Bridport and West Dorset Open Studios 2012

Artist David Brooke has curated a very interesting exhibition on the visual representation of thought through drawings. An eclectic choice of artwork varying in size, subject matter, techniques and medium from a dozen talented artists make for a very worthwhile display.

'Drawing: Visual representation of thought' Allsop Gallery, Bridport Arts Centre

I really enjoyed being able to have a look through the artists’ sketchbooks. I only wish I had had more time to not only look at the sketches but also read more of the artists’ words. Visual artists’ thoughts and their written expression and interpretation of what they see (in front of them or in their head) is not something all exhibitions give us a chance to dip into. How they end up with the artwork on show always fascinates me and this exhibition gave me a glimpse of that elusive process.

Words and sketches

Artists' sketchbooks on display in Bridport

The work on show is a varied as the artists taking part. There are fascinating charcoal portraits, minutely intricate ink drawings, vibrant pastels, brain teasing geometric figures in pen and ink…

Participating artists are Bob Ballard, Marie Blake, David Brooke, Elaine Dixon, Jo Dixon, Gerry Dudgeon, John Hurford, Julia Hutton, Caroline Ireland, Kate Lynch, Duff Pearce, Myrtle Pizzey, Anthony B. Smith, Kit Surrey, Mart Tebbs and Stella Murray Whatley.

pleasantly brain teasing

David is giving a free talk around the gallery on Saturday 4 February at 2pm.

Bridport Arts Centre, Allsop Gallery, ‘Drawing: the visual representation of thought’ until 18 February 2012.

Colourful, happy and quite graphic are words that sprang to my mind when I first saw Caroline Ireland‘s work three years ago in the St Michael’s studio she shares with artist David Brooke. Her use of pastels, charcoal and water colour is bold and her work leapt out to put a smile on my face.

Still-life and flower studies are abundant in Caroline’s work but she also likes to explore the esoteric world depending on where her mind takes her. When ideas come to her head, Caroline sees threads that she likes to follow to discover where they will lead. She enjoys playing with the medium that she uses and pushing it to its limits to find her way of expressing her vision.

Caroline Ireland drawing in her St Michael's studio, Bridport

Last year, Caroline was very sick with flu. With her mind having no choice but to rest, fresh ideas came flooding in. She had visions of cats’ features. What may sound weird at first makes more sense when you know that Caroline has a degree in History and Archeology and an avid interest in local medieval churches where she came across these cats’ features on human bodies.

Changes of direction are exciting but Caroline is very aware that when she tries something new, people don’t always like what they see at first. “Every major change seems alarming” Caroline muses. It was the same about twenty years ago when she started working with bright colours. She thinks that television programmes like ‘Changing Rooms’ and such like introduced the public to the idea of bringing more colour into the home. Looks like they didn’t just make MDF fashionable then, phew.

Caroline and two of her drawings, her pastels, sketchbooks and tulips

Take her pastels on black paper, shapes and colours are refined to fairly simple lines to let the imagination fill in the gaps, with the black paper showing through making a dramatic impact. “That was a joy to experiment and after a while people could see what I was trying to do which was great”

Caroline has been working on drawings for an exhibition David Brooke is curating. She shows me a tree with garland like branches falling to the floor drawn in bright colours, a preparatory work to ‘Angel resting on an oak tree’. A feeling of light both in the sense of not dark and not heavy makes me smile again.

Caroline’s work is on show at the Bridport Arts Centre’s Allsop Gallery 21 January to 18 February 2012 along with several talented artists. “Drawing: the visual representation of thought” is curated by artist David Brooke. Well worth a visit. See our next post for a little overview.

Fiona Chris opens her studio doors Saturday 28 January 2012 11-4pm to showcase her calligraphy and illumination classes. Here is her lovely poster for more details. Poster Open Day 2012

We have been talking about 2012 in Bridport for a few years now and here it is. The Olympic and paralympic Sailing in Weymouth and Portland will bring the eyes of the nautical world on our amazing Jurassic Coast and Bridport’s Year of Culture promises to keep our town busy and buzzing. So you can see why…

There will be many events to look forward to in 2012. Bridport and West Dorset Open Studios of course will be our main focus here but this year, it will be part of a much larger and exciting event: ‘The Spirit of Bridport’, a 17 day Festival of Culture (11 to 27 August 2012). We’ll be telling you more about it as and when events are confirmed but think street theatre, pop-up cafes, workshops, sport, music, exhibitions…

There will be many more events throughout the year, Dorset Arts Week in May, a Spirit of Bridport taster on February 4th, the Olympic torch coming through Bridport on July 12th and the usual big events like the Food Festival, the Melplash show, the Carnival, the Beaminster Festival and many more. We’ll keep you up to date on these and the work of our artists. There’s never been a better year to discover or come back to Bridport!

So here is to a Spirited 2012. May it be filled with more quirky events, amazing art, fantastic food, super sailing, surprises and all round fun. We look forward to sharing our cultural heritage with all our friends, far and close, new and old.

See you soon.

Nat

For more information on Spirit of Bridport

The Official Launch of Bridport & West Dorset Open Studios, taking place from 6:30 to 9pm on Thursday 19 May in the Ballroom at the Bull Hotel, along with a selection of art from participating artists in a show called 6″x9″ – which is the size of works that each artist has submitted.