Mark Preston Solo Exhibition: 14 – 28 April 2018
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Mark Preston Solo Exhibition: 14 – 28 April 2018 The determination to paint en plein air carries with it it’s own demands and all of Mark’s paintings for this exhibition were completed on location. To capture the moods and effects of weather and the seasons he is always in front of his subject – a full-blooded engagement with the world around him. Rain, hail and sleet, storm and fury, there is no compromise.
Plein air painting was the desire, demonstrated by artists such as Constable, Turner and later the French Impressionists, to represent the luminous effects of natural light and atmospheric effects, rather than the artificial light and stuffiness of paintings produced in the studio. This approach to painting, where works were completed on location, was facilitated by the early production of paint in tubes, together with lightweight easels, which allowed pigments to be easily transported and for artists to work in challenging, often extreme conditions The problems posed when painting outside are immense and not just because of adverse weather conditions. The light is constantly changing and decisions about tone and relative colour values have to be made continuously. One of the difficulties in approaching the chaotic natural world with it’s constant motion and changing light is that trying to capture it quickly is often at the expense of composition, which is a more considered process. An aspect of Mark’s success is that the competing demands of rapid gesture, control of the medium, decisions about pallete and compositional structure all work seamlessly together, producing his strong, visually satisfying paintings
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Mark Preston Solo Exhibition: 14 – 28 April 2018 I think painting is a process of not just looking but learning to see and for me it must be first hand, working directly from nature
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Mark Preston Solo Exhibition: 14 – 28 April 2018
‘Approaching Storm, Bonsall Moor’ 41cm x 20cm
From years of observation I’ve learned how to see a subject in almost anything in the landscape.
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‘August Evening, Bonsall Moor’ 25cm x 25cm
Mark Preston Solo Exhibition: 14 – 28 April 2018
‘Autumn Sunlight, Peak Tor’ 35cm x 25cm
‘Autumn, Beresford Dale’ 35cm x 31cm ‘Dark Skies and Sunshine, Ednaston’ 31cm x 31cm
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Mark Preston Solo Exhibition: 14 – 28 April 2018
Every now and then in a concentrated flow of working it feels as though I am tuned into nature, but it is then that I realise I am merely scratching the surface of what there is to see and learn from it.
‘Autumnal Reflections, Prathall Lane’ 61cm x 61cm 6
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Mark Preston Solo Exhibition: 14 – 28 April 2018
‘Bright Light, River Ecclesbourne’ 51cm x 46cm
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‘Calm Winter’s Day, Stanage Edge’ 35cm x 25cm
Mark Preston Solo Exhibition: 14 – 28 April 2018
‘After Heavy Rain, Ible’ 41cm x 41cm
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‘Sunlit Breakers 41cm x 31cm
Mark Preston Solo Exhibition: 14 – 28 April 2018
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‘Crashing Seas, the Brisons’ 76cm x 51cm
Mark Preston Solo Exhibition: 14 – 28 April 2018
‘Daffodils and Wild Cherry Trees, Ashleyhay’ 56cm x 41cm 10
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Mark Preston Solo Exhibition: 14 – 28 April 2018
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‘December Sun, River Ecclesbourne’ 41cm x 41cm
Mark Preston Solo Exhibition: 14 – 28 April 2018
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‘Golden Reflections, Wolfscote Dale 51cm x 51cm
Mark Preston Solo Exhibition: 14 – 28 April 2018
‘Hawthorn Blossom and Buttercups, Ashleyhay’ 13
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76cm x 61cm
Mark Preston Solo Exhibition: 14 – 28 April 2018
‘Heather and Silver Birches, Stanton Moor’ 35cm x 25cm
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‘Heather on Fallinge Edge 61cm x 46cm
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Mark Preston Solo Exhibition: 14 – 28 April 2018
‘May Blossom, Hollinsclough’ 61cm x 61cm 15
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Mark Preston Solo Exhibition: 14 – 28 April 2018
‘Minninglow from Bonsall Moor’ 41cm x 20cm
‘November Afternoon, Alport Height 41cm x 41cm 16
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Mark Preston Solo Exhibition: 14 – 28 April 2018
‘Sunlit Silver Birches, Froggatt’ 76cm x 76cm 17
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Mark Preston Solo Exhibition: 14 – 28 April 2018
‘October Light, Fairbrook’ 51cm x 46cm 18
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Mark Preston Solo Exhibition: 14 – 28 April 2018
‘Passing Showers, Beeley Moor’ 56cm x 41cm
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Mark Preston Solo Exhibition: 14 – 28 April 2018
‘Poppy Fields, Ednaston’ 56cm x 41cm
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Mark Preston Solo Exhibition: 14 – 28 April 2018
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‘Priest’s Cove, High Tide, Sunshine and Showers 91cm x 61cm
Mark Preston Solo Exhibition: 14 – 28 April 2018
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‘Red Hawthorn, Pilsbury’ 76cm x 61cm
Mark Preston Solo Exhibition: 14 – 28 April 2018
‘Reflected Beech, Chee Dale’ 25cm x 25cm
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‘Sunlight Through the Rain, Baslow Edge’ 35cm x 25cm
Mark Preston Solo Exhibition: 14 – 28 April 2018
‘Rosebay Willowherb, Ashleyhay’ 76cm x 51cm 24
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Mark Preston Solo Exhibition: 14 – 28 April 2018
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‘Sunken Lane, Wirksworth’ 61cm x 61cm
Mark Preston Solo Exhibition: 14 – 28 April 2018
‘’Sunlit Waterfalls, Fairbrook 41cm x 35cm
‘Sunlit Meadow and Heavy Clouds, Ible’ 25cm x 20cm 26
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Mark Preston Solo Exhibition: 14 – 28 April 2018
‘Sunlit Water, Dovedale 76cm x 61cm 27
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Mark Preston Solo Exhibition: 14 – 28 April 2018
‘Tree Shadows, Gorsey Bank’ 25cm x 25cm ‘Winter Glow, Brailsford 25cm x 25cm ‘February Sunset, Priest’s Cove’ 25cm x 25cm ‘October Evening, Curbar Gap’ 41cm x 35cm
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Mark Preston Solo Exhibition: 14 – 28 April 2018
My connection with the Peak District has been formative. The variety and contrasts within Derbyshire’s extraordinary landscape is enough for a lifetime’s painting, the only thing I feel compelled to travel further afield to paint is the sea.
‘Wild Flowers, Bonsall Moor’ 61cm x 61cm 29
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Mark Preston Solo Exhibition: 14 – 28 April 2018
The challenge to adapt and improvise in difficult and challenging conditions can be frustrating but the process can give the work more immediacy and authenticity
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‘Hawthorn in the Snow, Taddington’ 51cm x 46cm
Mark Preston Solo Exhibition: 14 – 28 April 2018
‘Winter Trees, Johnson’s Knoll’ 61cm x 31cm
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Mark Preston Solo Exhibition: 14 – 28 April 2018
We are pleased to be able to offer our customers the Arts Council Own Art scheme. Own Art is a national initiative that makes buying contemporary art and craft affordable by letting you spread the cost of your purchase over 10 months with an interest free loan of up to £25,000. The loan can go towards the payment of a piece of art that costs between £100 and £2500 with Own Art and from £2500 to £25,000 with Own Art Plus Making an Own Art application is straightforward and takes about 10 minutes in the gallery. We can also arrange for you to make an Own Art application if you cannot get to the gallery in person with an e-signature application.
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The gallery is open six days a week, from Tuesday until Saturday from 10.00 until 5.00 and on Sundays from 11.00 until 4.00. All the paintings in the exhibition are available for sale upon recei pt of this catalogue