Suzanne and Alan share details of this upcoming exhibition. Ed
Five well known artists from the Island have decided to stage their work together in an exhibition entitled ‘Island Brush Strokes’.
Being held at People’s Gallery, Union Street, Ryde the exhibition will be held for seven days from Tuesday 24th May – Monday 30th from 10.30 – 4.30 each day including the Late May Bank Holiday and features: Izi Evans, Birgit Ackroyd, Peter Allen, Marion Large and Pat Clarke.
There will be the chance to meet the artists at the official exhibition opening on the 24th May when they will be in attendance at People’s Gallery.
Isobel (Izi) Evans
Isobel began painting 20 years ago, on the Island, first exploring water colour and gouache, when studying still life, which led her to exhibiting in the Westminster Gallery, London with the United Artists. She then moved on to painting popular local scenes and started to find a demand for her work.
Izi said,
“Probably, being lucky enough to spend 6 years in Greece sailing, I grew to love and appreciate the sea and all things around it, this led to much painting in the Ionian, but I was restricted with space on board which meant water colour was the only practical medium.”
On her return to the UK her adventure with sun, sand and sea, along with oil paint, began and the desire to capture the shoreline of our beautiful Island continues.
This year has seen the opening of Izi’s own gallery-People’s Gallery- in Ryde where there are ever changing displays of work from selected artists as well as her own work.
Birgit Ackroyd
Birgit is Swedish but has lived in the UK for many years, mainly on the Isle of Wight, and currently in Cowes – overlooking the sea. She had no formal art education, but has always had a keen interest in drawing and painting.
Birgit likes life drawing and uses charcoal, pencil, colour pencils, ink and wash and sometimes pastel or watercolour.
She says,
“I love the shape and form of the human figure. I am a retired PE teacher and have watched the figure in dance and athletics over the years. I love capturing the human form in movement. Some years ago I started looking for the right medium for me, and fell in love with watercolour. I like the way it behaves randomly, and you only get one chance.”
Birgit has undertaken a lot of travelling including return visits to her native Sweden. She always takes paints, brushes and paper with her and sells her work to her travelling companions for charity.
Birgit sums up,
“The Island has a special atmosphere. It makes you slow down – it’s therapeutic and inspirational. It makes me concentrate. I feel it’s my home.”
Peter Allen
Peter lives at Binstead where he has a small garden studio. He also has a studio within the People’s Gallery, Union Street, Ryde and where he has already exhibited his work.
He works mainly with pastels and watercolour, painting both Island landscapes and seascapes as well as special places on the mainland.
Marion Large
Marion has lived on the Isle of Wight for eleven years. Having trained as a cartographer, she has now escaped absolute precision to indulge in a bold, colourful often experimental painting style.
In 2015 she produced a series of silk paintings of Island views, but her passion for the desert and the use of papyrus remains unabated. Included in her works are her experiments with mixed media which Marion says, “… are forever dancing around the edges of my main body of work.”
Pat Clarke
Pat Clarke says she has always been a painter in one way or another. She worked in traditional ways as a young woman and was a member of The Royal Miniature Society and Free Painters & Sculptors Society showing her work at many exhibitions.
Pat has also exhibited with The Royal Watercolour Society and Society for Women Artists show- casing her work at museums and galleries at both shared and solo exhibitions. She has very much enjoyed exhibiting her work on the Island.
Science has always played an important part in Pat’s life and she started painting pictures of the Cosmos about seven years ago. Now with popular TV programmes, hosted by Professor Brian Cox, which have shown wonderful images from the Hubble Telescope Pat’s work has become very topical.
She said,
“Although my own pictures are imaginative and speculative I have found a lot of inspiration from the new discoveries. From miniatures to space has been a journey for me and I am looking out even further for inspiration for my paints and brushes.”
