Dear Blogger
Message from Willow Gallery, Oswestry
| UPCOMING AT THE WILLOW Exhibition by members of the
Shropshire Guild of Contemporary Craft
29 June-17 August
Showcasing a wide variety of craft disciplines
Stitched Boundaries
29 June -17 August
A new collection by textile artists Alison Holt & Suzette Smart | | | A WAY OF SEEING WITH REG TURRELL WINDBLOWN After a stormy night, I looked out of our sunroom doors and saw that the pot of tulips were behaving like white doves! I was intrigued by the style being so prominent, while the petals no longer kept their tight tulip shape. To capture the movement of the tulips in the wind, I made strong diagonals and let the petals flow into each other. The stamens were freely painted, while the style was carefully detailed to create contrast. I graded the background from dark to light using fluid washes to create more movement. | | | | UPCOMING WORKSHOPS AT THE WILLOW Learn a new skill or polish an old one. Classes take place in small groups with lots of advice and guidance from our experienced and talented artist-tutors.
Current one-day workshops with some places remaining:
Portrait painting in acrylics, Felted art, Batik on fabric, Ecoprinting, Linocut printing and Clay sculpture.
In addition, we look forward to welcoming Peter Monaghan back to the gallery this summer. Working from studios in West Wales and Southern Germany, Pete paints in a fusion of abstraction and figuration. He is also an enthusiastic and encouraging teacher.
 At Pete's two-day workshop, Collage to Distraction (3 and 4 August), students will explore ways of moving away from direct representational painting towards a more abstracted image, without actually arriving at pure abstraction. Students will work in acrylic on board or canvas and use different materials to experiment with colours, shapes, layout and texture. Please see our website for full details. | | | THANK YOU ? DIOLCH YN FAWR Thanks to everyone who came along and supported last month's Spring Craft Fair. Also, a big thank you to all our vendors. Although the day saw lower than average footfall (indeed the whole town seemed for the most part quiet), there were lots of positive interactions throughout the day, and we hope you were pleased with your sales.  Local authors selling their books at our Spring Craft Fair
Left to right: Vicky Turrell, Bernard Pearson and Ron Turner | | | | Other Local Events & Information | | | Encounter at the Darwin Oak
Etching by Dan Llywelyn Hall
The 30-edition etching was made to support the legal costs
to rescue the Darwin Oak .  More than 106,000 people have signed a petition to save the 550-year-old tree known as the Darwin Oak. Given the name because it stands not far from the childhood home of Charles Darwin, it is one of nine ancient trees due to be felled to make way for Shrewsbury's North West Relief Road. Campaigners say this will be a dark day for the environment, devastating an important piece of green space.
Known for his landscapes and portrait paintings, award-winning Dan Llywelyn Hall has exhibited throughout the UK. | | | | WONDERFUL WHITTINGTON  One of the best festivals of its kind in the UK, Whittington Music Festival returns from 16-19 May. This year the festival welcomes violinist Braimah Kanneh-Mason and jazz duo Zoe Rahman (piano) and Rowland Sutherland (flute), alongside many other world-class musicians. Details at www.whittingtonmusicfestival.org.uk. | | Long-lost Gustav Klimt painting sells for €30m A painting by Gustav Klimt that reappeared after nearly a century has been auctioned in Vienna for €30 million (£26 million). The unfinished, unsigned work, Portrait of Fräulein Lieser, shows a young woman enveloped in a rich cloak adorned with flowers against a fiery background. It was painted in 1917, a year before Klimt's death.
Many prominent works from European artists went missing or were destroyed at the hands of the Nazi Party during the Second World War, and Klimt's work was by no means an exception. The portrait was originally commissioned by the wealthy Jewish industrialist Lieser family, though the exact family member depicted in the painting remains unknown. It was passed to the Lieser family following Klimt's death and last seen in the mid-1920s. The family was subsequently targeted by the Nazis, their possessions seized or destroyed - and the portrait, known only from a single black-and-white photograph, was presumed lost. The painting went to a bidder from Hong Kong, who wasn't identified. | | Lost Turner watercolour fetches £96k at auction
A lost watercolour sketch by one of our greatest landscape artists has sold at auction for £96,000.
The JMW Turner painting of Hampton Court Castle in Herefordshire, was found amongst a number of 'not very exciting' watercolours and prints left for decades in the attic at nearby Kinsham Court. The painting depicts the castellated country house from a south-easterly direction across the River Lugg. It was probably completed in 1796 when the artist was just 21. Newly-discovered watercolor sketch of Hampton Court Castle by JMW Turner c1796
Photo courtesy of Minster Auctions
The painting was not signed but has been verified. 'The signature is in the style,' says painting expert James Pearn. 'Turner had all sorts of little idiosyncrasies: the way he drew the trees, the way he filled in the shadow, the way he put various combinations of animals together. They're quite comparable to other examples of his work at this time.'
At the auction in Leominster, there was interest from around the world. The painting was eventually sold to an unknown 'phone bidder. | | |  Francis Bacon's final portrait of lover George Dyersells for £6.82m at auction Dublin-born Bacon completed Study of George Dyer a year before his lover's death in 1971. It went under the hammer at Sotheby's last month, fetching £6.82 million. The bold, bleak portrait, with characteristic use of distortion, will feature in the National Portrait Gallery exhibition of Bacon's portraits later this year.
Dyer was 29 when he met the 54-year-old Bacon in the autumn of 1963. Legend has it that Dyer had broken into the artist's house - but according to Bacon himself, they actually met in a pub in Soho. The men quickly became wrapped up in a tempestuous relationship, and George became the artist's greatest muse, appearing in more than 40 paintings over the course of Bacon's career. Francis Bacon (left) and George Dyer in 1965
Photograph: The Estate of Francis Bacon/John Deakin Collection | |  A vibrant, not-for-profit art space packed full of contemporary artwork from local and national artists. We host exhibitions, art classes, craft fairs and other community-focused events - bringing together creative individuals and art lovers from our local communities and beyond. CONTACT US Tel: 01691 657575
email: willowgalleryoswestry@gmail.com
Website: willowgalleryoswestry.org
Facebook: Willow
Address: 56 Willow Street, Oswestry, Shropshire SY11 1AD Gallery/Café open Tues-Sat 10am-4pm (3.30pm café last orders)
Closed: Sundays/Mondays/Bank Holidays Editor: Hilary Moorcroft
May 2024 | | | | | |
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