LSA Winter Exhibition Mike Patrick LSA East Lodge Art Gallery, Jephson Gardens, Leamington Spa, 20th November to 22nd December 2019
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anatomical design for a book about birds but a heartfelt response to one of our delightful garden birds. The other runner up was Sue Southorn whose oil and acrylic painting Milldale/ Riverside III transported me right into the Peak District as if I were hiking through it. This is no picture postcard image but nature in all its majesty with more than a hint of danger. The raw
quality of the scene makes looking at it a sensory experience: the wind in your face, the spray from the water, the call of an untamed landscape whistling past your ear. Hilary Roberts won the most votes from the public with her picture Santorini Sunset (Fig. 4) and won the £50 prize money. Well done Hilary!
Fig. 1: “Pura Vida”, Oils by Janette George
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ast Lodge was again bustling throughout the last two months of the year with the Winter Exhibition showcasing some eighty-two LSA members’ work covering abstract, portraits, landscapes, and drawings. Being a Friday afternoon volunteer, I was able to spend quite some time at the exhibition and look at the pictures from multiple viewpoints. Instead of looking at them as if just flicking through a magazine, I actually paid attention to the detail and craft gone into each piece. Being myself a watercolour artist, the exhibition broadened my horizons into the work of acrylics, charcoal, pastels, oil, pencil, mixed media and even beeswax! Firstly, many thanks indeed to our judge of the exhibition, James Fotheringhame. Having studied at the Royal Academy of Art, as well as having exhibited at the Royal Academy, it was very valuable to gain his insight on the art produced in Leamington. Janette George was selected winner by James for her piece Pura Vida (Fig. 1), and Carolyn Bonthrone and Sue Southorn were highly commended for their pieces Plumptuous (Fig. 2) and Milldale/Riverside III (Fig. 3). Pura Vida translated means “simple or pure life” and is a great title for Janette’s work in oil. An economy of brush strokes gives both perspective and depth and made me feel I was standing right on the shoreline. I was also impressed with the interplay of light and dark, the eye repeatedly drawn to the horizon and then back to the foreground. A much deserved 2019 exhibition winner. Carolyn Bonthrone’s acrylic painting Plumptuous made me smile. Surely everyone loves birds and there is a look of contentment here that makes the viewer feel relaxed. This is not an
