has more recently been exploring printmaking techniques. Her inspiration for this exhibition comes from the shapes, structure and spirit of nature.

Hepzibah McLeod's drawings explore a wide range of topics and lines of interest, often involving in some way the human as animal. She says, “Practice-based research is academic art, as a methodology of research in itself. It allows the process of making art, and/or the outcome, to have the capacity to influence and inform the nature, method and pursuit of any given line of inquiry.”

Deborah Poole's felted textiles designs combine colour and texture. She begins with small sketches of flora to work out composition, line, colour and tone, and then arranges strands of dyed merino wool in 20 or more layers, allowing over 50 colour shades to blend as the work is wetted and rolled by hand, causing the fibres to crimp and bond together, embedding the image.

Chris Pring works mainly in stoneware and porcelain and produces a wide variety of domestic and decorative ware. He also creates sculpture for the garden, undertakes commissions, and teaches. He says, “my greatest pleasure comes from creating a beautiful shape. Form takes precedence over decoration, and I take inspiration from the work of Mary Rogers and Lucie Rie in particular. At the same time, I want to make pots which are going to be used: a mug must feel right and a teapot has to pour well. So, the twin aspects of form and function lie behind the pieces I produce.”

Christine Thomas paints landscape, still life and portraits in oils as well as producing abstract collages. The inspiration for her work comes largely from the local landscape, and Iona, an island off the west coast of Scotland that she visits regularly.

Pippa Unwin says, “Fascinated by the energy and humanity of medieval masons' work, I learnt traditional skills from stonemasons, who treat stone with respect and honesty.” Describing her work as practical and non-sentimental, she is inspired by geometry and nature, and by the art of other cultures. But her real passion lies in the natural form, particularly animals and, in trying to capture a creature's individual character and spirit, “I discover more about the stone itself, its limitations and possibilities.”

Janice Walton's landscape paintings are rich in atmosphere, merging imagination with realism in familiar views of the South Hams coast. Her commissions include a large six-panel installation at the Burgh Island Hotel, and her passion for the island continues to inspire new ways of developing atmospheric illusionistic imagery.

Elen Claire Williams is passionate about environmental concerns, and has in recent years been documenting and interpreting the landscape in a variety of visual and written media. Her most recent works have involved exploring collage and mixed media techniques.
“I begin with site-specific rural walks, selecting solitary spaces where the silence of that space can encourage self-discovery and participation for the audience.”

With a firm grounding in life and portrait drawing, Ani Buckland's ceramics explore figure and portrait themes. She has studied with Lucianne Lassalle and Rebecca Doe.
“Fascination and wonder with the uniqueness of every human face led me to masterclasses with international portrait artist Luke Shepherd, and I began accepting portrait commissions in 2009.”

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For more information visit http://www.harbourhouse.org.uk/gallery-contemporarypassions14.html