I currently have some work exhibited at the Down Arts Centre in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland, part of the 'Littoral Zone' show by the Ards Art Collective (or Ards Artist Collective - we are going through a identity crisis at the minute). All the artists live and work on the lovely Ards Peninsula, an area I certainly take for granted - why is it one seems to overlook the natural beauty of your own home region? We were given the brief 'Littoral Zone' and most of the artists worked on waves, rock pools, seaweed, the intertidal zone as is the english definition of the word 'Littoral'
Most of the work is very subtle in its colouring, evocative of the light, water and fauna of Strangford Lough. The pieces above are work by Sara Brown and Cecillia Stephens. Sara's painting on the left is one of my favourites, exploring the rhythm of the tide, I've always loved Sara's print work and pastels and now she's producing gorgeous landscapes by rolling and layering paints on metal. Cecillia's piece is constructed from hand made papers, some made with vegetation from the shoreline itself, the framed piece is a 'sample' of an entire island she constructed with the same raw materials.
This piece is by Elaine McGinn. (Her other piece in the show would be another of my favourites, yet again getting images onto the blog has exasperated me and so I haven't been able to include it.) This piece reminds me so much of the fishing towers constructed along the Vendee coast and the Loire Atlantique which I was surprised to see I don't actually have any photos of so that will have to be rectified when I pick no.1 son up from St. Naizare after Easter. If I had a beach house I'd have to have this!
And finally one of my pieces - no surprise it's the one on the right, I don't do subtle colours. I came at the project from a different angle - from the Languedoc. In the local paper Midi Libre the news (like most regional newspapers) is divided into the areas of Haute Langudoc (where we are), the Carroux, the Bitterois (around Beziers), the Orb, the Piscenois (around Pezanas) etc, etc. And the Littoral covers the area from the coast at Valras plage, along the shore and inland to Lespignan, an area of marsh, salt lakes, rough springy grass and drainage channels edging the Canal du Midi. So my take on the subject was more to do with the land than the sea and featured the grasses, the sparkle of the salt deposits and the introduction of text into the work to reference the journal that supplied me with my definition. Unfortunately - or as it turned out fortunately I didn't have a copy of the Midi Libre in good old N.I. to use in the painting so I had to resort to an old French poetry book and discovered a piece that suited the theme so chopped that up to add into the painting. The poem is by Jacques Prevert who I discovered was a friend of Picaso and indeed Picasso produced a series of illustrations to accompany the poem after Jacques death.
Sables mouvants
Démons et merveilles
Vents et marées
Au loin déjà la mer s'est retirée
Et toi
Comme une algue doucement caressée par le vent
Dans les sables du lit tu remues en rêvant
Démons et merveilles
Vents et marées
Au loin déjà la mer s'est retirée
Mais dans tes yeux entrouverts
Deux petites vagues sont restées
Démons et merveilles
Vents et marées
Deux petites vagues pour me noyer.
And in english..........
Shifting Sands
Demons and marvels
Winds and tides
Far away already, the sea has ebbed
And you
Like seaweed slowly caressed by the wind
In the sands of the bed you stir, dreaming
Demons and marvels
Winds and tides
Far away already, the sea has ebbed
But in your half-opened eyes
Two small waves have remained
Demons and marvels
Winds and tides
Two small waves to drown me
The movement expressed in the piece is similar to the impressions I endeavour to create in my landscapes where it is the feeling of the day; the weather, the light, the colours and patterns rather than a pure representation of the place.
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