BETWEEN LAND & SEA MARTHA HOLMES
BETWEEN LAND & SEA
29th May 2021 - 26th June 2021
This exhibition of fifty new works by rising young painter Martha Holmes is inspired by the beautiful Penwith coastline, and is comprised of a series of small studies and larger paintings which capture the shifting detail of Cornwall’s ever-changing landscape. This collection explores the relationship between land and sea at the point where the bright, optimistic greens of Cornwall’s rural landmass meet the deep, dramatic blues of the Atlantic Ocean. In each of these works, land, sea and sky are suggested by simplified areas of shape and colour, while the solid board beneath her bold, semi-abstracted marks is deliberately integrated with the work itself, by way of texture and a strong ground, becoming part of the painting’s dynamic like the stone beneath soft layers of landscape.
Martha’s particular talent is in capturing the essence of a scene through the pure abstraction of colour and light, an approach which expresses a raw and honest sense of the landscape. As a painter, she is inspired by a deep-rooted connection to the land where she grew up, as well as an emotive connection to the ocean and its influence on the landscape she loves to paint. Cornish masters such as Patrick Heron, Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson, and 21st century plein-air painter Lucie Bray, have all been significant influences on the development of her work.
“Painted throughout Spring, this collection draws on the relationship between land and sea - noticing the shifts in colour between the two components throughout one season, how they stand as two separate entities, yet interact as one.
Part of the collection has been worked on from the windows of two beach huts - one on West Beach, picking up on the simple blend of land and sea, where the deep greens of the Island meet the moving tide of Porthmeor. Other days were spent on the opposite side of the Island, looking out from the small cove of Porthgwidden across the expanse of sea towards the soft dunes and warm tones of Gwithian.
Each colour is lifted directly form the landscape, mixed while stood exposed to its elemental shifts. The unprimed board used to layer upon becomes integrated into each work as part of its total spatial composition. Often present where two colours meet, small raw parts of board give an earthiness to each work, reflecting the environment worked from.” May 2021
“Each colour communicates a component of the landscape in a moment in time. Worked on directly from the landscape, or built up later in the studio from smaller studies, each work has a sense of immediacy, capturing elemental shifts as they form.”
COLLECTION See online for complete collection
1-4
5-8
9 - 12
13 - 16
17 - 20
21 - 24
25 - 28
29 - 30
31 - 34
35 - 38
39 - 42
43
46 - 47
44
48 - 49
45
50
LIST OF WORKS Complete collection online
Oil on board 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
‘Late Afternoon Study on Porthgwidden’ ‘Evening Light from the Beach Hut, Porthgwidden’ ‘White Day - Gwithian on the Horizon’ ‘Soft April Hues, Porthgwidden’ ‘White Day, Porthmeor’ ‘Green Landscape, Zennor’ ‘Out to Sea, Zennor’ ‘Moving Tide, Porthgwidden’ ‘Soft Colours, Porthmeor’ ‘Bright Spring Landscape, Zennor’ ‘Ochre Field, Zennor’ ‘Hint of Ochre, Zennor’ ‘Soft Greens over Gwithian’ ‘Bright Horizon, St Ives’ ‘Soft Light at Low Tide, Gwithian’
30x30cm (46x46cm framed)
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
‘Bright Blue, Porthmeor’ ‘Deep Blue Tide, Porthmeor’ ‘Ochre and White, Zennor’ ‘Island View on a Spring Day, Porthmeor’ ‘Through the Dunes, Gwithian’ ‘Dark Sea, White Sand, Porthmeor’ ‘Glimpse of Sea over the Dunes, Gwithian’ ‘Exposed to the Elements, Zennor’ ‘Rugged Landscape, Zennor’ ‘Over the Water to Gwithian’ ‘Sandy Porthmeor View’ ‘Dark Hues Near the Island, St Ives’ ‘Moving Sky, Porthmeor’ ‘Spring on Porthmeor’ ‘Glimpse of the Island from Porthgwidden’
60x60cm (82x82cm framed)
31 32 33 34 35 36 37
‘April Study of Porthmeor’ ‘Gwithian Dunes - an April Afternoon’ ‘Porthmeor Tide Morning, View from the Beach Hut’ ‘Green and Blue, St Ives’ ‘Spring Light on Porthmeor’ ‘The Island, St Ives’ ‘Bright Summer Hues, St Ives’
80x80cm (102x102cm framed)
30x30cm (46x46cm framed) 30x30cm (46x46cm framed) 30x30cm (46x46cm framed) 30x30cm (46x46cm framed) 30x30cm (46x46cm framed) 30x30cm (46x46cm framed) 30x30cm (46x46cm framed) 30x30cm (46x46cm framed) 30x30cm (46x46cm framed) 30x30cm (46x46cm framed) 30x30cm (46x46cm framed) 30x30cm (46x46cm framed) 30x30cm (46x46cm framed) 30x30cm (46x46cm framed)
60x60cm (82x82cm framed) 60x60cm (82x82cm framed) 60x60cm (82x82cm framed) 60x60cm (82x82cm framed) 60x60cm (82x82cm framed) 60x60cm (82x82cm framed) 60x60cm (82x82cm framed) 60x60cm (82x82cm framed) 60x60cm (82x82cm framed) 60x60cm (82x82cm framed) 60x60cm (82x82cm framed) 60x60cm (82x82cm framed) 60x60cm (82x82cm framed) 60x60cm (82x82cm framed)
80x80cm (102x102cm framed) 80x80cm (102x102cm framed) 80x80cm (102x102cm framed) 80x80cm (102x102cm framed) 80x80cm (102x102cm framed) 80x80cm (102x102cm framed)
£495 £495 £495 £495 £495 £495 £495 £495 £495 £495 £495 £495 £495 £495 £495
£995 £995 £995 £995 £995 £995 £995 £995 £995 £995 £995 £995 £995 £995 £995
£1500 £1500 £1500 £1500 £1500 £1500 £1500
38 39 40 41 42
‘Green Dunes in April, Gwithian’ ‘Gwithian Beach and Dune View from St Ives’ ‘Dark Tide on Porthgwidden’ ‘Soft Yellows, Porthmeor’ ‘Gwithian from the Beach Hut on Porthgwidden’
100x100cm (128x128cm framed)
43 44 45
‘Spring Arriving, Porthmeor’ ‘Between Land and Sea, Zennor’ ‘Porthgwidden on a Warm April Day’
120x120cm (152x152cm framed)
100x100cm (128x128cm framed) 100x100cm (128x128cm framed) 100x100cm (128x128cm framed) 100x100cm (128x128cm framed)
120x120cm (152x152cm framed) 120x120cm (152x152cm framed)
£1995 £1995 £1995 £1995 £1995
£2500 £2500 £2500
Oil on paper 46 47 48 49 50
‘Green Dunes, Gwithian’ ‘Blue Hues, St Ives’ ‘Spring Light, St Ives’ ‘Summer on Porthgwidden’ ‘Hint of Sea, St Ives’
59x42cm paper size (65x48cm framed) 59x42cm paper size (65x48cm framed) 59x42cm paper size (65x48cm framed) 59x42cm paper size (65x48cm framed) 59x42cm paper size (65x48cm framed)
£650 £650 £650 £650 £650
Portrait of Martha: Photographer - Emma Jane Hughes Interior Shoot Location : Morgans Falmouth Publication Design : Martha Holmes Studio Printed on recycled stock
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