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INTERVIEW
ROYAL WATERCOLOUR SOCIETY ROYAL SOCIETY OF PAINTER-PRINTMAKERS
Veta Gorner was born in 1974 in St. Petersburg, Russia where she studied Interior Design and Architecture, later moving to England. She studied printmaking at Morley College, London in 2002. Shortly therefter she was elected Member of the Greenwich Printmakers Association, and has since exhibited in London, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Amsterdam and Helsinki. In 2014 Veta was successfully elected as an Associate Member of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, becoming a Fellow this year. Veta’s style combines the art of traditional printmaking with the three-dimensional qualities of highly embossed paper. With an express interest in the nature of motion and its dialogue with space, she creates images that are simultaneously vulnerable and resilient. Veta’s work uses a range of printing techniques, from etching and lithography to silkscreen and collagraph, to explore the very essence of what it means to be human. Tell me a bit about your artistic background and early art education… For as long as I can remember there was always drawing, painting, creating and building something - not only passions but also compulsions. For a while I thought I could tame creativity for industrial applications: studying Architecture and Interior Design; working in an advertising agency then later as an art-director and graphic designer; picking up diverse creative skills en route. In the long run, skills learned are never wasted and generate unexpected connections and inventive breakthroughs - the most exciting discoveries usually happen on the margins of multiple mediums. I had my first up-close encounter with an intaglio printing press at age 28. It happened by chance and with an instantaneous impact. Printmaking from the get-go felt a true fit for what I could and needed to do. So whilst my discovery of printmaking and arrival into the profession was both non-linear and accidental, it was in retrospect not totally unexpected and generated long-lasting consequences. The idea of being an artist was always there but it was life’s events that created the catalyst. I was fortunate to have lived and worked in London surrounded by an incredible creative and multicultural community and support, encouragement and opportunities that came with it. I did not become a full-time artist overnight; and am, even now, gradually growing into the idea. I do however feel lucky to have art as my occupation and in no way take it for granted - endlessly re-evaluating the reasons for and ways of being and staying an artist.
VETA GORNER RE /// INTERVIEW
What is it about the medium of print that so appeals to you? It was the introduction to a printing press that created an artistic pursuit that has now lasted 14 years. Stepping into a printmaking studio and witnessing it in action for the first time - it truly felt like a light-bulb moment. Firstly, it was apparent that the medium was brimming with uncharted creative possibilities. For somebody who likes to draw and tinker and who is not averse to problem solving, it Left image: Veta Gorner RE, An Old Man’s Tale , relief etching
Veta Gorner RE, Collateral Light, lithograph
provides a never-ending supply of inspiration, creative preoccupation and growth. Arriving into printmaking from left field had advantages. Given my previous work in both 2D (graphic arts) and 3D (architecture) environments I saw from the start that creating original prints is an exciting mixture of both. Handmade printmaking is a relatively slow, considered process - resting on the resistant nature of the materials one works with and the time it takes to create actual objects. There is a lot of experimentation and problem solving during all stages from “designing” your artwork to producing it. The process is never dull: mistakes can become unexpected successes and it constantly challenges your perception of what “perfection” looks like. In a world caught up in digital, transient, mass-produced and mass-distributed spin I think holding on to slower pursuits highlights the human need for creative originality and independence. As life relentlessly demands change I keep thinking of the press as a source of possible stability and grounding commitment. Tell me about your influences and inspirations…
A human body is an inspiration and a recurrent theme. But I never use actual models or anatomical references. My images are mental fabrications courtesy of years of model drawing, anatomy and composition classes. This is liberating; a body in my work is a subject and a vessel for human complexities; not merely an object. I am intrigued by how it feels to be alive and naturally draw inspiration from a myriad of human impulses and activities what makes humans tick, provokes emotional responses and underlines our joint “humanity”. Among my many interests are: animation, architecture, Eastern aesthetics, Renaissance drawing, interactive media, music, theatre and contemporary dance to name but a few. Early visual inspirations - Matisse, Escher, Bosch and, interestingly, Lucas Samaras; many years ago his work “Mirror Cell” really flipped an idea of what art should be for me personally. Has your work in advertising and graphic design influenced the way you work as a fine artist? The way I work is a synthesis of all previous experiences, so I would have to say yes to a degree. The need to communicate deliberate ideas that make one stop, look and think is critical to me. But art is not prescriptive and I tend to leave
ambiguous ends wherever I can, inviting a viewer’s own imagination to interlock with what they see. Art is surely about communication and I tend to see it as a dialogue. What does becoming a Member of the RE mean to you? Being an artist is a precarious occupation where encouragement from one’s peers and sometimes well-meaning challenges elevate eventual outcomes. I think it is absolutely critical for any creative to have some degree of support and acknowledgement during their careers. Therefore I see the role of a society like the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers as an active agent in supporting artists at various stages of their careers; not solely through exhibitions and events but more importantly through informal friendships, mentoring and mutual encouragement. Shared experiences, the ability to give back and contribute are precious. I am honoured to have been elected initially an Associate and then a Fellow, it is a responsibility which cements a commitment to the profession. What project are you currently working on? There are always various projects on the go at any one time. I keep many note books trying to record ideas as they come and then allowing them to sweat out for a while before returning to work on those I see as most challenging. Certainty is never a good start for me; I actually look forward to the resistance and challenges that the work throws at you.
This “magpie” approach allows me to be open to unexpected influences and gives flexibility in creative choices. Several projects are in the pipeline, one of which is a series of works inspired by the words of William Shakespeare, a project that came about as a result of the recent show at the Bankside Gallery, “Shakespeare: a Celebration”. I have always been fascinated by the interplay of imaginary and physical worlds and taking Shakespeare’s words as references to visual ideas truly fuels imagination. I am currently halfway through creating a series of 37 photolithographs, collated from digitally manipulated drawings and photography, a new way of working for me. The series is meant to work together as a book and I am hoping to be able to publish it in the near-term. Also, I am delighted that one of my latest images has been selected for the National Original Printmaking Exhibition this year. “Swell” is a part of a new series of 12 prints compiled under the title “Reverse Perspectives”. Naturally, it is inspired by matters of human cultural identity.
Hatty Davidson Left image: Veta Gorner RE, Merely Players, lithograph Right image: Veta Gorner RE, Gravity I [detail], silkscreen from hand-cut stencils
NEWLY ELECTED RE MEMBERS 2016 STEPHEN LAWLOR ARE
Stephen Lawlor ARE, South West, etching
MEI CHEN TSENG ARE
The theme of landscape in Stephen Lawlor’s work is informed by the history of western painting and in particular the landscapes of Poussin, Claude and Constable. In portraying the human figure he revisits the portrait paintings of Bellini, Holbein, Caravaggio and Van Eyck among others. His work explores the tonal varieties of light and shade. The manipulation of light and dark is achieved by controlling plate tone and overlaying dense areas of aquatint which in turn creates atmosphere and tension.
Mei Chei Tseng ARE, Landscape of Words - Triptych, wood engraving
The experience of living and studying between Taiwan and Italy gives Mei Chen Tseng a sensitivity to more iconic, conceptual and spiritual kinds of images. Italian art has great influence on her way of depicting forms, light and shadows, and the love of wood engraving derives from her passion for literature and delicate details. Mei Chen Tseng has been practising wood engraving for more than 10 years and is working as a professional painter and printmaker now.
EDWARD TWOHIG ARE “Prints Edward” was Edward Twohig’s nickname while at Chelsea College of Art where, as a post graduate, he proofed for Eduardo Paolozzi, John Piper, John Hoyland and Tim Mara amongst others. Since then his love for original printmaking has not diminished but intensified and spilled into collecting, lecturing, teaching and curating as well as creating. Twohig is a committed printmaker and admires equally older and contemporary skills in printmaking and never tires of its diversity in bringing alive an idea or message. Edward Twohig ARE, Knockmeal Downs in January, etching
FOUZIA ZAFAR ARE Fouzia Zafar describes play as a key concept of her work. Play encompasses repeatedly finding, composing and constructing new tools and processes to explore objects’ history, surfaces, and qualities, whilst also constructing new narratives. During play she explores her themes: the strangeness of memory, family histories, migration and absence. Fouzia’s work flickers between reality and fiction and use of pictorial language and processes. Figureless, her images have a presence of someone/something that is now absent and a playful nostalgic ‘noise’ unfolds. Fouzia Zafar ARE, At Play, etching
SIOBAN PIERCY ARE Up to recently, Sioban Piercy worked almost exclusively with screen printing but now she uses a range of traditional printmaking processes alongside digital and new technologies to produce artist’s books and three dimensional installations. However drawing and the image remain central to all her practice. She uses washes of black Indian Ink to create complex tonal layers not unlike watercolour. To extend the visual possibilities of these drawings she takes them through various print processes such as screen printing and etching as well as layering, manipulating and outputting them through computer programmes and devices.
Sioban Piercy ARE, A Book of Moments, inkjet prints on transclear crystal paper, wood and fabric
‘I make things. Much of this involves using paper. But the paper is not blank and this is crucial. These thin membranes of packed fibres have a particularly nuanced receptability to ink. They have the capacity to retain a subtlety of mark and tonal differences. What I find remarkable is that a gamut of tonal variance on a susceptible surface has the potential to trigger human memory, perceptions, empathy and even change our understanding of ourselves and the world. Marked paper, pulled together into structures we call ‘books’, has been our means to hold together our histories, our explanations; the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves. Mark is translated into meaning and these interpretations have been our way to construct answers; to scaffold our unknowingness. My work probes this architecture of self identity.’
THE MASTERS 2016 Taking pictures of pictures The deadline for entering this year’s edition of The Masters curated by Norman Ackroyd is quickly approaching and I am hugely excited. Partly this is because etching is my primary medium but it’s more down to the fact that intaglio prints are my primary passion. It was a show of etchings that first prompted me to take up printmaking and I am hopeful that a similar fate awaits some young artists who will visit Bankside Gallery to see this exhibition. The only thing I’m not looking forward to is the odd inevitable submission that is so badly photographed that it is impossible to judge the merit of the work. Online submission is not to everyone’s taste mainly due to the fact that selection (and more critically rejection) is made after viewing photographs of work rather than the physical pieces themselves. This is unavoidable but a good photograph of your work will give you the best chance of success. It is obviously not feasible for all artists who want to enter competitions to get their work professionally photographed. This is an expensive option and often requires more time than it would take to photograph the work oneself. Every artist does have the responsibility to make sure that the photos they submit are the best quality they can as even Richard Hamilton and David Hockney would struggle to be selected if their photographs were like some we have received. I’m going to give some very basic tips that I hope will be useful. - Photograph your work outdoors. Photos taken indoors require perfect, even lighting that can only be achieved by professional photographers. Take your work outside on a bright but completely overcast day (not a rarity in Britain). This will give a result with true colours and no visible light source. - Photograph the piece straight on. Nothing looks more amateurish than a skewed image. Make sure that the edges of the artwork are parallel to the edges of the frame in the viewfinder. - Always use a tripod. It is impossible to hold a camera still enough for the work to not be slightly blurred. If you do not have a tripod then set up a table with a cushion on it. Bracing the camera on the cushion will allow you to keep it still enough to avoid camera shake.
- Use the automatic timer. Even the action of pressing the shutter release is enough to shake the camera so if you have it, use the automatic timer function to take the picture. - Just photograph the image. Unless the edges of the paper or the frame are absolutely integral to the piece they just distract the viewer. The small area around the image should just be the paper not a random colour. - If you don’t have a camera use or borrow a smart phone and follow all of the same procedures. Cameras on smart phones are extremely impressive these days and you are not photographing the work to be published so the quality is absolutely adequate. Digital submission is here to stay and has many benefits. When the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers selects a work from the digital image it is hung with no additional judging stage. Also, online entry means that no artist has to frame or deliver a work that is ultimately rejected. I’m very much looking forward to seeing the submissions for Norman Ackroyd’s The Masters. Inevitably, limited hanging space will mean that no matter how good the photograph is some great work will still be rejected but I am hoping that the pictures of your pictures all do justice to your art. Mycheal Barratt PRE
E CI TY N TH ’S I UDE ST J Angie Lewin RWS RE, Stopping by Woods, wood engraving
St Jude’s return to Bankside Gallery for another in their series of St Jude’s In The City events. The exhibition will explore the craft of printmaking with limited edition prints from Angie Lewin RWS RE, Paul Catherall RE, Gail Brodholt RE, Peter Green RE and many more. In addition to limited edition prints you’ll find unique collages by Mark Hearld, birds and box constructions by Alex Malcolmson and playful hand painted wooden cut-outs by Jonny Hannah. As Simon Lewin explains… “It’s wonderful to be returning to London and more specifically Bankside Gallery for another of our St Jude’s In The City exhibitions. We’ll be presenting work from a number of artists who will be very familiar to those who have been following our activities, with new work from Angie Lewin, Mark Hearld, Emily Sutton and Jonny Hannah. But we’re taking the opportunity to introduce the work of artists new to St Jude’s. We’re working with Glasgow-based printmaker Bronwen Sleigh on a future Random Spectacular project inspired by Ultramarine’s ‘Blackwaterside’ 7” vinyl and print project and will feature a selection of Bronwen’s lithographs and etchings. We’ll also be exhibiting the work of artist Clive Hicks-Jenkins who has recently been working with the Penfold Press on a series of screen prints on the theme of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
We’re working with Clive at the minute on an expanded version of his interpretation of Hansel & Gretel, which first appeared in our second Random Spectacular journal. We’ll be launching this new small book at Bankside in November. Peter Green’s woodcut and stencil prints will take pride of place in this exhibition - celebrating the fact that in early September we’ll be publishing the first book dedicated to Peter’s work. Green was elected as an associate of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers in 1958 and awarded an OBE for Services to Art and Art Education in 1988; he has been known within printmaking and educational circles for decades but his extraordinary output still awaits discovery by the wider public. His career stretches from the 1950s where his vast lino prints of the Welsh landscape show the influence of John Craxton, Alan Reynolds and Graham Sutherland through to his most original and dynamic work produced in the last few years.
Peter Green: The Workmanship of Uncertainty is the first monograph tracing Green’s work from his earliest influences through to the most recent works to emerge from the artist’s studio. It is written by art historian and curator Nathaniel Hepburn (author of Barbara Hepworth: The Hospital Drawings, Tate 2012 and Cedric Morris and Christopher Wood: A Forgotten Friendship, Unicorn 2012). Simon Lewin
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The National Original Print Exhibition is an open show established by the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers with the aim of promoting the best of printmaking to a wider audience.
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www.nationalprint.org
THE MASTERS
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Private View: Tuesday 20 September, 6 - 8pm
Wuon-Gean Ho, Orchis v7 Triptych [detail], screenprint & monoprint
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The judging panel was composed of Julia Beaumont-Jones, Bruce McLean, Mike Taylor, Gill Saunders, Michael Barratt PRE and Trevor Price VPRE. Nearly 2000 entries were received and the quality of the works was very high. After much deliberation, the judges have chosen around 160 works that will be displayed at Bankside Gallery from 21 September - 2 October.
The Masters is a series of annual exhibitions established by the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers focusing on a particular branch of printmaking. This year’s exhibition will be curated by Norman Ackroyd RA RE and will be devoted to works that employ any intaglio printmaking techniques. A selection of external artists will be exhibiting along with Members of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers at Bankside Gallery from 9 - 20 November.
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Private View: Tuesday 8 November, 6 - 8pm
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is open to any printmaker under the age of 30 and awarded solely on the merit of their work. First prize: £2000, Second prize: £500.
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THE ANTHONY DAWSON YOUNG PRINTMAKERS AWARD
THE GWEN MAY AWARD
offers £1000 plus Associate Membership to two 2016 printmaking graduates. Two-year ARE membership will commence in January 2017. To apply and for more information please visit: www.re-printmakers.com/artistopportunities DEADLINE: Monday 31 October 2016
Norman Ackroyd RA RE, Skellig Rocks, etching
WORKSHOPS TALKS
EVENTS
RWS AUTUMN 2016 EDUCATION PROGRAMME The Autumn Exhibition will as usual be accompanied by a comprehensive education programme. This will include practical workshops at the Heatherley School of Fine Art. A family workshop will also take place at the Gallery on Friday 28 October. The programme also includes a fascinating talk and Meet the Artist events: On 12th October, Anita Klein PRE Hon RWS will talk about her practice of documenting her everyday life and family in her paintings and prints. She will discuss her subject matter focusing on the relationship between the artist and the viewer.
AUTUMN 2016
Jonathan Huxley RWS, Spoons [detail], watercolour
At the Meet the Artist events on 16th and 23rd October, newly elected artists will give an in-depth insight into their different working methods, artistic routines and inspirations.
RWS NEWS
www.royalwatercoloursociety.co.uk/events
CONTEMPORARY WATERCOLOUR COMPETITION 2017 The Royal Watercolour Society’s annual open competition aims to encourage innovation and experimentation in all water-based media and provides a prestigious platform for both established and emerging artists. Works are selected by a distinguished panel of judges who work in diverse areas of the contemporary art world and are seeking pieces which represent the most accomplished works in this field. Successful entries are exhibited from 3 – 15 March 2017 at the Gallery.
CONTEMPORARY
WATERCOLOUR COMPETITION
All entries must be submitted online at www.royalwatercoloursociety.co.uk where a maximum of 6 works can be uploaded. OPEN FOR ENTRIES: Tuesday 11 October 2016 DEADLINE: Monday 16 January 2017 Previous successful entrants
ELECTION 2017 Artists working in water-based media (including watercolour, pen & ink, gouache and acrylic) may apply for Associate Membership of the RWS. Closing date: Monday 6 March 2017, 12 noon For more information and to apply: www.royalwatercoloursociety.co.uk/election
London – A Sense of Place is this year’s the Royal Watercolour Society Autumn Exhibition. The show is an opportunity for Members to create and exhibit work inspired by London, and to celebrate and shed light on the many facets of the city. It also represents the latest manifestation of a long-standing relationship between watercolour and London. The medium of watercolour is one often associated with English art. In the guide to the RWS archives, The Business of Watercolour¸ Greg Smith notes: ‘There was a general consensus that the medium was uniquely suited to the depiction of the nation’s scenery and climate.’ As the nation’s capital, London’s connection with watercolour has been as a centre for nurturing watercolour artists, affording them commercial opportunities, educating them and has also long provided them with rich inspiration. In 1795 (just seven years after its foundation), the Royal Academy dedicated an exhibition space purely to the display of watercolours, something
never proposed before, and it was from this point that watercolour began to be seen as a medium in its own right, as opposed to a technique for tinting drawings and prints, or as merely for preparatory work. London has been the home of the Royal Watercolour Society since its establishment in 1804. Originally exhibiting in Pall Mall, and then moving to Conduit Street in Mayfair (1938), before finally relocating to Bankside (1980), the Society has engaged with London for over 200 years. The reasons for the Society’s dedication to the city are various, but commercial success has played no small part. In an atmosphere of fast-moving business, the appearance of watercolour in the London art market in the mid-19th century was welcomed by buyers and gallerists alike – here was a medium that allowed a painter to produce a work in a day, and another the next. In 1865 The Art Journal pointed out that watercolourists had ‘learned from manufacturers and political economists how to suit the market, and make the supply equal the demand’. Of course, the medium has since moved on and the varieties of paint available to contemporary artists allow painters working in water-based mediums to spend just as long on a watercolour as they would an oil painting. Yet, these commercial beginnings were key to the popularity of the medium. As well as art galleries, art schools have played a significant role in the support of painters in water-based mediums. With over 40 art schools in Image behind lettering: Paul Newland RWS, Thames, Capriccio II, watercolour
Greater London (a number that surpasses all other major cities in the UK with ease) the capital is rich in creative and innovative minds. The major institutions such as University of the Arts London, which includes Central St Martins, Wimbledon, Chelsea and Camberwell, as well as the Slade and the Royal Academy Schools, have not only nurtured RWS Members past and present, but continue to support them as they forge careers as artists. Many of our Members are now employed by these establishments as tutors for a new generation of artists, teaching the techniques of painting in watercolour, and also, as working artists, passing on their invaluable knowledge of the contemporary London art world.
The watery lifeline of the city is also surrounded on both sides by a busy, bustling metropolis that is constantly fluctuating. How better to capture these moving scenes than with watercolour, pen and ink? Michael Chaplin was recently appointed by Her Majesty the Queen to paint the scenes at the Patron’s Lunch, in which guests from charities under her patronage took part in the celebration along the Mall where thousands gathered to wish Her Majesty a happy 90th birthday. Chaplin’s finished piece is a spectacular panorama which encompasses not only the cheerful liveliness of the day but also the historic gravity of such an occasion. Emma Haworth’s playful scenes of London take a more illustrative
approach, where well-known public spaces are filled with detailed characters and narratives in a Bruegel-esque manner. London’s ever-changing skyline and compact architecture are also beautifully re-imagined on paper with the opacity of gouache seen in the works of Wendy Jacob and David Cass. Jacob employs the traditional still life as a foreground to the austere Canary Wharf, whilst Cass has juxtaposed the solidity and might of the Thames Barrier with painting in delicate miniature. The city inspires not only those who wish to represent it figuratively, but has long influenced artists working in abstraction. The mood and atmosphere so integral to the city is brought to life in the works of our non-figurative artists; John Crossley has taken inspiration from the skyscrapers of the City in the forms and colours of his works, whilst James Faure Walker’s pieces are references to the movement and activity in the capital’s Royal Parks.
London – A Sense of Place is testament to the diversity, opportunity and creativity of London, drawing on its people, history, architecture and much more. It provides a snapshot of an enduring relationship between a medium and a city, and gives some sense of the dynamism and continuing evolution of both.
ROYAl watercolour society
Apart from London’s unique artistic infrastructure, the city itself is an inspiration to Royal Watercolour Society Members. As a medium that is exceptional in its ability to capture light, watercolour is particularly suited to environments where reflections are abundant, such as those containing a shining body of water. The Thames has been reproduced in paint many times by RWS artists, and yet with each interpretation the nature of water-based mediums allows an altogether different and fresh work to be produced. Richard Sorrell’s Thames is one of peaceful tranquillity where rowing boats float in the water between a misty St Paul’s and a striking Tate Modern. Paul Newland’s Thames, on the other hand, conjures up thoughts of the river’s history and industrial past spilling into the present.
AUTUMN 7 october - 5 november Exhibition Hatty Davidson
Tell me a bit about your artistic background… I have always had a love of art (texture, colour and form) alongside history (archival and social) and English language (books, poetry, the spoken word). From school I went on to study for an Art & Design diploma which then specialised into a BA (Hons) Fashion and Textile degree. I had always wanted to be an artist - ever since I was about six in primary school - I always had that ambition that I wanted a stimulating life somehow. I think it was this strong creative urge that I held that has carried me through, along with determination and hard work. I don’t give up easily! How has your work in costume and textiles influenced your current practice?
Lisa Traxler in her studio. Photo by Portrait Photog: Julian Winslow and Steve Blamire
After my fashion degree I found my way into the world of fashion journalism and magazines. I eventually became fashion editor of an IPC magazine called ’19’ which was an amazing opportunity to travel the world and work with creative people in all aspects of the job. For many years I worked within the fashion industry working on costume design and styling for numerous magazines and television. My previous ‘life’ in costume and textiles and my work now, as a visual contemporary artist, are intrinsically linked. I can’t help but be influenced by light, shape, form and colour around me. This natural outpouring is my driving force and my abstract works contain shapes and movement from diverse sources. When I think back to my time working in the fashion industry the vital connection was through shape and texture - how an outfit was sewn together, the flow of the fabric, the folds and drape of a costume on the human form. I believe this past experience of working in the three dimensions has a great influence on how I place collage pieces, form shape within a painting and view my sculptural work in my current practice. It was a move to the Isle of Wight, where I am based now, that enabled me to unlock the visual artist in me. I have been able to pursue my love of art and follow the dream I had as a young person to earn my living from being a visual artist. Things have quickly taken off and I have had an exciting time exhibiting my work, collaborating with other artists and meeting a diverse range of people. I guess my career in the fashion industry also laid down a sound basis for time management, interaction with people and a very strong work ethic that I have been able to carry with me.
LISA TRAXLER ARWS /// INTERVIEW
Your work takes on many forms, why is it that you employ a range of different media? My practice weaves between abstract water-based mediums on canvas and paper, stitched collages and installations and sculptural works of vitreous enamel and steel. All aspects are linked to a series of events in my life and each medium used influences the other; my watercolour and stitched collages on paper inform my acrylic paintings on canvas, these pieces in turn create ideas for my exploded sculptures of enamel and steel. These sculptures then re-inform my deconstructed watercolours and so on. All aspects of my practice are drawn from my daily life experiences - my day starts with a coastal or forest walk with my little Patterdale terrier - clear the mind and new ideas and thoughts have space to enter. I feel I am quite a transient person - moving home quite frequently as a child then made these moves as an adult seem ordinary and part of my life’s journey. This ability to up sticks and move on creates a willingness to embrace new situations and spaces. My work as a fashion editor meant I was often found at an airport ready to take flight to the next location. The world is so full of colour and vibrancy and to view it from a different perspective is energising and inspiring. Lisa Traxler ARWS, Time Chamber, acrylic on canvas
Tell me about your use of water-based media‌ The main aspect of my practice is in the use of water-based media. The diversity and energy you can obtain from working, very rapidly, with acrylic, inks and watercolour is an ideal partner with my abstract style. My water-based collage works are created in pieces - these forms are then placed together until they converse and the energy between them works, creating a cohesive balance and proportion. This would apply to my acrylic works on canvas - shape, colour and form have to create a dialogue along with tension and scale. I work with my sewing machine over the collaged works - a further form of mark-making and one that speaks of my history. Often my two-dimensional work makes a foray into the three-dimensional with collaged and painted paper maquettes exploring the idea in the round. Lisa Traxler ARWS, Let Thoughts Wander, watercolour, acrylic, ink, collage & thread
What does becoming an Associate Member of the RWS mean to you? Becoming an Associate Member of the RWS is important for me on a number of levels. Creatively it has given me boundaries - and I say this in a positive way, as it has enabled me to push my works on paper forward, perhaps then I should call them frontiers! How far can I propel my ideas on paper - the boundaries have then pushed me further and aided me in creating my exploded watercolour sculptures. On another level, to be associated with the history and pedigree of the RWS is utterly amazing. The Society is full of interest both historically and socially and thinking about the incredible artists that have been and continue to be part of it, I am very humbled. Exhibiting at Bankside Gallery is also a great experience and allows the unity so integral to being part of a society. What project are you currently working on? The overwhelming project for me at the moment is a house build on the Isle of Wight. My husband is an architect and our current project is a new home next to a WWII Radar Bunker on the south of the island. The benefits of this include a great new studio which was formerly the crew barracks housed in an original Nissen Hut with views out to sea. This project is an immense journey and, as with previous builds, continues to inform my work. My next large scale art project is a touring solo exhibition of paintings and sculptures inspired by this moment in my life. The works are a direct influence to this build in two and three-dimensional form. ‘BUILD’ will tour from the Penwith Gallery, St. Ives, Cornwall 26 May - 22 June 2017 to Surface Matter, Material Gallery & Library, London Fields, London 1 - 30 September 2017 and then to The Bunker, Ventnor, Isle of Wight 6 - 15 October 2017 Hatty Davidson
ly!
Lisa Traxler ARWS, Cloud Collecting, stitched suspended paper installation. Photos by Julian Winslow
DAVID CASS ARWS
NEWLY ELECTED RWS MEMBERS 2016
Born in Edinburgh in 1988 and raised in the nearby Borders countryside, David Cass has worked hard to build a multidisciplinary career focused on accessible projects frequently produced in collaboration with other creatives – often with a focus on the environment and sustainability. Cass creates three-dimensional wall-based artworks depicting real and imagined sea, land and city-scenes using exclusively antique materials. His intention is to push the boundaries of watercolour painting, by making use of alternative canvases – from wooden table tops to centuries-old letters – sourced and gathered at flea markets and antique fairs around Europe. David Cass ARWS, Mor Breizh, gouache on antique letter
DAVID HAMILTON ARWS David Hamilton was born in Leeds and studied at the Regional College of Art Bradford and Goldsmiths College. Although the practice and teaching of ceramics has been the mainstay of his professional life, drawing and painting has always been an integral part of his work. He says of his practice: ‘I have always used Designers’ Colours, gouache and even poster paint but my enthusiasm really got off the ground when I was given a present of concentrated liquid watercolours. The vibrancy and intensity of these colours together with the transparent wateriness makes unplanned and unexpected things happen, so that the process of painting becomes a high-risk adventure. If it is looking a bit safe I might put it under the shower, wipe it with some bleach or sandpaper the surface or, if desperate, all three.’ David Hamilton ARWS, St Roche’s Gate, watercolour
SUE HOWELLS ARWS Sue Howells was born in 1948. In 2013 she was awarded the Purchase Prize at the Royal Watercolour Society’s Contemporary Watercolour Competition at Bankside Gallery. Sue has also had work shown at the 2014 and 2015 Summer Exhibitions at the Royal Academy. Sue says of her work:
Sue Howells ARWS, Spring at Last, watercolour
‘I don’t usually plan my paintings in advance. Starting with a loose wash, I let one brush stroke lead to another, always looking for the perfect composition, cropping along the way to get the right balance. The enjoyment of using pure watercolour is important to me, exploiting the effect of this elusive medium, letting the beauty of the paper shine through. I am much inspired by the Pembrokeshire and Brecon landscapes, and closer to home, the Clent Hills and the Black Country.’
JANE LEWIS ARWS After gaining a BA Hons in Fine Art at UCW Aberystwyth, Jane taught at secondary school level for 3 years before taking up a career in publishing in London. Following a move to Suffolk in 1987 she has been painting full time for the last 20 years and has exhibited throughout the UK. Jane paints in watercolour and oil - abstracts which invariably have reference to the East Anglian landscape where she lives. The discipline of regular life drawing feeds into the process of looking, understanding and recording. She is currently interested in using the traditional qualities of watercolour (e.g. translucency and overlay of colour) within a more contemporary framework combined with using different paper surfaces. Jane Lewis ARWS, Blue Surround, watercolour & graphite
CLAIRE PARRISH ARWS Born in Worcestershire, Claire studied BA 3D design at Cardiff School of Art and then went on to Central St. Martins under Tricia Gillman, who continues to be her painting mentor. Claire’s paintings are developed over extended periods of time, using multiple digital images of industrial processes as their metaphorical vehicle. Each piece is composed of layered sheets of transparent polyester film. They are then combined together to allow for the unexpected and unplanned collision of shape and line to take place.The surfaces of the paintings show the dense patination of mark-making as a thinking process, the ideas that come and go, rubbings out, finger prints, water stains. The work challenges us to simply observe, without reference to any inherent meaning. Claire Parrish ARWS, Floc, watercolour wash & graphite
Bankside Gallery opened on the south bank of the Thames in 1980 - at this time the Gallery was one of only a few occupants of this stretch of industrial wasteland and was without its most iconic neighbours; Tate Modern, the Millennium Bridge and the Shard were all still ideas for the future. Since then, these developments have emerged (along with others including Tate’s recent extension, the Switch House) and in doing so transformed the nature of this distinct area of old dockland. In turn, this has given Bankside Gallery the opportunity to be a part of a uniquely creative quarter of London where organisations and institutions work together to build a supportive and cooperative community. In the past, the Gallery has collaborated with local restaurants, hotels and businesses but our most recent partnership has been with an institution similarly focused on the arts: Shakespeare’s Globe. The brainchild of American actor Sam Wanamaker, this now iconic building came to Bankside in the early 90s and was completed by 1996. The Tudor replica theatre now sits amongst the contemporary glass-fronted Neo Bankside and Tate’s post-war industrial chimney, drawing hundreds of visitors daily and adding to the eclectic mix of old and new so synonymous with this area. Bankside’s collaboration with the Globe arose in 2014 when Director Angela Parker approached the theatre with the proposal of an exhibition marking 400 years since Shakespeare’s death. This collaboration would include access to the Globe for two artists - Mark Raggett VPRWS (Artistic Director on the 1999 film Shakespeare in Love) and Mychael Barratt PRE (Globe Artist in Residence during Mark Rylance’s tenure). In addition to an exhibition at Bankside Gallery, there would be a display of RWS and RE works in the UnderGlobe, a site which sees large numbers of visitors every day. Two years on, these plans came to fruition and Shakespeare: A Celebration opened in both locations. Over 80 Members from both Societies took part, creating a show inspired not only by Shakespeare’s writings but by his birthplace, his theatres and even the plants that feature in his plays. This exhibition celebrated the abundant inspiration that he has left us, inspiration that continues to influence generations of artists that have followed him.
BANKSIDE CONNECTIONS Image featuring Sam Wanamaker. Photo by Brian Rybolt. © Shakespeare Globe Trust
Not only did the collaboration celebrate the playwright however, it also celebrated the location and community in which the theatre and the Gallery both find themselves. The relationship built between our two institutions over the two year planning period was crucial to the realisation of the final exhibition and the Globe and its staff were invaluable to this. The exhibition was featured in the theatre’s Friends publication, on its website and on its social media platforms - all of which have followings in the hundreds of thousands. We were also delighted to welcome Mark Sullivan (Globe Commercial Director) to the private view, to open the show and reiterate the importance of teamwork and outreach in the arts. As arts funding continues to be cut and the economy remains uncertain, mutually beneficial collaborations within the sector will become increasingly necessary. Bankside Gallery is fortunate to be situated within, and contributing to, a vibrant artistic community which is going from strength to strength. Hatty Davidson
BANKSIDE GALLERY Thames Riverside | London SE1 9JH 020 7928 7521 | info@banksidegallery.com www.banksidegallery.com www.royalwatercoloursociety.co.uk www.re-printmakers.com Cover image: Lisa Traxler ARWS, Castles in the Sky, mixed media stitched collage