- are interested in becoming a member of the SWLA you get a LOT of clues below as to the sort of artist they like to have as a member.
- want to see their work "for real", the SWLA annual exhibition at the Mall Galleries closes at 1pm tomorrow.
Descriptions of the artists are by Harriet Mead who has been re-elected President for a 10th year.
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| Red Deer stags "The Duel" Nick Bibby SWLA Bronze (edition of 12), 40.5 x 137 x 42 cm, £37,500 |
NEW Full Members
Nick Bibby Born in County Durham in 1960. He had a precocious talent and was drawing and painting as soon as he could hold a pencil or paintbrush. However, he was drawn towards work in three dimensions. His early childhood sculptures were made using plasticine, or whatever came to hand when the plasticine ran out, as it often did. He then began selling work in his early teens and became a full-time sculptor in his late teens, after leaving art college at eighteen.
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| Emperor Penguin by Nick Bibby Bronze (edition of 12) 101.5 x 61 x 61 cm £32,500 |
Nick Bibby is an extraordinarily meticulous sculptor and it was easy to vote him in as his work is stunning. His attention to detail is superb but he knows exactly when to stop and allow the form to be key. My pet hate in all media is when the artist portrays feathers individually because they know they are there, rather than realising that when we see a bird we do not see individual feathers we see the mass of the bird.
John Dobbs NEAC - born in Windsor in 1961. He grew up in Denham, Buckinghamshire before moving to nearby Harefield, Middlesex where he now lives. John trained and worked as a Draughtsman in electrical engineering before becoming a full time artist in 2003. He was awarded the New English Art Club Drawing Scholarship (2012) and was then elected as a member of the NEAC in 2015.
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| Tiger by John Dobbs Oil 47 x 58 cm £1,450 |
John Dobbs's work stands out as a fine artist painter who happens to paint animals-and I think this is key. His paintings are about the experience of seeing the animals and they sing out. He has seen all those animals - sketching and observing - and it is obvious to us that he has experienced it himself.
Bill Prickett - an established wildlife artist based in the UK. His sculptures are held in contemporary art collections worldwide. Bill produces both bronze and silver wildlife sculpture as well as hand carved originals. He is also recognised for his plywood sculpture, a modern and beautiful material
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| School of Rays and Three Rays by Bill Prickett Birch Plywood |
Bill is another artist who is very good at conveying form and using his chosen materials in a very exciting way. You must remember the amazing octopus from a few years ago...he is meticulous in his work and takes great care with how he mounts and displays his finished work-another pet hate of mine is sculptors who are slapdash about how they finally get their work to stand up, so often it looks shoddy and a complete afterthought!
Richard Jarvis - Wildlife artist from Leicestershire specialising in linocuts and print making.
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| Linoprints by Richard Jarvis |
Richard's work is beautifully composed and quietly shows his delight in the subject. Interestingly he rekindled his love of printmaking by attending a workshop that we held in the much missed Learning Centre. I think it was Bob Greenhalf and Max Angus who led it and he was totally fired up to get printmaking again...fast forward and here he is as a full member.
Simon Griffiths - a sculptor living and working in the North Pennines. He spent as much time as possible in the woods and fields near my home as a child where he explored and drew the creatures that lived within them, especially the animals and birds. His work primarily stems from direct observation of the subject.
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| Ceramics by Simon Griffiths |
Simon is another sculptor who takes great care over how his work will sit and celebrates the clay in his own style. He spent hours doing a sculpting demonstration on Thursday and had the audience captivated.
NEW Associate Members
Louise Scammell - a printmaker based in South Devon. She prints in her own studio in South Brent and teaches at Dartington Print Workshop. Louise gathers ideas and inspiration for her work from walking on Dartmoor and from the South Devon coast where she dives, rows and fishes. She is happiest when she can translate her field sketches into prints. She uses copper, lead or wood to make her plates.
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| Britt, Ballsaddle Rocks by Louise Scammell Wood lithograph (edition of 7, 2 available), 57 x 46 cm, £380 (£210 u/f) |
Louise Scammell is married to a bass fisherman who fishes sustainably. She is a diver and it is obvious that she loves the underwater world. Her gorgeous prints are atmospheric and completed grounded in observation. As you know that's a real 'thing' for us at the SWLA. Go and see it if you can before you create your interpretation. There are so many other senses involved which can inform the finished work-you can't smell and hear a photograph!
Wynona Legg - Based on Devon and Cornwall. Her website says she explores mark making, as a filter between true representation and emotional response and works in materials that offer immediacy when drawing subjects directly from life, most often inks, graphite, charcoal and soft pastel. Drawing is at the core of her practice and often forms the finished work. Gestural line and partly abstracted shape and form convey familiar subjects.
“I am concerned less with pinpoint accuracy of representation and more with capturing the energy at play within a moment of time. The power of marks to convince the eye of familiarity.”
Wynona Legg has benefitted from 2 bursaries in recent years and is such an assured and talented artist-her strong sense of line and strong voice (you can tell one of her drawings a mile off) is a very exciting prospect. I see her drawing as very sculptural and it's a delight to see the confidence in her lines.
Feeding time at the Gullery by Wynona Legge
Ink & soft pastel
50 x 73 cm
£650
Lisa Hooper - lives in and is inspired by the landscape and natural history of South West Scotland. She uses a wide variety of techniques to capture pattern, light and texture in her subjects.
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| Phalaropes, Shetland by Lisa Hooper Linocut (edition of 19, 2 available) 70 x 86 cm £490 (£420 u/f) |
Lisa has won a couple of awards at the exhibition, most recently the Dry Red Press Award and she has consistently had work accepted for a number of years. I particularly liked her phalaropes, and she is another artist who spends time watching her subjects before making her work.