UPSTAIRS AT THE ART SHOP, CROSS STREET

A luscious mix of artwork celebrating garden flora and foliage, landscapes and birds alongside new displays of jewellery and ceramics by favourite makers.
Artists include – Kim Atkinson, Tina Balmer, Lois Hopwood, Ann Johnson, James Burnett Stuart, Syann van Niftrik, Annabel Roberts, Kaz Robertson and Marianne Ryan.

KIM ATKINSON – These paintings were all made in my garden and beyond, on the cliffs and slopes of the far west of Pen Llyn and in a small field we keep for a late cut of hay. In this field I often sit or creep about looking at grasshoppers, moths, bees, flies, butterflies. Being in among plants – with close focus binoculars and paintbrushes, one enters a world where the shadows of grasshoppers on the other side of a leaf provide drama, the subtle forms of leaves and their downy stems become a jungle of forms and texture. No need to travel far, the intimate landscape of home is sustaining and fascinating.

TINA BALMER – My painting is both inspired by, and a celebration of, the domestic and ordinary. Everyday objects represent the rituals of daily life, often jugs, vases, cups, tea pots and flowers. There is always a push pull between abstraction and the figurative with a fluid movement between what is there and what the painting is. I use paint in a relaxed way, changing perspective, with light and shadow informing the pattern, underpinned by a sense of design. I grapple with the subject and the paint until the painting emerges and becomes ‘itself.

LOIS HOPWOOD – My paintings and drawings are definitely affected by the seasons. The three pictures called ‘Hayfield / Gwyrdd’ are an expression of love for the green summer hay fields and blue hazy skies of summer. The two paintings of Orange and Lilac are the hot sunny days. And in winter it gets very dark again. If I have given some sort of shape to my day I like to draw first. The little bird studies are in graphite on gesso with a wax varnish. Drawing in pen and ink is irreversible. I like to work on a long sheet of lining paper and draw still lives with a stick pen and Indian ink as a sort of meditation.

ANNABEL ROBERTS – After my degree at Camberwell College of Art I made tiles, working on restoration projects. Most of my work now is made using the traditional technique of coiling, a slow method ideally suited to the way I like to work. I aim to make pieces which, while they can be used, are not identical. Platters and bowls are pushed and stretched until they reach a natural balanced resting point, with the rims coming to an organic finish.  Vessels are encouraged to be full in shape, emphasising a feeling of containment and the idea of holding internal space. I tend to stay in a narrow colour palette of whites and greys and earth tones, and I build up the surface of each piece using layers of slip, engobe and glaze, looking for a feeling of quiet depth in the finished work.

MARIANNE RYAN – Coming from a family of artists, I was brought up with a sketchbook in one hand and a pencil in the other. When I took up painting seriously, close observation and accurate drawing were early hallmarks, reflecting my interests and obsessions with Romanesque architecture, an impressive collection of wildflowers pressed into scrapbooks, and an enormous admiration for the Old Masters. Now, inspired by my garden and the local countryside, I work sometimes outside, sometimes from the plants I gather on my work-table and sometimes from my many reference photos. I want people to appreciate the subtlety, the profusion, the singularity and fragility of plant-life. Not accurate in the true sense of botanical illustration, my work nevertheless presents a compelling way of looking. My career began with an Art History degree. In 1996 I gained a Fine Art BA from Goldsmiths’ College, and subsequently had several successful exhibitions. After moving to Herefordshire in the early 2000s, I took up photography and film, with an artist residency at Hereford College of Art (HCA). I completed a Fine Art MA in 2014.

Please enquire if you would like to see more work by an individual artist.

THE SIMPLE AND AFFORDABLE WAY TO BUY ART – Interest free credit on all original artwork over £250. Ask us for more details or click the link above.