A YEAR IN THE FENS

A YEAR IN THE FENS Paintings by Fred Ingrams 6th - 20th October 2018 Lynne Strover at Stapleford Granary

A YEAR IN THE FENS “No part of the country can be isolated into a weekend or judged by a season, least of all the Fens. After weeks of rain during sugar-beet lifting even the most ardent Fen-lover will find the world muddy and miserable. In winter the winds from the north-east will be fierce and pitiless, throwing invisible needles of ice into your eyes until your cheeks crack with the tributaries of your tears. But in May, when the rising mists of evening hover white and milky over young spring wheat the Fens will feel as calm as a cathedral. In summertime with the smell of meadowsweet at Wyken and the gold-rush of harvest it can be as perfect as Eden.”

Edward Storey - Portrait of the Fen Country, 1971 I have been painting the Fens for over ten years and in that time have found that there are certain places I want to paint over and over again. These are places that are changed dramatically by the farmers ploughing, sowing and harvesting the land as well as by the seasons. The combination of the rotating crops and changing weather allows me to come back to the same view countless times. Each time I find something new to paint.

There are times of the year when I know that a particular crop will be at its best. I have therefore become very aware that my year is now inextricably linked to the farmers in the Fens. This symbiotic relationship gives each year a rhythm and a pace that with time has become the timetable of my work.

This last year the “beast from the east” brought snow which has been followed by one of the hottest and driest summers I can remember. The contrast between the seasons could not have been greater. I hope this exhibition captures the extraordinary changes and moods of a landscape that continuously inpires me to paint.

Fred Ingrams - October 2018

Fodder Beans and Thistles Acrylic on board, 61 x 61cm

Bend in the Road Acrylic on board, 61 x 61cm

Bleak day in the Black Fens Acrylic on board, 61 x 61cm

Dawn on Long Drove II Acrylic on board, 91 x 91cm

Dusk II Acrylic on board, 61 x 61cm

Harvest Evening II Acrylic on board, 61 x 61cm

Snow Tracks Acrylic on board, 121 x 121cm

Spring Ditch Acrylic on board, 91 x 91cm

Harvest headland Acrylic on board, 61 x 61cm

Hot summer evening Acrylic on board, 91 x 91cm

January Ditch Acrylic on board, 61 x 61cm

Kirton Marsh Acrylic on board, 61 x 61cm

Red Cow Drove Acrylic on board, 61 x 61cm

May Ditch on The Middle Level Acrylic on board, 91 x 91cm

Poppylot Ditch Acrylic on board, 91cm x 91cm

Thaw Acrylic on board, 121cm x 121cm

Rape Stubble Acrylic on board, 61cm x 61cm

Sedge Fen in May Acrylic on board, 61cm x 61cm

Sunset on Anchor Drove Acrylic on board, 61 x 61cm

STAPLEFORD GRANARY Stapleford Granary is a study centre for music and the arts in south Cambridge, offering an inspiring space for a wide range of educational activities and courses.

Stapleford Granary hosts an exciting program of concerts, lectures and events open to all.

Set in sweeping rural landscape, the converted farm buildings are home to the Association for Cultural Exchange, a Cambridge-based educational charity founded in 1958 with the object of encouraging and developing cultural understanding.

www.staplefordgranary.org.uk

with thanks to the Association for Cultural Exchange

Stapleford Granary Bury Road Stapleford Cambridge CB22 5BP www.staplefordgranary.org.uk