Brian Sinfield Art Gallery
Exhibition
Annie Rouse 9 July - 23 July 2022
New Paintings
In this latest exhibition of new work Annie explains she was looking for a new ‘pulse’ to introduce into her table and flower paintings and was Influenced by ‘Bonnard’ and ‘Matisse’, in their use of colours and the figure.
If you are familiar with Annie’s work you will instantly notice a heightened use of colour, and when asked about this, she replied “I loved it!”. “Mixing the right yellow to sit on pink, for example, without it disappearing, was an enjoyable challenge.” And not wanting to create a narrative with her figure paintings she worked on making the figure have as equal importance as the flowers, tables and backgrounds.
Annie Rouse clearly has a great love of painting. There is a quirky almost childlike spontaneity, a love of drawing, of texture and the viscosity of oil paint laid on thickly. Many her paintings are in a large format, better to carry her vision, though in this exhibition there are also some irresistible smaller works.
Undoubtedly there are influences, Dame Elizabeth Blackadder OBE, RA, RSA, the Scottish painter is one, but like all good artists she takes from the best and disregards the rest, putting a stamp on her own work.
Annie received a B.A. Hons in Fine Art Painting from Central St. Martins. She has exhibited widely in Britain and overseas, including several times at the Royal Academy Summer show, The Discerning Eye at the Mall Galleries in London and many others. This will be her second solo exhibition at the gallery.
Painting illustrated: The Blue Room | oil on canvas | 76 x 101.5 cm
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Featured Artist
Introducing Felice Hodges
These paintings are inspired by nature and the rural countryside, particularly Dorset, and despite often being large in scale there is an intimacy to Felice's abstraction. A poetry in the everyday items that emerge from the pictures are illuminated by a softened tonal palette where vases and vessels seamlessly integrate into balanced compositions. Whether landscape or still life, it is up to the viewer to determine the subject matter and to absorb the atmosphere and mood in an individual, personal way. The titles are deliberately kept simple and unobtrusive, often focusing on a single colour to allow the observer to drift into the picture without the constraints of a defined focus. The essential nature of these paintings is their freedom to explore a variety of themes and to inspire further thought based on one's own recollections and experiences, thus engaging the viewer on a more personal level.
She uses a variety of mediums; acrylic, gouache, ink, watercolour and charcoal, and sometimes combines collage sourced from her ‘library' of painted scraps of paper which she makes and has collected over the years.
Felice was born in New York Felice and came to England as a young teenager, where she went to school and studied the piano at the Royal College of Music. She later returned to New York to attend Cornell University, continuing with her music but also studied art. This led to an early career as a journalist and writer on art and antiques. By the 1980s, her desire to produce her own paintings and sculpture led to further specialised study and the set up a studio in Dorset, allowing her to focus on abstract work, mainly large canvases and bronze sculptures.
There is always an energy and movement in the painted surfaces, reminiscent too of her musical background and the dynamics of pronounced rhythm.
Image illustrated: The Red Flag | mixed media on canvas | 150 x 150 cm
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Just In
Paul Robinson
Paul has been working on a new series of 'London' paintings, and 'The Wolseley' is one of them.
Humour is a powerful emotion, as is nostalgia, and it is these elements that strike you first about Paul Robinson's paintings. Paul is an observer of people and his paintings have an engaging and very narrative quality that is further enhanced by his titles.
Paul was born in 1959 in Penrith Cumbria and later studied Fine Art at Carlisle College of Art. After moving to London he became a successful illustrator working for many well-known publications.
During the late 90s Paul left London and moved to an altogether slower paced life in North Norfolk where he saw a dramatic change in his work. There he discovered a whole new world of country towns, green hillsides, stormy seas and lots of space - a complete contrast to the cityscapes of London. Today he continues to paint his iconic London scenes alongside his countryscapes and seascapes. His style is instantly recognisable and his paintings are becoming more and more collectable.
Image illustrated: The Wolseley | oil on board | 61 x 122 cm
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