Up and Running!

The Private View of “Seasons Change”, my exhibition at New Court Gallery, Repton, was a lovely evening of meeting new people as well as old friends. So nice to have such support and keen interest shown in the work! We also managed to pop in to see Paula Kemp’s super work, just down the road at Gallery No.1.

My exhibition at New Court Gallery will be a resource for Repton School pupils, and as part of the school, is open for viewing by appointment by ringing

01283 559200

The work shows the progression from watercolour studies made in Scotland through to several abstract studio pieces. It was always this process that fascinated me before I studied art; the why and the how.
Well, after years at art college I realised that it is something that happens over time and work evolves in directions that take me by surprise. I guess this is why I felt compelled to pursue painting through my Art Practice PhD, and to this day, time in the studio deepens my understanding of paint and the process of painting. It makes for an interesting and exciting life.

Seasons Change

Exhibition at New Court Gallery, Repton

OPENING 7 – 9 PM FRIDAY 13th JANUARY 2023

This exhibition, “Seasons Change”, is the result of two sketching trips to Scotland in late 2022, with the aim of making visual responses to the autumn and early winter colours.

I chose to work directly on cotton paper postcards because of their strength, size, and portability, using watercolour, and mostly worked from the car, stopping off whenever anything caught my eye. Visiting two contrasting locations on each trip, the dramatic NW Highlands and the tundra-like Cairngorms, enabled me to compare how the changing seasons impacted on the landscape.

The exhibition also includes several follow-up pieces made back home in my studio in Wales.

New Exhibition

Twenty Twenty Gallery Ludlow

https://issuu.com/hughelliottuk/docs/when_the_land_rested_-_claire_scott_curates_june20

Delighted to be part of this group show ‘When the Land Rested’ curated by Claire Scott. A superbly hung exhibition that highlights correspondences between the various artworks by Dennis Farrell, Alysia Webster, Mick Manning, Claire Scott and June Forster. Read my full exhibition statement below.

Another Line to Follow

 

‘Another Line to Follow’ is an exhibition of paintings, drawings and collages at the School of Art, Aberystwyth. It celebrates the ongoing friendship and collaboration between artists with links to Aberystwyth University.

Although currently closed because of the Coronavirus crisis, we are lucky to have an online catalogue available, thanks to School of Art Senior Curator, Neil Holland. The exhibitors thank Neil,  and Karen Westendorf, Curatorial Assistant, for their assistance throughout. Here is a link to the catalogue and we hope you enjoy perusing the artworks and that you stay safe and well in these difficult times. Art will help us through!

Link to Catalogue: https://aberystwythuniversitycollections.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/anotherlinebooklet_med.pdf

 

Exhibition news

I am happy to be invited to exhibit at the Freelands Foundation, London, in ‘Fully Awake 5.6’,  a show that celebrates inter-generational aspects of teaching painting.  My brief was to select a work by a former tutor and one by a former tutee. I met up with  one of my chosen artists,Tom Voyce, at the Private View last week and we caught up on news after his win on Sky Arts Lanadscape Artist of the Year. We also discussed our latest collaboration that will result in a show along with other Aberystwyth University MA’s  Rachel Luxton and Alysia Webster, from February 2020. Watch this space for updates!

Colours Changing

November 2 Detail

We are well into November now and my colour palette continues to change to reflect those observed in nature. A dark, wet week with very few sunny spells and plenty of time to work in my studio now I have new daylight bulbs fitted. These are much better than ones I have used previously. Of course, I prefer natural daylight but find that I can extend my painting hours – essential when in the flow of working.

I have re-visited grids and small studies, making intuitive adjustments with each layer of paint. There are around ten unfinished pieces awaiting attention but the good news is I have completed others recently and uploaded them to Saatchi Art:

http://www.saatchiart.com/juneforster

In the weeks leading up to Christmas I shall continue to resolve the unfinished pieces and feel excited about the ongoing grid series, namely the challenge that a grid provides – to work with it, or against it?

New Beginnings

Blencathra

Spring is the time for new beginnings. Following a trip to see Blencathra I am thinking about my next project – in fact it is an idea from 7 years ago and since then I have sketched the mountain many times and taken hundreds of photographs.  I know why I want to take on this project, but how is a different matter. Seven years of filtering through my brain. What will happen next?