Thank you English Bridge Studios
I just spent a wonderful Sunday taking part in the English Bridge Open Studios. It is a lovely artist studio space in Shrewsbury and took me back to my art college days
From my perspective, as an exhibitor, it was a brilliant opportunity because these kind of things are tricky to find and get into. They can also be expensive and that’s before you have even sold anything - don’t forget the usual commission too! But not this time because the fee for a space was unbelievably reasonable, affordable and accessible, and there was no commission on sales. This meant artists and makers didn’t have to increase prices to cover such high initial costs and could participate without so much risk and the associated panic!
It also had a good number of visitors but because sellers weren't crammed in, people could talk, ask questions, learn about the processes etc... People seemed genuinely interested and everyone could talk passionately about what they were doing.
There were also some wonderful artists and makers to meet and more importantly, artwork and creations to admire.
I loved Nick B’s wonderful minimalist, textured and painterly urban collages - you can check his work out below and more here and his Instagram is here. I don’t think I saw his photography but they are my cup of tea as well.
Megan Ward’s paintings were figurative but clearly very painterly, with lots of movement in the brushstrokes, even though they were mostly very still and calm scenes. My favourites were probably some paintings of tennis courts (see below), which had a wonderfully warm and vibrant underpainting peaking through the contrasting natural and manicured greens. Check her work out here and her Instagram is here.
I have seen Tricia Crowther’s collages a few times before but still think they are fabulous. They conjure up so many images: for me, I see library shelves, sports pitches, tube maps, jockey silks, chess boards, sailing boats, the list goes on. My favourite are probably her smaller works in vintage tins and boxes because I love when traditionally flat or 2D artistic techniques, like collage, become 3D or even better, a new object - and the distressed textures that have built up over the years should be treasured. Check out Honky Tonk below and you can find more of her wonderful creations here and her Instagram is here.
It was a great chance for me to exhibit some new and only recently finished pieces as well. Beyond my usual Wild West drawings and paintings, I got to show some experiments and new projects, including Poems for the modern mind and Postcards from the past. You can see them below - I would love to know what you think of them.
