March 25th-April 8th open daily 11am-5pm
ART AND CONSERVATION
LANACRE BARN GALLERY – Withypool TA24 7SD
jodown@fhsinternet.com 07814420913
Talk by Phil Turnbull accompanied by Nicky Green and Fred Leach Monday March 27th 5.30 all seats taken
Talk by Roger Furniss “Exmoor Rivers – A National Treasure” Wednesday April 5th at 5.30pm, all seats now taken. Go through to contact if you’d like to go onto the waiting list.
Come and join us in celebrating the lives of these beautiful and complex creatures, our friends that live underwater, the FABULOUS FISH.
Ten professional artists will be exhibiting using a variety of mediums, relief print making, painting, both oil and watercolour, ink, mono prints, glass and ceramics. Lanacre Barn Gallery will be awash with Fish!
A bringing together of likeminded people, those with a passion for aquatic life, and an awareness of the necessity to protect our waters. We present the fishiest show you’ll have ever seen.
Come and enjoy this visual feast, involving both sea fish and river fish, with a few crustaceans thrown in for fun and learn something about their precarious lives and their fight for survival.
JO MINOPRIO
Instagram: exmoor_gallery_lanacre_barn
Fish have always been my passion, ever since I was given my first fly rod on my fifth birthday. The fish image has invaded almost every creative endeavour throughout my artistic career, that was until I was captured by Exmoor hedgerows!
During Covid I decided I needed a new venture, and seeing as I had been playing with the idea of printing fish for several years this became a now or never moment.
The excitement has been mounting and it has taken three years before I have felt ready to fully expose these amazing creatures.
Now, with our rivers and seas in crisis, there’s never been a better moment to have a fish exhibition, a true celebration of our underwater friends in hope of heightening our awareness of their desperate plight for survival, not only around the world but right here on our doorstep.
LIANE STEVENSON
lianestevenson.theartistsweb.co.uk
Marine life has been a constant theme in my artwork for many years, but recently I have been using the whale as a source of inspiration.
What is it about these creatures that appeals to us so much? Perhaps their size, majesty and apparent serenity symbolising the beauty, vastness and mystery of the ocean.
Many whale species are on the endangered list due to encounters with fishing apparatus, collisions with sea vessels, marine noise, and threat to their breeding grounds and food chain due to environmental change, mostly, unfortunately, due to man’s impact on the planet.
In these pieces I am trying to evoke some of the characteristics of these impressive mammals which appeal to me : beauty and strength, wisdom, spirituality, but also their sense of fun and enjoyment of their habitat.
I have tried to use reclaimed canvas and repurposed frames as much as possible in these pieces.
I will be donating 5% of sales to WWF.
SUSY GASCOIGNE
Hours spent rock pooling and by the sea have given Susy an enduring love of the coast, particularly of the South West. Inspired by the whorls and patterns of the waves and the fish found in the local waters, she has developed a style of repeat pattern colourful ceramic on thrown vessels in a stoneware clay.
The influence of the photography on The Blue Planet combined with a journey to Antarctica enhanced those passions.
Susy has been potting for over 20 years from her studio shed in rural Oxfordshire.
LANACRE BARN GALLE March 25th-April 8th open daily 11am-5pmA celebration of the lives and beauty of our complex underwater friends.
JULIE ORPEN
Instagram – orpenjulie
I produce my lino prints as well as more detailed engravings in my garden studio at home, and my work is often inspired by the natural world around me. I try to convey the movement in nature when I design my work, as well as a sense of depth. I often ‘break out’ from the rectangular frame of my images with blades of grass, a bird’s wing, or a fish’s tail
as I think this helps to draw the viewer’s eye into the image and creates more interest. I’m often inspired by and drawn to the coast, with it’s amazing variety of sea life, and attempt to include as much movement and splashing around as possible!
JULIA MANNING RE SWLA
Instagram juliamanningartist
THE DECLINE OF EELS A series of 12 limited editioned relief prints
Having lived close to the River Parrett in the early 80s I knew a bit about eels and the elver fishing that went on, but I had no idea of the amazing story and history of this fish.
I could not believe that the dramatic saga of eels was unfolding annually on my doorstep. I felt compelled to tell their story in print to make an audience aware of what we may be losing due to man-made structures, such as weirs and dams, pumping stations, hydropower plants, and large intakes like Hinkley Point power station! Then there is Climate Change – altering the way that the ocean currents operate, novel parasites, and the ubiquitous issue of plastics in our watercourses and oceans.
I have loved getting a bit political, doing something with a message which printmaking has often been used for in the past. Raising awareness of this important conservation issue has been, and continues to be, very rewarding. I hope my prints raise fundamental questions about man’s relationship with wildlife and the environment generally, not just the Critically Endangered eel.
The more complex prints are editions of only 6 with the less complicated ones having editions of 20. The intention is to take these works and exhibit them across the UK to educate and raise awareness of the wider environmental story.
NANCY MURGATROYD
https://www.nancymurgatroyd.co.uk
The natural world is under attack from all directions. As artists all we can do is express our thoughts and feelings. I feel fortunate to live in this wonderful part of the world and I am deeply offended by the fact that raw sewage overflows into our rivers on many occasions. The obfuscation surrounding the detail suggests that the true facts must be really bad!
To gently express my feelings in a print is cathartic in itself. If it helps someone else to think about the issues that is a real bonus.
“Clean our Rivers” is a combination of monoprint and linocut, so each print is unique.
Linocut printing is complicated, intellectually challenging and addictive. It is such a lovely way of mark making and I need to encompass its power and abstract potential. I try to engage the viewer with a well crafted and whimsical piece of work. The drama of black and white, subtlety of colour overlays or strikingly bold statements all excite me. This medium somehow suits my view of the world.
JESSAMY KEILY
My love for the ocean and all the life it holds has influenced my artwork more and more over the past years. Although much of my ink artwork these days features the vibrant ultramarines and jewel tones of the underwater world, with these paintings I have focused in on the texture and patterns of some of my favourite incredible sea creatures, from tiny jellyfish and the ancient nautilus, to a huge whale.
Using only black indian ink, water and sea water, I have explored some of the most intricate and interesting fish and sea creatures, using my dip pen in a variety of ways to make marks reflective of the amazing patterns found on them. I enjoy using negative space and the frame around the animal to tell a story or frame the animal in a different way to make the viewer smile or think differently about it.
In the ‘Ocean Treasures’ series, I then added bright detail in gold, highlighting different elements of each animal. I hope you love them!
CELIA MINOPRIO
This image has returned to me from many years ago when I was swimming in a remote Scottish Loch. I suddenly became aware that I was surrounded by a large amount of salmon gathered at the mouth of the river, presumably awaiting the rains to come. I remember the apparent excitement, the bubbles, the movement but above all how amazing it was to have experienced this moment in time.
JULIAN WITTS
I am a woodcut printmaker and painter, living by the sea in Lee Bay, North Devon.
My inspiration is primarily drawn from the natural world around me; perhaps particularly the birds who are my shore-line neighbours, and the more mysterious creatures of the depths.
As a printmaker, I feel a special affinity for fish. We both live in a world of shape and pattern and the sinuous lines of movement.
Now, in the Anthropocene Age, our coastal environment is under enormous pressure. I hope my work will in some small way help to celebrate its life, and bear witness to its peril.
JO DOWNS
Jo Downs is one of the world’s most respected fused glass designers. Working from her Cornwall studio, Jo’s work draws inspiration from the beautiful coastal landscape which surrounds her.
LOUIS DOWN
Photographer and Videographer
https://www.ruralproductions.net
JO JDOWNS
JoFA celebration of the lives and beauty of our complex underwater friends.March 25th-April 8th open daily from 11am
-5pm entrance free, refreshments offered.Ten professional artists using a variety of mediums, relief print making, painting, oil and with 100% fishLIANE STEVENSON
LCCIANE STEVENSON
moorlandart 