Affiliated art societies and individuals display their artwork in two rooms. This show will also extend throughout the Garden Party day (28th August 12.30-5pm). Watercolours, pastels, oils, acrylics, textiles, photographs, ceramics and pottery combine in this exciting and stimulating show

Sue was introduced to wood engraving on endgrain boxwood at the Royal College of Art 28 years ago, and since then she has been making prints for illustration commissions and for exhibition. The small size and close grain of the woodblocks, with the fine lines made possible by the sharp engraving tools, lend themselves to detailed work. Inspirations include decorative subjects, landscape, gardens, animals, and architecture, and she is fascinated by subjects which give her the opportunity to explore the textures and patterns which can be made with the various engraving tools.

Born in 1958 in Kent, I studied illustration at Chelsea and Camberwell Schools of Art, where I became interested in linocutting, influenced by John Lawrence. I was introduced to wood engraving by Yvonne Skargon at the Royal College of Art in 1980, and became hooked. I started working as a freelance illustrator in 1983, using pen & ink and watercolour for topographical and children’s books, greetings cards and decorative images as giftware for the ceramic industry. I worked on the occasional project as a series of engravings, including contributions to one or two classic books for the Folio Society and some food packaging for Waitrose. Wood engraving, as well as a medium for commissioned illustrations, has been a means for making independent prints of subjects which explore my own enthusiasms. Decorative subjects, landscape and architecture are recurrent themes in my work, particularly trees, mountains, views from high places and traditional domestic architecture. I am fascinated by perspective, and I look for pattern and texture in a subject. Mountain walking and travel provide endless inspiration for future work, along with local subjects.

In 1984 I became a member of the Society of Wood-Engravers, and have exhibited with them regularly since then. I am also a member of The Sussex Guild , and I show my engravings at some of their craft events. I have demonstrated engraving at Art in Action and at Craft in Focus shows in recent years, printing my engravings by hand-burnishing with the handle of an old spoon. It is a form of printmaking which can be done in a domestic setting with very little equipment, and I have taken part in South East Open Studios, working at a friend’s studio.

Most of these images are engraved on endgrain boxwood blocks, which have a very smooth, dense and close-grained surface. Blocks cost approximately 40p per square cm, and tend to be small, so the expense, along with the fine cutting qualities of the tools, encourage a cautious and often detailed approach. Mistakes cannot be reversed – once a mark has been engraved it cannot be filled in again. I am quite short-sighted, and I find it comfortable to work without glasses, so it is difficult to resist the temptation to make my work very finely detailed.

I have work on show at the following galleries: the Crooked House Gallery in Lavenham, Suffolk; the Watergate Street Gallery in Chester; the Open Eye Gallery in Edinburgh; and Turtle Fine Art in Rye. I have participated in several group exhibitions over the years, most recently at the West End House Gallery, Smarden. I once had a print exhibited in the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, in 1999, where the entire edition sold out. A selection of my engravings can be seen on my website at www.suescullard.co.uk.

Books I have illustrated with engravings include: The Bride of Lammermoor by Sir Walter Scott, for the Folio Society in 1985; contributions to the Folio Society Canterbury Tales in 1986; the Folio Shakespeare (Henry VI Parts I, II and III), also in 1986; the Lives of the Later Caesars in 2005; and Lark Rise to Candleford by Flora Thompson in 2009. I have also worked on a series illustrating the History of Information Technology as a private commission.

I have illustrated several children’s picture books with pen & ink and watercolour, and dozens of images for plates and mugs for Royal Worcester and Dunoon Ceramics, often on Christmas themes.

Pat Tucker (née Madden) was born and educated in London. Her art training began in Swindon School of Art where she obtained her National Diploma in Oil Painting. Following this she studied for the Art Teaching Diploma at the Royal West of England College of Art in Bristol.

Initially she specialised in portraiture, mural painting and still life in oils, developing into landscape and abstract work in the 1960’s.

Although still working in oils and continuing to do still life studies, since 1970 she has worked mainly in watercolour to produce her popular architectural landscapes. These are principally of London and the Kent countryside but also include many paintings of individual houses and other buildings commissioned by clients throughout the country.

Pat has had “one-man” shows in Swindon, Gloucester, London, Croydon, Greenwich, Blackheath, Bromley and in Denmark. Her work is in private collections in at least fifteen countries. She has also exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibitions, the Mall Galleries, the Royal Exchange, the Royal Watercolour Society Gallery, at the Guildhall Gallery and many other venues.

She has taught painting to adult students for many years for the London Borough of Bromley, served as Visual Arts Officer with Bromley Arts Council for 18 years and is the current Chairman of the Bromley Art Society.

“A common nerve that runs through my work is that each painting I do starts by painting an object, sketch or idea that seizes me. What follows is an association of ideas and invention until a finished painting arrives that has become something unplanned and instinctive. I am fascinated by the curiosities of memory, daily life, human behaviour and nature. All themes which inevitably bubble to the surface in my work” Brian Morris

My work can start with anything from the sketches of a bus journey’s drudgeries, to the dynamic view of the Thames from my studio window, or the notion of being antipodean and now living in Kent. But what is important to me is to have the freedom to use imagination and intuition, from start to finish.
It is the habit of waking up each morning and painting from these varied sources which I find tells a pictorial story that oscillates between the everyday and the surreal.

These works I am presenting are in acrylic, a material which I have discovered has many virtues far beyond it being a quick drying, no fuss substitute. Its values lie in its versatility and freedom from rules. And as such I find I can use it differently according to subject matter and mood.
It has different rhythms and speeds to be found in its application which I find intriguing, with
always something to explore.

Paintings in water colour and oils which explore the metropolitan fantasy landscapes by the Essex –based artist Tim Knight.

These figurative depictions, which are of old world architecture and values being swallowed up man’s insatiable desire to progress and civilise, are works by a mature artist not to be missed.

Tim Knight B.A. has been working as a professional artist since leaving Camberwell School of Arts in 1983. He is now based in Walton-on-the-Naze. He concentrates on his exploration of two-dimensional fine art painting. A figurative painter in oils, acrylics and water colours, he divides his time between his personal work and teaching residency mural work.

Over the last thirty years Tim has exhibited in one-man shows in regional galleries and art centres and has also painted many interior and exterior murals for private and public projects. The work can be viewed at the Axis.org website. Tim is now available for the commissioning of landscapes and is accepting briefs for educational workshops, teaching and community projects.

Well-known art lovers and collectors Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and Griff Rhys Jones are amongst many who have bought Emma Cameron’s vibrant paintings in recent years. ‘Mischief and Grace’ brings together a selection of paintings, drawings and prints featuring human and animal figures which emerge from abstracted grounds of fluid ethereal colour. Not to be missed!

 “It is rare to find a contemporary figurative artist who can deal confidently with symbolism” writes Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen.

“Too often symbolism is plodding, obvious and didactic but Emma’s touch is light, romantic and humorous. This means her work can be interpreted in a very personal relevant way by anyone without feeling there’s a ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to read the picture. We love Emma’s work for its confidence, its upbeat palette and lyrical content.”

Find out more at www.emmacameron.com