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Folkestone Art Society | ART REVIEW 1
FOLKESTONE ART SOCIETY Folkestone Art Society (FAS) was formed in 1928 by a number of local artists who were meeting in one another’s homes. Since then the membership has grown to 200 or more. The first exhibition was in 1935and held in the now defunct Pleasure Gardens Theatre. Exhibitions have been held every year since then except for the war years. Since 1997 exhibitions have been held at The Grand as well as at other venues. President: Fiona Graham Mackay Patrons: Michael Stainer, Graham Gordon, Robert Benson Committee: Sue Brelade (Chair), David Anderson, Chris Harman, Yvonne Hutchcraft, Leigh Norgrove, Elena Priestley, Malcolm Ritchie, Raymond Seabrook, John Sussams, Steve Thompson Cover Design: John Sussams Registered Charity Number 1161336
INTRODUCTION
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he Folkestone Art Society is part of the wider artistic community that is thriving in Folkestone. With over 200 members it brings together people from all walks of life who share a common interest in the visual arts. Many of our members exhibit artwork both in our own exhibitions and more widely in the UK and abroad. As this review shows, our members work in a variety of media dealing with a wide range of subjects. Whilst it is often true that our artists work alone, they come together within the Society and through that contribute to the wider community. The Society aims to encourage excellence in the visual arts and inspire others to take their first steps towards what can be a rewarding and fulfilling activity – whether as a pastime or profession. Combining text and images this Review presents artworks by Society members in a way that is both accessible and approachable. So if you find yourself inspired, entranced or captivated as you browse this Review, why not come to one of our events? Sue Brelade Chair, Folkestone Art Society Girl of the Sand by Sue Brelade (Acrylic)
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CONTENTS
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llustrations by FAS members, each with a short narrative about the subject, are, in alphabetical order:
Annie Begley, Silvano Bistazzoni, Jacqui Botwright, Sue Brelade, Christine Crane, Jeanette Cook, David Embry, Victoria Fontaine-Wolf, Kevin Gillen, Diana Harrison, Jennifer Homewood, Yvonne Hutchcraft, Dave Jackson, Carol Johnson, Janice Keeler, Pauline Lewis, Phil Lightman, Julian Lovegrove, Ewen Macaulay, Nandina Mason, Yvonne May, Lynette Merry, Ara Moradian, Simona Richmond, Malcolm Ritchie, Maddy Swann, Barrie Thompson, Stephen Thompson, Janine Umbers, Britta von Zweigbergk. Guest Contributor: Alan Smith CONTACTS:
Editorial: editor@folkestoneartsociety.co.uk Advertising: secretary@folkestoneartsociety.co.uk Membership: membership@folkestoneartsociety.co.uk Website: www.folkestoneartsociety.co.uk
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Folkestone Art Society Art Review ŠFolkestone Art Society 2016. All images remain the property of the individual artist. No images may be reproduced without the permission of the artist. Artists may be contacted through the Society.
EDITORIAL
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e have kept the same format for this issue of the FAS Art Review as in previous years. The main body of the review contains contributions from thirty FAS members plus this year’s guest contributor, Alan Smith. This is preceded by information (about the Society, Contents, Introduction by Sue Brelade and this Editorial) and is followed by the advertisements. Each member contribution consists of a colour illustration (of a painting or other work) and a short narrative about the subject and why the artist wanted to represent it in whatever medium. The shape of the illustration determines the scale at which it can be illustrated. This always presents editorial challenges. It’s always very pleasing to see such a variety of colourful artwork from our gifted members. John Sussams Editor Tree by John Sussams (Acrylic)
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JAGUAR E-TYPE SERIES III ROADSTER  (Phil Lightman)
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he Jaguar E-Type is probably one of, if not the, most iconic car design of all time. The final incarnation was the Series III from 1971 to 1973 which introduced the V12 engine, and is visually distinguished from earlier versions by the bigger grille with chrome bars, slightly flared wheel arches and wider wheels. This is the Roadster version and is a car I have admired for some time, particularly liking the chrome spoked wheels and whitewall tyres. I first asked the owners if they wanted a painting of it several years ago, and kept in touch since then. I was very pleased when they recently asked me to create a painting for an anniversary present. They asked me to portray it with a backdrop of the pretty village of Loose (near Maidstone), as it had special significance. I visited the location to get some reference photos, and this is the result. There is a cameo role for a green Mini in the background, which is a car they had previously owned.
Jaguar E-type Series III Roadster by Phil Lightman (Gouache)
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BANKSY (Simona Richmond) I love to draw cartoons that make a statement. Recent graffiti in the town prompted me to paint this cartoon, which implies ‘one can paint a mural and be arrested OR being notorious can give financial reward’ ( Just like an ATM) This cartoon was made about the time of the ‘Banksy debate’ in Folkestone.
Banksy by Simona Ricjmond (Acrylic)
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HEDY LAMARR  (Maddy Swann)
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edy Lamarr was a fascinating person and stunningly beautiful. I decided to paint her while the camera was rolling so I could turn it into a video for my YouTube channel. I have used a fairly limited palette for this painting as the original photo is in black and white and contrasts are quite harsh with lots of darks. It was challenging to paint this in watercolour but great fun.
I have been painting and drawing people ever since I could hold a pencil or brush. I often use watercolours for my portraits as this medium allows for an amazing freedom of expression. My inspiration comes largely from the great European masters of all ages.
Hedy was not only an actress, but also an important inventor during the 2nd world war when she used her interest in science to aid in the defeat of Nazism. She co-created a frequencyhopping system to avoid the jamming of radio-controlled torpedoes, this was achieved by using a piano roll. Hedy received a US Patent in 1942, and she received a belated award in 1997 for her contributions from the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The system was later used as a basis for modern day technology like GPS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections.
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Hedy Lamarr by Maddy Swann (Watercolour)
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ARIES THE RAM  (Nandina Mason)
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aving spent holidays by Derwentwater in the Lake District, I found myself inspired by the horned sheep that graze there on the land. I loved the texture and sculptural aspects of their horns and coats and decided to make the piece I call Aries the Ram. I used a clay called crank clay to make the sculpture. Crank clay has a coarse texture, which gives it great stability when using it for hand-built pieces. A mixture of tools and techniques were used to create texture within the final piece to give it more interest. The glaze I decided on was an oxide glaze, which has given the sculpture depth and brought out the texture within the markings on the clay. The sculpture can be left outside in all weathers due to the high temperature to which it has been fired. However, it is not frostproof. Even so, I myself have many pieces in my garden that have survived outdoors for many years. I have also made house numbers that have been made from the same type of clay. So, if attached to a wall or fence, the Aries The Ram Sculpture should be fine and a lovely addition to any property. Aries The Ram by Nandina Mason (Sculpture in Crank Clay)
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BOAT REPAIRS AT LUDHAM, NORFOLK (Julian Lovegrove)
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began this painting on location, ‘en plein air’ as it is known, at Ludham Bridge, Norfolk whilst participating in ‘A Brush with the Broads 2015’, the UK’s first plein air painting festival. I was attracted by the old green iron boathouse and workshops, and the reflections it cast on the water in front. The colours in the tarpaulin the red van and the white boats also appealed. After several hours, the light changed and the wind became colder so I had to complete it later, in my Broadstairs Studio from sketches made on the spot. During the warmer months, you will often find me in the corner of a muddy field or boatyard sketching or painting, almost in a world of my own. In the evenings, I often meet up with other artists and chat about our day’s work and the techniques we like to use. It is a good way to learn the craft and a lovely way to spend warm Summer days.
Boat repairs at Ludham, Norfolk by Julian Lovegrove (Acrylic)
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HOWLETTS: YOUNG ELEPHANT (Carol Johnson)
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s an avid lover of wildlife and a keen photographer, I couldn’t resist painting this adorable young elephant after a visit to Howletts wild animal park. I decided the texture and wrinkles of the elephant’s skin lent itself to watercolour with soft pastel for lowlights and highlights.’
Howletts: Young Elephant by Carol Johnson (Watercolour and Pastel)
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GOLDEN TIME (Jeanette Cook)
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opefully we can all recall special times – a major event, or an exceptional day perhaps, when, in our memories, everything was beautiful and glowing and perfect. Attempting to create a tangible representation of such memories, I made ‘Golden Time’. ‘Golden Time’ is formed from a series of shapes, predominantly circular, individually cut from various different coloured glass sheets, some transparent, some opaque, some with an iridescent sheen. There are also areas of dichroic glass, where the transmitted colour of the glass differs from the reflective colour, giving a shimmering effect as the viewer changes the angle from which they view the glass. These shapes were placed on a clear glass base to create a vibrant but harmonious design, and golden mica powder was carefully brushed into all the tiny gaps, pulling the design together and infusing it with a subtle golden lustre. It was then capped with another sheet of clear glass and fired in a kiln for many hours, fusing the many pieces in to one entity.
Golden Time by Jeanette Cook (Coloured Glass)
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POSTER FOR MAIL ART (Kevin Gillen)
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ail Art is a non-profit making international community art & design project.
Mail artists create original, signed artwork on envelopes, postcards and packages, these are addressed and posted to friends and acquaintances around the world. We photograph artwork both sent and received and upload to our online Facebook gallery. We have presented two gallery exhibitions of Mail Art in Folkestone’s Creative Quarter (2014 & 2015) and we shall exhibit again in Summer 2016. As a young aspiring artist in the 60’s & early 70’s I often sketched developing ideas on the back of envelopes (as a necessity! cheap!). These were ‘throwaway’ but I thought it might be fun to post them! It occurred to me eventually that these envelopes were becoming an art form in themselves. The poster illustrated was designed to launch our online Mail Art Community Facebook page inviting postal submissions from around the world. It comprises a display of 35 envelopes
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(22cm x 11cm) many of these have been subsequently posted and include a variety of subject matter including social commentary and more traditional themes such as the nude. We use a variety of materials and techniques including watercolour, acrylic, permanent marker and digital media.
Poster for Mail Art by Kevin Gillen (Mixed Media)
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THE LEAS (Stephen Thompson)
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t is Spring, early evening, looking west across the bay to Romney Marsh and beyond. The ‘wind-bent’ trees are silhouetted against the sea’s shimmering mirror. The first lights have just been switched on in Sandgate. There is a fresh newness in the air. This is a reworked painting, originally made twenty years ago. I re-discovered it in storage, cleaned off layers of dust and set out to find the original spot and the sensations that had prompted me to record it.
The Leas by Stephen Thompson (Oil)
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EMMA WAITING (Diana Harrison)
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’ve never quite separated from the art-school life-room experience and still spend time drawing and painting from life. Like most of my paintings this piece finally emerged as it is, almost accidentally, because I couldn’t have predicted how exciting the light and shadows would be when I asked Emma to sit in front of these windows with their slatted blinds.
Emma Waiting by Diana Harrison (Acrylic and Oil Bars)
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TARAS BULBA (Ara Moridian)
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his larger than life romanticised historical character first appeared in a Russian historic novella by Nikolai Gogol published 1835. A fictitious composite character based on several historic personalities, the legend of Taras Bulba still looms large in Ukraine, Russia, Armenia and even as far as Iran where I grew up. I remember vividly, when I was 12 years old, my sister bringing home a large oil painting she had secretly worked on at art college. It was a masterful copy of Ilya Repin’s painting Cossacks of Saporog Are Drafting a Manifesto. (In my family, simply known as the Taras Bulba painting). Her detailed explanation of the painting and the story behind it, left an indelible impression on my young mind. So much so, that after 40 years, I still felt drawn to the character and compelled to create my own Taras Bulba. However, there had to be a twist! Another layer to the character. The brief I set myself was: what if he had lived, grown old and wise? What kind of a man would he have become? All the wars, all of life’s experiences, what marks would these have left on his soul? And finally, what he would he have looked like later in life? This is the largest sculpture I have done to date (50×40cm). The character demanded nothing less. Taras Bulba by Ara Moradian (Sculpture in Clay)
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THE SECRET LIFE OF THINGS (Alan Smith)
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t eleven years old I went through the turnstile at Nottingham Castle and into secret, new territory. High on a crag, this ducal mansion houses the city’s museum and art collection. A circus scene painted by Dame Laura Knight held me captivated. As did the bullet-strafed silver cigarette case of a World War I flying ace, and a bullfighting lithograph by Picasso. As one of seven children, in a small terraced house, I was enchanted by the quietness of this place where you could be alone in your own world, with paintings. I felt I’d discovered a domain usually hidden from me and my neighbours in the redbrick streets of the inner city. After that, art lessons at school became really important. I became passionately interested in paintings that are as poignant and polished as a poem, rather than those on a grand scale. Many people advised against my going to art school. My grandmother said I should get a job in the offices at Player’s, the local cigarette factory. However my father encouraged me and
it was at a moment in England when you could study without getting into debt. After an honours degree in fine art at Cheltenham School of Art and a masters at the University of Reading, I worked as a fine art lecturer, then as a consultant in fine art to the Inner London Education Authority. I eventually returned to Cheltenham as head of school, but then a teaching exchange to Chicago led to a prestigious gallery there showing my work for several years. Prompted by this, and by a sense of time passing, I left my university post and moved to Paris to paint full-time. The great fascination with painting lies in its ability to create anything from a Persian miniature to a Da Vinci portrait to a Rothko scumbled surface. For me, it has to be oil because it feels like a living substance. You’re engaging with the paint. The greatest paintings have a freshness, as though they’ve been worked on, but not laboured over. I find that in Rothko’s work. Also in Howard Hodgkin’s and Vermeer’s.
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Like these latter two, I paint on a small, poetic scale. I want the images to feel intimate and – as with the best poems – to evoke an experience, rather than merely describe it. My technique, building up layers on a gesso panel, like on an icon, stems from boyhood, watching my father repeatedly redecorate our fraying home. I observe objects and scenes very carefully, but I never work directly from observation. Whatever remains in my memory when I’m in the studio is what matters. I work obsessively, painting day after day after decade. France benefits from a professional organisation for artists. Presenting my portfolio and being elected to the Maison des Artistes helped bring me shows in Paris, and representation for my drawings by the Galerie Hus.
from years of exploring churches and museums, absorbing the in-built hush. One of the oldest artefacts in a church, often predating the building, is the font. This ancient shape – the bowl – is significant in everyone’s life, as a receptacle or as a boat. It’s a magical idea that a bowl can contain water and yet also, as a vessel, travel across water. Painting transports us on the greatest adventure of all: the internal adventure. It allows us to chart who we are, why we are here and what life is like. The journey begun as a youngster within the tall stone walls of Nottingham Castle now continues atop the white cliffs of Kent. lilfordgallery.com husgallery.com
After a decade in France I settled in Folkestone where, thanks to the Creative Foundation, I have a good studio. I enjoy one of the world’s best commutes, along the Leas by the sea, plus easy access to London and Paris. I’m very happy to be working with David Lilford of the Lilford Gallery, Canterbury. My latest series, The Painting Diary, derives
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The Painting Diary by Alan Smith (Oil Paint on Gesso Panel)
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CARITATE (Sue Brelade)
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hen the Folkestone Art Society gained registered charity status last year, I found myself reflecting on the notion of charity and how it is depicted in art. In 2015 Damien Hirst produced a sculpture called ‘charity’ as part of the 2015 Sculpture in the City exhibition in London. His sculpture was based on a Scope collection box from the 1960s depicting a disabled young girl holding a teddy bear. His sculpture fused the notion of charity and disability, questioning the historical view of both being pitiful. Often you find the word ‘charity’ being used synonymously with ‘love’. Whilst there are many sculptures from the ancient world depicting love, I could find none depicting charity. So I decided to make a sculpture called CARITATE which is the singular ablative in Latin for charity. I sought to embody the idea of charity in the form of a god from ancient mythology. My aim was to make the face androgynous as charity has no gender and no bounds. The symbol on the forehead signifies both charity and love. For me CARITATE reminds us that charity is as much about who we are as it is about how we act. 20
Caritate by Sue Brelade (Sculpture in Clay)
MARE AND FOAL (Jennifer Homewood)
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his beautiful mare belongs to my neighbour and, one day, I was delighted to see she was accompanied by a foal. With permission, I took several photographs and then had the difficult decision as to which to paint. I particularly like the movement in this picture and the closeness of the foal to its mother, and felt this simple watercolour would best describe them.
Mare and Foal by Jennifer Homewood (Watercolour)
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FOLKESTONE BEACH HUTS  (Lynette Merry)
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his is a watercolour painting. I am well known for painting beach huts and love the colours of these along our seafront. I would love to be able to rent one! Instead I have to make do with looking at a painting of them.
Folkestone Beach Huts by Lynette Merry (Watercolour)
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TWO’S COMPANY (Jacquie Botwright)
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his is my friend’s daughter and her father on holiday, engrossed in meaningful conversation.
I was asked to paint these two for a Christmas present. I love using watercolour and here I limited my palette to (mainly) burnt sienna and ultramarine which I find simplifies the work. I made some sketches of the two people first, then used photographs for more accuracy and felt more confident using back views. In this way I could represent the characters without attempting to portray the faces.
Two’s Company by Jacquie Botwright (Watercolour)
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ABANDONED BOAT – RYE HARBOUR (Dave Jackson)
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onday 30th November. The wind was blowing at a pace, our band of merry men (‘the Lookers’ – Rod, Chris, Richard and myself – Paul and Bill could not make it) braved the elements and went to 200-year-old Rye Harbour. Tucked out of the wind down the slope, in front of the William the Conqueror, I painted the abandoned boat that has become a muchphotographed feature of the area. Across the river the bright green of Fred Cuming’s studio glowed against the stormy sky. Fred has been a long term influence of mine, having encountered him originally teaching painting at Maidstone College of Art where I completed my Degree in Illustration in the early 70s. For a brief moment the sun came out lighting up the opposite shore and clipping the front of the boat. Because the 10x12 inch outdoor sketch was so successful, capturing the feeling of that morning, I decided to develop this ‘doubled up’ studio painting. Although I had photographic reference, which assisted in developing the accuracy of the drawing, it was the study painted en plein air, in the wind, that guided the mood and colour.
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Abandoned Boat – Rye Harbour by Dave Jackson (Oil on Canvas Board)
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TIME (Janice Keeler)
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y passion in art takes various forms from abstract to traditional, producing stylish contemporary work. My love of wildlife and the human form leads me to figurative subjects depicting movement, rhythm and passion. I like a picture to tell a story. In this picture I feel the atmosphere and depth of the characters’ feelings as they share a quiet pint together with their memories of days gone when their strong powerful hands worked long and hard. Now their strength is spent, they can enjoy their company together with that of their dogs. I call this picture ‘Time’. I feel it could be time gone by or the landlord calling ‘Time’, last orders, or just their last time! Just let your imagination explore.
Time by Janice Keeler (Mixed Media)
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AFRICAN HUNTING DOG  (Yvonne May)
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he African Hunting Dog is sometimes referred to as the African Painted Dog because of the distinctive mottled multi-coloured coat. Each animal has its own unique coat pattern and they all have large rounded ears. African wild dogs hunt in packs on the open plains of sub Saharan Africa and sadly, like so many other species, they are now classified as endangered. One of the reasons that I work in pen and ink is because I love to draw in detail and I find that this allows me to capture many of the distinctive features of my subject. I particularly like to concentrate on capturing the intensity of the eyes. I love to draw wild animals, they are incredibly beautiful and mysterious and we must treasure them and do all we can to secure their future�. African Hunting Dog by Yvonne May (Pen and Ink)
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MARLOWE  (Annie Begley)
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y experience in the pottery industry combined with my sculpture practice has led me to producing functional art forms in the form of character jugs and vessels. I work from direct observation to ensure that I capture the essence of the particular model I am investigating. With both creatures and people - l really need to meet the subject so that l can engage with their personal idiosyncrasies before l commence a painting or sculpture... This character jug was created after meeting Marlowe a couple of times. His spectacles and beard are obviously main parts of his visage but I feel that the eyes are the most important aspect of any portrait.
Marlowe by Annie Begley (Sculpture)
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THE OLD HIGH STREET (Barrie Thompson)
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his narrow cobbled street originally connected the fishing village of Folkestone with a higher level, where The Bayle and St Eanswythe’s Church were situated. Further on, the land was mainly pasture, as the name The Leas (meaning ‘Meadows’) indicates. However, with the development of the West End, especially Sandgate Road (the new high street) with its shops and other businesses, The Old High Street declined; businesses closed and buildings became dilapidated. It had the dual disadvantages of being both narrow and steep. All this changed with the advent of the ‘Creative Quarter’ and the continuing regeneration of the lower area of the town − with artists’ studios and galleries, various cafés, restaurants, and specialist shops, all renovated and newly painted. The Old High Street has changed in character and is more attractive now as a subject to be painted than it was twenty or even ten years ago.
The Old High Street by Barrie Thompson (Acrylic)
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BOB   (Britta von Zweigbergk)
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he figure is based on Bob Dylan, part research on images of him, partly embellished and imagined. His pose sums up an earlier but probably not forgotten era. He is hip, poetic, a free spirit in a world of idealism and full of hope. I find that the human face and body lends itself to pencil or pastel and chalk. These are ideal vehicles for expression and enquiry and, sometimes, enigma and mystery.
Bob by Britta von Zweigbergk (Pencil)
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SWAN  (Malcolm Ritchie)
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have always been drawn to the country, and its creatures. I also feel there is something magical with water and wildfowl, so I really felt comfortable creating this picture.
Swan by Malcolm Ritchie (Acrylic on Canvas)
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LAPWING (Pauline Lewis)
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am very Interested in our British Birds and I thought I would try my hand at painting one of them. The Lapwing is an erratic flyer and has a lovely colourful show of feathers, which inspired me to paint this subject.
Lapwing by Paulinr Lewis (Acrylic on Paper)
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SALTWOOD CASTLE – View from the West Turret (Janine Umbers)
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olkestone Art Society had an evening painting session at Saltwood Castle; only three of us turned up – it wasn’t a good weather day – but the opportunity to have a go at the Castle at a different time of day appealed to me. There was heavy cloud and dim light, so I went up high to see what I might see from the walkways which run along the top, round the Castle walls. After climbing up there (with all my kit of course) I was lucky: a gleam from the setting sun appeared, a lovely rich red and orange/yellow which made the old stones glow. There were heavily shadowed areas and trees silhouetted against the sky. Below, the white flowers on the gate house also stood out, luminous in the light– I think it is Viburnum or Travellers’ Joy. Everything changed in tone, and it became more difficult to understand the different levels of the Castle as it got darker, and little areas picked up the light, and high-lighted spots of gleaming colour, the yellow in the sky auguring wind and rain tomorrow. Gradually it got darker, time was up, I had to go.
Saltwood Castle – View from the West Turret by Janine Umbers (Oil on Board)
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BIG PURPLE IRISES  (Christine Crane)
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his painting is one which I greatly enjoyed doing. It is very large which encouraged me to be very loose with my application of my favourite medium, watercolour. It doesn’t strive to be a botanical representation of the subject matter. I attempted to combine an image which has the essence of the beautiful purple Irises together with a rather more abstract approach. I love flower painting but I like to try different techniques and shy away from anything which I feel is too pretty and conventional.
Big Purple Irises by Christine Crane (Watercolour)
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LA HERCULES HARBOUR (Silvano Bistazzoni)
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his watercolour is inspired by my home town in Italy. I have used many media in the past and finally I decided to use watercolour. It is an image of the harbour overlooked by the Fort, as we call La Rocca (The Rock) which dominates the bay round the harbour. La Rocca used to protect the town from the invaders, pirates, and especially Saracens coming from the Middle East in the 12th - 16th Century. There’s another fort on the other side of the harbour called ‘Forte Filippo’. Local History tells us that there was a Tunnel under the sea connecting the two Forts, so that military guardians used to have easy access to both castles when needed. I used bright colours, particularly vivid red to give the bay a dramatic effect. The light house at the top of the castle is still fully functional, now protecting local fishing boats, yachts and small ships from the rocks below in the deep sea. La Hercules Harbour by Silvano Bistazzoni (Watercolour)
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ALASKAN WINTER STANDOFF (Ewen Macaulay)
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enali National Park. A brown bear moves in and feeds on a moose that was killed by wolves. I like the standoff scenario that’s being played out. Who’s going to win? Where are the other wolves? The extremely harsh winter makes for a really tough existence for the inhabitants. Despite being in the depths of winter and the death of an animal, there is always an air of pure natural beauty. The Denali National Park is home to the highest peak in North America, Mount McKinley at 20,310 feet and the park encompasses more than 6 million acres.
Alaskan Winter Standoff by Ewen Macaulay (Acrylic)
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CHARING HIGH STREET AT NIGHT (David Embry)
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hen I lived in Charing, I painted several night-time scenes of the village. There was a street lamp just outside our door, so I could sit and paint in comfort. As the days went by, several villagers walked by and saw the progress of the picture with interest. My wife really liked this painting so we decided to keep it. When it went on view several people offered to buy it, but I explained it was not for sale. Then Old Mr Baker came along. ‘I know it is not for sale,’ he said, ‘but if it was, how much would it be?’ I foolishly told him and he promptly doubled the offer, and somehow we had shaken hands on the deal. It was not long before villagers reminded me that they had been told it was not for sale. Time went by and Mr Baker passed away. We went to the auction at his house in the village. I had to bid for the painting and paid twice what dear Mr Baker had paid for it, in order to get it back! I appreciate night-time pictures with the emphasis on light against velvety darks. In this picture I enjoyed the play of light on the road and old houses in a quiet street with people at home behind lighted windows.
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Charing High Street at Night by David Embry
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SUNNY SANDS (Yvonne Hutchcraft)
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his picture started off very differently. It had just one lady with two children and their dog on the beach. That was nine years ago. However, at a critique evening, Brian Oxley said the picture was too romantic. So I made the figures smaller and filled the picture with a crowd of people, to make it look lively and colourful. When Brian saw it in the next exhibition he commented that it was much improved. So I began to paint more in the same style. ‘Sunny Sands’ was also the first picture I stuck my bald-headed son-in-law in; and that started a ‘Spot Steve’ series. I had postcards printed and have sold more than 300; I also sold several prints of this picture and about 80 greetings cards; I had 50 calico shopping bags printed with this design, as well as tee shirts. These I have sold over the years at exhibitions, fairs and in friends’ shops. I’m getting too old for the fairs nowadays. The painting was sold at auction for much more than I had originally asked, when it was first exhibited (and not sold)!
Why am I telling you all this? Well, it is just to encourage other artists to work harder than I have. I sometimes wonder how successful I might have been if I wasn’t so busy doing other things… and Steve grew hair.
Sunny Sands by Yvonne Hutchcraft (Oil)
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INDIAN DANCER  (Victoria Fontaine-Wolf)
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’ve always loved Indian Dancing and went to a Performance at the Purcell Rooms. It was marvellous and as the dancer was giving autographs by the stage I approached her and asked if she would mind sitting for me and she agreed. She came to my flat with her costume and I did this pastel portrait of her. She loved the picture, so instead of paying her for sitting I made a copy of the portrait ( just head and shoulders ) small enough to put in a folder in her suitcase. I am afraid I lost this picture during my travels, thank goodness I took a photograph of it!
Indian Dancer by Victoria Fontaine-Wolf (Pastel)
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May 07-15 at The Grand, The Leas, Folkestone Sep 12-17 at St Eanswythe’s Church, Folkestone Nov 12-20 at The Grand, The Leas, Folkestone
PUT A LITTLE COLOUR IN YOUR LIFE
Feb 27 Stephen Thompson Oil bars and acrylics Mar 19 Alison Olorunsola Felt Apr 23 Anne Kelly Recycled cloth/paper May 21 Nikki Barratt Inks on Yupo paper Jun 26 Chris Bone Drawing techniques
JOIN NOW CONTACT membership@folkestoneartsociety.co.uk www.folkestoneartsociety.co.uk
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Copy-Link Ltd
Folkestone’s No.1 Copy & Print Shop 19a Grace Hill (opposite the Library) Folkestone, Kent CT20 1HA Tel: 01303 850708 email: sales@copy-link.co.uk www.copy-link.co.uk
We now have an additional automated print website for you to upload your flyers etc. for printing www.copy-link.com
blooms
is a contemporary, modern restaurant with a theatre style kitchen serving good quality Italian/Mediterranean food. All of our dishes are freshly prepared on site and range from locally sourced fish, grilled meats and salads to hand stretched pizzas, pastas, risottos and freshly baked homemade, bread and daily lunch and evening specials. Drop in and have a coffee or a glass of wine in our relaxing bar!
PLEASE CALL US TO MAKE A RESERVATION
01303 250397
Please call into the shop for: Full colour, black and white copying and printing Scanning documents to email/memory stick Plan copying up to A0 size Plan printing up to A1 size in full colour Laminating (encapsulating) up to A1 size Comb binding Printing staionary, business cards, compliment slips, brochures, flyers, booklets and posters ‘T’ shirt and work wear printing Mugs, coasters, tablemats, fridge magnets printed with your favourite photo or message Banner printing for interior or exterior use Please quote FAS100 to recieve 10% discount on your first purchase over £5.00
This book has been designed and printed by:
Your Local ‘Can-do’ Print and Design Team! e
us In-ho
n Desig
t
& Prin
Parkers Design and Print is an established, Canterbury-based business with a print room and design studio in the Granary of Dane John Works. We have the capabilities and expertise in one place to help you with all of your print and artwork needs.
The Granary, Dane John Works, Gordon Road, Canterbury, Kent CT1 3PP
Made
CAN
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URY TERB
Tel: 01227 766555 Email: team@parkersdesignprint.co.uk www.parkersdesignprint.co.uk