The piece, which won South West Art’s 2003 Summer School Competition, by artist Ann Nolan features the tranquillity of the River Axe looking towards the wetlands. Named Quiet Morning on the Rive Axe, has a limited gamut of colours and is painted in oil on linen. It captures the peacefulness of nature that characterises so many scenes along the East Devon coast.
The colour palette is in harmony with the location. Inspired by the artist’s awareness of rapid development and threat of loss of the natural beauty and calm of the scene, the artwork reminds us of what is on our doorstep.
Ann, who is local to the area, said: “I’m still learning and exploring oil painting, this was painted following a Matt Culmer workshop on the use of colour in oil painting during the ’23 Sumer School. I love paintings which capture the mood or story in landscapes. Like many artists, I have been hugely influenced by Richard Schmid - his work and approach to painting and the stories and mood created by Joseph Zbukvic.”
Lynsey Pickwell of South West Art commented: “Having run South West Art in Sidmouth for nearly twenty years, we wanted to celebrate and bring together the wealth of artistic talent & enthusiasm that we know is in the area. We set up the South West Art Summer School last August. The event hosted a variety of workshops providing an opportunity for like-minded people to get together and expand their skills.
“Every student that took part was invited to enter a piece of work created during their workshop, into a competition, the winning entry was selected by artist and Trustee of Sidmouth School of Art, David Shrigley and it's exciting and timely that the work is now showcased on the Wallspace billboard project run by Sidmouth School of Art.”
Sidmouth School of Art is constantly evolving new partnerships and collaborations to evolve people in locally relevant art projects and was delighted to work with South West Art.
South West Art is running summer schools in August 2024. With courses, tutors and subjects providing a broad range of subjects for everyone, at all stages of their art journey. Spaces are available to book here: https://buytickets.at/southwestart
See more about Sidmouth Wallspace here