Out of the Blue exhibition at the Pie Factory Margate

 

I went down to The Pie Factory on Sunday to see Out of the Blue, an exhibition by Sally Higgs and Deborah Crofts.

The Pie Factory is a really good space, website here in the old town close to the sea and the Turner Contemporary Gallery.

Sally and Deborah have used the space well, filling the rooms with colour. They were both at the gallery when I went along so it was good to talk to them.

Both artists have a love of the sky, clouds and sea, the fleeting moments and changes in light that we have in Britain.  They also both have studios in Folkestone's creative quarter and I was pleased to hear that the area is developing well.

Deborah was showing a range of work including pieces with bold shapes and colour that seem to take a moment and distill it into an essence.
Deborah's website here

Sally's work includes colourful sunsets and sunrises that seem to contain the light and release it. Some more of Sally's work here

I really enjoyed looking at the work and meeting other artists who are interested in the same subject matters as I am.

The exhibition is on till 26th March 10-4pm and there is an opportunity to make a postcard picture yourself to add to the wall during the exhibition.

Birds and Insects exhibition, Andy Malone at the Beaney, Canterbury

 

Visiting Canterbury yesterday I spent a bit of time with friends in the Beaney, Canterbury's revamped
gallery, library and museum. The Beaney website here

In the Front Room exhibition space was work by Andy Malone. I have seen his work a few times and really like his book arts. Other websites with Andy's books include Much Ado Books

Andy Malone takes books like the Observer guides to butterflies or birds, books I remember from childhood, and cuts them up. The birds, or insects or other creatures are left at the top of the pages.


He also cuts out ciggarette cards, forming concertina books and in this exhibition he has collections of matchboxes with cut outs or actual objects in them.

One of his main pieces is a large work having 365 matchboxes, one for each day of the year, filled with cut outs or objects like a feather, or wasp or crab's claw.

They are tactile little boxes making you want to take them down and look more closely at the objects inside.

Andy Malone says on Much ado Books site that :

 "The Observer’s and Ladybird books and cigarette cards, maps and stamps that I use to make my work come from a more innocent age when I would pore over them by night and be out in the countryside looking for their contents by day."  and

"My work is a continuation of that obsession with collecting, cataloging and observing”

The exhibition is on till Sunday 13th April and there is a workshop, Museum in a Matchbox on Saturday 5th April 2014.

Beach Cross Racing and Parkour, Margate.

 

Last weekend the regular beach cross racing event was down on Margate's main sands.
The weather was good and there were crowds of people watching the racing.

I was watching the crowds as much as the racing, taking street photography style photos as well.

 

Because the main beach was out of bounds for the visitors and the tide was in, there was only a tiny bit of beach left near the steps.  I was impressed that some people were in the sea this time of year.

walking back up the High Street I came across a group of young people doing some street dance, parkour moves. Running and jumping up the walls of the shops and doing somersaults. Great to watch, though not many people on the street.

Colour Sketches of the Sea

 

I have been working with the new art bars that Ruth bought recently and water soluble pencil crayons, to draw some seascapes.

Experimenting with different papers and in different sketch books I have been keeping in mind my theme of colours of the sea.

I have also been looking at the landscapes of Emil Nolde, such amazingly vibrant coloured works.

I will continue with some acrylic paintings  using Emil Node as inspiration as well as Turner.