"Force of Nature" Solo Exhibition in London

A huge thank you to everyone who came along to the preview of my solo exhibition at Duncan R Miller Fine Arts in St James's, London last week.  It was a great evening, and I really appreciate your enthusiasm and kind support.  Hope you all enjoyed the show as well!

If you missed the preview, don't worry - the show is on until 3rd March.  You can view all the work here, and take a stroll round the preview with these photos!

Here's the gallery from the outside in Bury Street.

Here's the first room, with a painting of the Mumbles in the Gower Peninsula in Wales on the left.

In the centre is a little painting of sunflowers which I saw at the roadside in Connecticut.  On the right is the Lizard in Cornwall.

At the top is the Ile de la Cite in Paris from Pont Neuf, and below it is a painting of Hammersmith Bridge.

This large painting is of the Campsies, to the north of Glasgow.

On the left at the top are the Falls of Dochart, below is a painting of the Glenlivet estate.  To the right at the top is Camusdarach on the west coast of Scotland, and below it is the Bass Rock at North Berwick.

On the left, yachts at North Berwick.  Top right, the Gower Peninsula, below is Sea Cliff on the East Coast with the Bass Rock.

This is the second room, with paitnings of Skye, North Berwick, Sandsend near Whitby, and Rhossili Bay in the Gower.

Main picture is of the Cuillins at Sligachan.

Rhossili Bay (left), Aberdeenshire (top) and the Solway Coast (below).

Autumn paintings of Hampstead Heath and the Falls of Dochart at Killin, along with seascapes of Whitby and St Ives.

Lastly, a European selection of paintings of London, Amsterdam and Venice.

Please do go along to the gallery if you get the chance!  The paintings look quite different when you see the real thing.

On Stand at the Affordable Art Fair, Bristol

Here's my paintings in all their glory on the Lime Tree Gallery E9 Stand at the Affordable Art Fair in Bristol, which opens to the public tomorrow.

At the top at the back we have Sunlight on Red Fields, Argyll, Burn in Spate, Argyll and Glen Lochy - all oil on linen, 32" x 40", and in some rather splendid minimalist frames.  I think you'll agree that they make quite a splash on the stand!

Here's another view of the stand.  Looking fabulous up at the top is Narcissi in Bluebell Woods, Dalkeith, along with a selection of little paintings of North Berwick and Northern Ireland 

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The fair is open from 11am until 8pm tomorrow (Friday), and 11am - 5pm on Saturday and Sunday.

More information on the fair HERE.  

And if you can't make it to the fair, you can view all the paintings and see how they're selling HERE!

Burn in Spate, Argyll...

...has been specially selected as one of the Director's Picks at the Affordable Art Fair at Bristol!  Exciting stuff.  Let's hope it catches the eyes of lots more people at the fair.!

Take a look at the link here.

Burn in Spate, Argyll (Oil on linen, 32 x 40)

Going Large

I've been working on a series of big canvasses, which are going to be on show in exhibitions later in the year.

These paintings are all very bright and textural, with the emphasis on expressive colour.

Red Moorland, Glen Lochy (Oil on linen, 32 x 32)

Red Fields, Argyll (Oil on linen, 32 x 32)

This next set are a size up, 32" x 40".  I've decided to frame these with a new style of narrow, minimal frame.  I'm also not going to glaze them, so that you can fully see the texture.

See what you think!

Glen Lochy (Oil on linen, 32 x 40)

Burn in Spate, Argyll (Oil n linen, 32 x 40)

Narcissi in Bluebell Woods, Dalkeith (Oil on linen, 32 x 40)

The next set are bigger again, 40" x 40".

Autumn Colours, the Campsies (Oil on linen, 40 x 40)

Distant Rain over the Black Cuillin (Oil on linen, 40 x 40)

Colour

The new catalogues for 'Colour' have just arrived.  The show opens at the Lime Tree Gallery in Long Melford, Suffolk, on Saturday 9 April.

I'm showing alongside Pam Carter, Peter King and Marion Thomson.

  

If you'd like me to send you one of these little beauties, then just drop me a line with your postal address.

 

"Colour"

I've got paintings in a new show called 'Colour' that's opening at the Lime Tree Gallery in Long Melford in Suffolk.  It opens with a preview on Saturday 9th April from 10am-5pm.

I'll be exhibiting alongside Pam Carter, Marion Thomson and Peter King, all Scottish artists well-known for their exciting and vibrant use of colour.

Yellow Flowers in Spring Sunshine, Bass Rock (Oil on linen, 32 x 32)

View the exhibition HERE. 

My contribution to the show is built around the colours of the seasons, and the way that the landscape changes with the different light, flowers and plants throughout the year.

For winter, I looked at the soft, subdued colours of Scotland during short days in cold weather. This painting is of Glen Lochy, which is on the A85 heading from Dalmally to Tyndrum.

Winter Colours, Glen Lochy (Oil on linen, 24 x 26)

In spring, the days lengthen and the colours sharpen, and for summer, I looked at the vibrant shades of seasonal flowers in bright sunlight.  I have paintings of the blue of fragile harebells on cliffs in Northern Ireland, and the pinks and purples of waxy rhododendrons in the country park near my studio and sweet peas in my studio garden.

Summer Sweet Peas (Oil on linen, 16 x 16)

Autumn is all burning reds and oranges in the landscape, and a changing kaleidoscope of colour in stormy seas under turbulent skies on the coast.  This is of the long, low, shingle shore at Aldeburgh, looking out across the North Sea under the huge sky.
 

Autumn Sea with Dark Clouds, Aldeburgh (Oil, 8 x 10)

Do come along to the preview and see the show if you're in the area!

If you'd like to receive a catalogue in the post, or emailed in PDF form, then please contact me.

Today at the Affordable Art Fair...

Sold this painting today at the Affordable Art Fair at Battersea (which ends tomorrow).

 Towards the Cuillins, Sligachan (Oil on linen, 26 x 32)

Really pleased!  The fair seems to be going well - spring really must be in the air!

Sligachan is on the Isle of Skye, and the view in the painting is from near the old bridge just beside the Sligachan Hotel.  

You can explore the area HERE on Google Maps, and have a virtual walk around.

Last Couple of Days

We're now into the last couple of days of my big show in London, which closes on Tuesday 8th March.

Thank you very much indeed to everyone who has visited the show!  It's very much appreciated,and hope you enjoyed it

Before the show ends, there is still a little time to look at some of my favourites that are still for sale.

View the show HERE.

This little painting was done from the banks of the Thames at Bermondsey.  The sun was setting and the lights slowly appeared on Tower Bridge, bringing out its lovely sweeping shapes, and creating a soft orange glow on the surface of the river to match that of the gentle peach colours of the sky.

Tower Bridge at Dusk from Bermondsey (Oil on linen, 12 x 12)

This painting  is of the fountain in the middle of Central Park, when I was visiting New York.  (I also have paintings in the show of Clearwater in Florida, which I visited before going on to New York.)  

The park was busy, and it was a blistering hot summer's day, but I loved the way that there was so much coolness and calmness in the colours of the water and the greens, blues and purples of the plants, and in the simplicity of the beautiful, pure white waxy bloom of the lily itself.  

I loved the rhythmical shapes of the leaves and flowers against the water surface, and the way the fountain gently moved the reflections.  I also liked the way that the upright stems of the purple flower buds made a pleasing counterpoint to the horizontal planes of the lily leaves on the water surface.

White Waterlily, Central Park (Oil on linen, 26 x 32)

This is a painting of a favourite walk of mine in London.  I love walking across Hyde Park, especially during autumn, which is probably my favourite season of the year.  

Just in the distance on the right, you can catch a glimpse of the Round Pond, which usually has its fair share of Canada geese grazing around it.  The trees are turning all sorts of beautiful shades of crimsons and oranges and cadmium yellows, which catch the warm autumn sunlight.  Invariably, there is the rustle of squirrels rooting purposefully around the dead leaves.  It's all very peaceful in the middle of the big city.

Autumn Trees near Round Pond, Hyde Park (Oil on linen, 26 x 32)

This is of Sea Cliff beach, the great, wide sandy beaches on the east coast of Scotland near Edinburgh.  It's a great place to take a dog for a walk and let it run. That's the Bass Rock in the distance, with its little white lighthouse.  The rock is covered in noisy seabirds, whirling around their nests.

The sand has a pinky granite-like tinge to it, and the reddish tones contrast with the bright, sharp acid green of the seaweed on the rocks.  The sky is a brilliant, early summer blue, and the brisk wind is whipping up little white caps on the waves as they break on the shore.

Rocks and Seaweed, Sea Cliff (Oil on linen, 20 x 20)

This little painting is a like a bright jewel of a thing.  It's of the flowers which I grew in my back garden from wildflower seeds.  

It was a happy accident that meant that the beautiful cadmium yellows of the calendula and California poppies came up against the lilacs of the tall honesty, as yellow and purple are of complimentary colours!

Calendula in Bloom (Oil on linen, 12 x 12)

Lastly, I'm going to mention one of my favourite Northern Ireland paintings.

I go every year to the Causeway Coast.  This is the view looking over the hedgerows and down the glen, over the fields towards the coast.  

Rathlin Island is the long, low island on the left on the horizon.  Fair Head is the little spur of dark headland towards the right, which the branches of fuschia are pointing to.  I love the pattern of the fields, like a huge soft quilt, which are all shades of green.  The soft greens contrast with the bright pinks of the fuschia hedges, which line the narrow roads.

There's a huge, exhilarating  feeling of distance which I like about the Causeway Coast, how you can look right along the coast, and right out to sea for miles and miles.  On clear days, you catch tantalising glimpses of the land beyond - Ailsa Craig, the Mull of Kintyre, Jura and Islay, Southern Ireland.

Fuschia Hedges Looking Across to Fair Head (Oil on linen, 20 x 30)

So if you're in London today or Monday, you can visit the gallery and see the paintings for yourself!  Let me know if you do and what you think, or feel free to email me at judith@jibridgland.com and ask me any questions.

London Art Fair

Just back from a quick visit to the London Art Fair, which runs until Sunday at the Business and Design Centre in Islington.

It's a fabulous fair, with over 3 floors of top notch dealers exhibiting some great work. There's a really high standard of quality.  It's been 4 years since I was last at the Fair, and I really was impressed.

For example, there is a lot of great Scottish work.  Here's a mouth-watering Gillies watercolour with Ewan Mundy Fine Art.  Can I have this one please?

William Gillies, Gruinyard Bay (Oil on canvas, 1939, £9750 with Ewan Mundy Fine Art)

There was also a fair number of Joan Eardley's sprinkled throughout the fair.  This oil of tenements was again at Ewan Mundy.

Jopan Eardley, Tenements, Evening

This group were at the Castlegate House Gallery.

They included Glasgow Boy (Head) for £38,000. 

Sea No 6, also £38,000.

...and A Country Road from 1957, which was £43,000.

There were also some fabulous contemporary Scottish prints, such as this wonderfully textural sugar lift at the Glasgow Print studio stand.

Marion McPhee, Humpback Whale IV

Plus many, many gems of modern British work, such as Henry Moore, David Bomberg, Laura Knight acrobat drawings...

Dame Laura Knight (Lena Boyle Fine Art)

...a beautiful, lyrical Peter Lanyon watercolour Cliff Grasses...

...and a watercolour by Elisabeth Frink, better known for her sculpture (but painted in very sculptural terms)...

Elisabeth Frink, Horse and Rider 1978 (Rollo Campbell Fine Art)

Here's one of Frink's bronzes, one of her Bird series (yours for £38,500).  It was made in the 1950s, but looks as if it has come from the set of Star Wars.  it has an aggressive, mechanistic feel to it, like the killing machine of Ted Hughes' contemporary Hawk Roosting poem come to life.

And oh, what's that behind it?

Yes, that's my paintings right there, to the left of the Elisabeth Frink, round the corner from the Henry Moore and Edouardo Paolozzi, and just along from the Cadells and Peploes.

This is my work on the Duncan R Miller stand (Stand 52) - Sun and Light Breeze, Bass Rock (oil on linen, 26 x 32)

 

and Grasses in the Wind, Camusdarach (Oil on linen, 26 x 32).

All in all, it's a very rewarding fair to visit, so if you love art and have the opportunity this weekend, do go along if you can.