Vidya’s Blog

Yes, that’s me, the visual artist. I have actually done my fair share of writing in recent years, mainly by way of a personal journal but also the odd piece of poetry or prose for limited consumption. I ventured off for the workshop I mention here on saturday and spent a somewhat damp but worthwhile day taking field notes in the grounds of Northcourt, a manor house nestling below the Downs in an enchanting and historical location. The writing was interspersed with yoga exercises and a bit of singing and dance to connect with nature.

 I was actually able to see the world from both an artist’s eye but also merging that with the scientific as I tried to follow the brief for writing through objective observation . I feel the need to inflict a little snippet of writing on my readers. After all that’s what bloggers do! To set the scene we are at the final stopping point around the grounds with the rain beginning to set in:

‘The rising dampness of the slope takes us to the ’storm beech’, a monolith standing erect  against the cold grey sky. At its side an angry anvil of branches has been brought down under their own weight. Rhododendron encroaches with its saturated green leaves and buds firm as bullets. Yew and Pine are also close enough by to provide an evergreen screen to frame the view. Moss has replaced grass under foot and the air is suffused with  earthiness and wild garlic, melded together and lingering on the air downslope as we wind our way back to the house. On the doorstep are the ever faithful stone lions, sentinel, moss-ridden and enduring all weathers in order to see our return.’

Spring is in the air and throws down the challenge of balancing domesticity with productivity (in the artistic sense). I have to say I actually feel more energised and creative for embarking on a flurry of Spring cleaning. Menial, repetitive tasks are suppose to stimulate creativity or so I’m told! Added to this is the resolve to get planting down at the allotment: potatoes have gone in already on some plots and I don’t want to miss the boat. If you really are that interested (and that may be a big assumption) then visit www.veraveg.org for some fine specimens of local produce grown right here in East Cowes.

So, have I nothing to say about high art or has that all gone out the window? By no means! I’ve been able to do a couple of mainland visits in recent weeks, including following up a Guyanese artist (as suggested at ArtSway). Frank Bowling is currently showing work at the Arts Institute, Bournmouth. He has been painting since the 1960s and was a contemporary of David Hockney and a whole raft of Pop artists. I was able to introduce myself to him at the Private View to his latest exhibition, a series of large abstract paintings from the 1980s. He is a most interesting character and we shared stories about Guyana although I have to confess to never having lived there, being British-born. My parents, however, are both Guyanese and that made for interesting conversation.

I ventured across to the sleepy village of Sway for a one-to-one portfolio appointment at the contemporary gallery of ArtSway with curator Peter Bonnell. I was challenged to consider whether my painting on the frames is derivative of Howard Hodgkin. I have to say that whilst an admirer of Hodgkin’s work, this had never occurred to me. In a sense I can’t help myself in that the work tends to grow organically, and encroaches on the frame when I feel the need to expand beyond the predetermined boundaries. Nonetheless I will take the advice on board and consider presenting the work slightly differently. The session was very reassuring and dispelled a number of insecurities. It was a good opportunity to get my work seen by someone with considerable experience of the art world and although ArtSway does not showcase the type of expressive painterly work I do, it gives me the confidence to go out and find the galleries that do.

Following on from my previous article, what better way to record an idea than by ‘Point and Shoot’. My faithful digital camera has caught a moment in time. I have been putting together some small pieces and recorded this possible work in progress for all to see. Hope you like the concept. It is taking the form of a photo and may never make it to the gallery. Remember, you saw it here first!!

With a New Year I seem to have my irons in the fire as ever. It’s an opportunity to take stock of where I’m at as an artist and to that end I have plans to take some sound business advice and also have my work critiqued more widely. I will be going to ArtSway in the New Forest for feedback on my current practice and as to what opportunities might be available. New work for a new year includes this piece of work in progress entitled Black Ivy, Comma, Comma. In the past I have worked onto the frame, with varying levels of success. Working onto the glass also presents its own challenges in terms of what paints to use and how to avoid the more messy effects.

Thanks to my readers for staying with me during this first year of blogging. Christmas for me will be a time to follow the advice of Monty Don (Gardener’s World fame) and head for the countryside. I will be heading off for some of my favourite local walks over the holiday season both to work off the excesses of Christmas and as ever, to connect with nature. I hope a connectedness might be conveyed in my art. I’m in the process of putting exhibition proposals together and this causes me to reflect on where I’m at in my art practice and the influences that come to bear. Where do all those abstract circles come from? You may well ask. Nature has been an enduring theme since I first started all those years ago back at art college and for me, whether working with symbols or more overtly with organic forms, all can be traced back to a fundamental connection with the natural world. 

Forthcoming Exhibition @ St. Mary’s Hospital, Full Circle Exhibition Space

ISLE OF WIGHT

Monday 10th December - Friday 29th February 2008

It’s all in the title! I had my first Solo Show at the same venue all of 13 years ago and in this sense am ‘coming  full circle’, added to which I have a number of circle-themed paintings on view. There’s an eclectic range of work including pieces that are having an airing outside the studio for the first time.

Last weekend marked a major departure for me into the world of fused glass. I took part in a workshop under the direction of glass artist Nina Bulley. There was an immediacy about what was possible without it all being left to chance. Here is a picture of Nina beside the all important kiln and a snapshot of my workstation with a few experimental pieces. I’m not sure I will be wowing the design world with my creations. I just enjoy a break from painting once in a while and the opportunity to try something new.

Well, first of all take a camera, and then also a pair of binoculars and head for the coast. This is a rather exposed spot on the Newtown estuary. The birds seem to love it and so also the butterflies, enjoying the wild scent of flowering Ivy. These Red Admirals were feasting in the sun alongside bees for Autumn nectar. I’m not about to knock-up a few landscapes in the studio in response to these themes. Sometimes I just like my point and shoot digital and a tranquil place to awaken the senses.

We are back from Greenbelt and yes, the Christian Arts are alive and kicking. I was able to see work by a local Cheltenham artist, Jake Lever depicting hands of the Magi through printmaking. This was making the crossover between gallery space and worship venue and provided a quiet, contemplative experience. He also gave a talk at one of a series of artists’ forums running throughout the weekend. It has got me thinking about ‘hands’ in a whole new way and I’ve managed to capture a few images taken with my ‘point and shoot’ digital during a riot of a concert by the worship band Delirious? Not for the faint hearted but if you want to be a ‘History Maker’ and like an energetic sound then this music could be for you!! Anyway, hope you enjoy the images.