exceedingly good exhibitions

July has turned out to be the month for exhibitions, and I'm not just talking Childwickbury here - I've taken part in a couple myself, and visited two more in the past fortnight!

The Town Fryer, Hermitage Road, Hitchin
© Teresa Newham 2013

Throughout July two of my paintings have been on show in the Hitchin Art Trail, which regular readers of this blog will know coincides with the annual Hitchin Festival.  The first of these, Pato's Wish, went to The Town Fryer fish and chip shop in Hermitage Road. This was a very suitable location for a painting of a fishing trawler, and was hung by the counter, so that customers would be able to take a look at it while queuing for their fish and chips:  

Pato's Wish, hung near the counter
© Teresa Newham 2013

 My second entry, Poppy Fields, found itself in the window of Norgans Lettings in Sun Street:

Poppy Fields in the window of Norgans Lettings on Sun Street, Hitchin
© Teresa Newham 2013

Both Norgans and The Town Fryer are regular supporters of the Hitchin Art Trail, which invites local businesses to choose entries to put on display.  We walked the Trail ourselves on a blazing hot day, using the leaflet thoughtfully provided by Tim of Tim's Art Supplies.  There were around 60 works in as many locations, with a variety of media and styles, and as usual we enjoyed the experience very much!

Ewing Paddock's exhibition flagged up outside the Bankside Gallery
© Teresa Newham 2013

I'd read about Ewing Paddock's exhibition Painting London Underground in an article in Artists & Illustrators magazine. He spent several years approaching people on the London Underground and painting those who were willing to take part;  I just love that he built a replica tube carriage in his studio to get the full effect! this exhibition at the Bankside Gallery was so interesting, each painting had a story.  The replica tube carriage also formed part of the display.  My favourite was Adam, Eve (so clever!) and I was able to tell him so, because the artist himself was right there in the gallery . . .

Coming out of Mass Friday lunchtime, I noticed some activity around what looked like a shop at the end of the road.  On closer inspection it turned out to be not a shop but a gallery run by paper makers R K Burt and Company.  The exhibition was Paper Works by the Society of Graphic Fine Art, and a jolly fine exhibition it was, too.

SGA publicity outside the gallery
© Teresa Newham 2013

I had an interesting chat with the SGA people there (and a fellow visitor who like me was keen to further develop his own artistic skills in retirement).  The gallery is in Union Street,  just around the corner from the printmaking equipment treasure trove that is Intaglio Printmaker (I treated myself to a water stone there just a few weeks ago).  Going down those steep wooden stairs into Intaglio Printmaker is one of the things I am really going to miss when I stop working in London, but luckily they do mail order.  And I might pop in if I am up in London for any reason - as a commuter I can never wait to get out of London, but once I've stopped commuting I can be a visitor and really appreciate it!

HVA Summer Exhibition, Harpenden Public Halls
© Teresa Newham 2013

Last but not least, this past weekend has seen the second HVA Annual Summer Exhibition at the Harpenden Public Halls.  A taster exhibition for Herts Open Studios in September, it also provided an opportunity for those HVA members who are not participating in Open Studios to get their work seen: paintings, photos, textiles, jewellery, glass, wood work, sculpture - right here in Harpenden.  I showed Painting the Boat, Gondoliers in Winter and Two Hand Reel.  The exhibition was in conjunction with the Beds Herts Bucks Print Society, so we were able to view some stunning prints in the adjacent hall.

The next exhibition coming up will of course be our own  Artscape Arts, concurrent with our participation in Herts Open Studios.  I really must get going with my preparations for that one . . . .!


Acknowledgements:
Many thanks to The Town Fryer and Norgans Lettings for displaying my paintings on the Hitchin Art Trail, to all the local businesses which supported the Trail and of course to Tim and his staff at Tim's Art Supplies for organising the whole thing!
Thanks also to Linda Warminger and everyone else involved in setting up and helping out with the HVA Summer exhibition.  As usual you did a grand job!