The Whitehouse Gallery will be opening its doors for the second exhibition of the year. ‘Rites of Spring’ opens from 11am on Saturday 5th March to Saturday 30th April. All are welcome to attend the exhibition preview opening on Saturday 5th, where there will complementary bubbly and locally handmade chocolates on offer.
Spring is a time for new beginnings, when colourful new blooms begin to appear following a cold and bleak winter, creatures return from hibernation and the sounds of bird song ring softly in the trees. With this in mind, we have invited a group of artists and makers to offer their own interpretation of three very popular subject matter for this exhibition; flowers, birds and the very popular hare, in a celebration of flora, feathers and fur.
Heloise Maylin is exhibiting work with us for the first time. Her paintings of hares and birds manage to capture an atmosphere or evoke a feeling rather than portray a realistic interpretation of the creature she is painting. D&G based artist Michelle Bennett-Oates is another new exhibitor, who takes on a more traditional approach with her oil paintings of hares, but like Heloise, Michelle aims to capture movement and the essence of the animal in her work.
Georgina McMaster, Winifred Fergus and Colin Blanchard are three returning artists who will be exploring the theme. Georgina is an award winning artist who manages to capture the soul of an animal in her oil paintings. Georgina is more concerned with catching the personality of the creature than focusing upon the landscape which surrounds it, often keeping her canvas blank. Winifred Fergus’ approach to wildlife is gentle, painting creatures sensitively using a soft palette (featured image by Winifred Fergus). Colin Blanchard is a printmaker, offering a different medium to the mix, often depicting hares, birds and flora in his every day work.
Gallery regular Moira McTague will be exhibiting some of her original oil paintings alongside etchings which capture all three of the subject matter within her work beautifully. Moira sketches from things she sees outside her window, sometimes spending hours getting know, understand and form a connection with her subject matter.
Michelle Campbell is a new artist who will be giving us a selection of original bird paintings for this exhibition. Primarily using watercolour and acrylic inks in her work, Michelle creates wonderful, colourful works of art.
On the subject of colour, we will have a good collection of merino wool pictures by well renowned Borders based artist Moy Mackay, who is returning this Spring with a selection of her wonderful landscapes and still life works. She will be joined by new artist Victoria Foster, whose felted wool and embroidered flower pictures add a certain charm to the exhibition.
In keeping with the flower theme, we will also have new watercolour paintings by Thornill based artist Victor Henderson, alongside Fiona Millar with a collection of her unique and instantly recognisable still life paintings. Susie Hunt will also be returning with a collection of her flower studies. Susie is an innovative, experimental artist who uses predominantly water based media with traditional and modern application.
Last but by no means least, we are delighted to have a Spring collection of paintings by Louise Rawlings, who charmingly depicts each season in her illustrative style. Her paintings usually capture everyday moment such as a walk in the park or the allotment, and often including figures, dogs and birds.
As always, we will have a vast array of 3d work and Applied Art & Craft to complement the Fine Art in this exhibition. This includes new jewellery by Ruth Swan; Ceramics by Jacqui Atkin & Helen Kemp; Textiles by Jo Gallant, Hazel Moran, Karen Norton & Dorothy Stewart; Enamel sculpture & panels by Janine Partington; Sculpture by Urpu Sellar, Sallie Wakley, & Elizabeth Waugh; Driftwood & ceramic sculpture by Shirley Vauvelle and Driftwood sculpture by Lynn Muir.
More info at https://www.whitehousegallery.co.uk/
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