02 August 2007
It may be there are more paintings than villagers, but LESLIE GOODWIN is a fan of the summer exhibition in the tiny village of Owston
The summer exhibition in the tiny village of Owston, near Oakham, continues to attract a highly diverse collection of paintings and other art work. Now in its third year, it reflects the high calibre of artists in the area. It's firmly established in the artists' calendar, and this year a larger than ever number of submissions were available for selection - ensuring visitors can expect to see some high quality work.
The theme of "colour and contrast" has ensured a good representation of landscape painters and some strong work in other media.
Among those represented are a diverse group by popular Oakham artist Alan Oliver, including his atmospheric Snow in Derbyshire, and bold use of gouache in Hastings Beach, depicting fishing boats against a strong sky.
Resident artist Jan Osbond shows an exciting selection of her lively oil paintings, including work inspired by the Eden Project in Cornwall.
She introduces texture with sand and glass beads in her impressionistic Whipped Cream, a calm meditation on the sea and sky of the Cornish coast.
Nicola Pennill includes a group of Northumbrian landscapes including her bold interpretation of Coquet Island, with its use of strong texture and colour, and a striking mixed larger media piece, Rain Shadow at Simonside.
Other works include Roger Lancaster's distinctive soft watercolour landscapes, of which White Sand Bay Pembrokeshire is a typically restful example.
Linsday Jelley's bold abstract work, fine watercolours by Tim Hughes, Audrey Paddock, Chris Goodson and Stuart Ball and pastels from Sheila Manwaring add further variety to the paintings on display. As well as the paintings, there is a wide range of other submissions, making for a truly mixed media event. Ceramics, photographs, jewellery, silk paintings, batik, woodcarvings and needlecraft are all represented.
This is an exhibition of wide appeal, and is open for 10 days including weekends.
INFORMATION
The Owston exhibition is open every day from Saturday until August 12, from 11am-4pm, at the Rural Training Centre, Green Lane, Owston. Teas and homemade cakes will be on sale. See the
website for directions.
