From East Cowes Esplanade to Newport Harbour; Island artist Roy Jouning presents his series of oil paintings, depicting scenes of local sailing activities and the River Medina.
He spent his last 15 working years managing a Civil Engineering Company and later a company specialising in procurement in Kaduna; a town in the North of Nigeria, West Africa.
It was here, in the late 80s, that he first started to paint and began with greeting cards to send back to his family and then went on to paint images of his garden in Kaduna.
”There were many pots on the patio and the garden had trees and shrubs that abound in the tropics and a mature bougainvillea that trailed over the French windows. An abundance of rich colour therefore to inspire me “¦”
After working with watercolours he decided to try his hand at painting with oils. Apart from attending a few art classes at school during the war, he is completely self-taught.
His style is reminiscent of L.S Lowry with his ‘matchstick’ like people, architectural backgrounds and graphic lines. The body of work is quite obviously linked to the local environment which thrives on its marine industry.
The sheer abundance of boats and spinnakers dotting the sea and to-ing and fro-ing on the marina gives the images a sense of movement and hustle and bustle on the water within these marine communities.
His inspiration for River Scenes began when he retired in 1998 and came to live in his apartment in East Cowes overlooking the River Medina.
”The view has provided numerous images for me to use in my paintings which I try to make colourful, interesting and the content recognisable, albeit with a certain amount of artistic licence.”
Roy Jouning’s collection is being exhibited here for the first time, and in addition to his first solo show, he will be celebrating his 82nd birthday in August this year. River Scenes will most certainly mark a significant achievement and aims to bring charm and fascination to the Quay Arts Cafe Wall.
All paintings are mounted and framed and available for purchase as well as mounted prints.
Bits and Bobs
River Scenes by Roy Jouning runs from: Thu 6 Aug – Mon 14 Sep,
Cafe Wall, Quay Arts, Sea Street, Newport Harbour, Isle of Wight PO30 5BD
