On Turner Road, we were welcomed in by Anja Jane. She had her own screen prints on show as well as the works of water colourist Marianne Preel and animation by Adam Vanner. She tells me she began making screen prints while studying textile design and she still works in this area. She has some fantastic designs showing local scenes, animal life and flowery motifs among others. There is a pretty garden where guests can enjoy home-made cake and coffee.
15 Upper Walthamstow Road
Not far from here, heading further toward the beginnings of Epping Forest is Upper Walthamstow Road. Signs lead us into the long garden of number 15, where we meet artist Sharon Drew. It has recently been announced that her work has been selected for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition this year. She tells us she has lived here for about 20 years and has used the studio at the end of the garden since moving in.
In her studio, it is a real privilege to be able to look through her sketchbooks and smaller studies alongside the large paintings and to see her materials lining the shelves. There are a number of beautifully captured seascapes in the sketchbooks, mostly painted or drawn on the Cornish coast around St. Ives. Though she informs us that she never directly develops an image into abstract, there are certainly motifs and influence from these that can be found in her larger, layered acrylic abstract works. The paintings which hang on the wall have a wonderful texture and are very animated. Sharon explained that she works with the canvas on the floor to create this effect. Such insights are part of the joy of being able to talk to artists in front of their work and this along with the ability to see the materials and related artworks together leads to a much better understanding of the creative process.


St Peters in the Forest
We headed into the forest, towards the start of the Corinne Price audio tour (more on this in another post), and on the way came across St Peters in the Forest. Here they serve tea and cakes on Sunday afternoons and have prints and cards for sale inside. They been involved in the Art Trail through the Community Centre which the day before had held the Kid's Kitchen cooking class for under-fives. I am informed that (beyond all odds) this resulted in a gourmet lunch in the garden.
No comments:
Post a Comment