CONNECTIONS - A REVIEW

The Pennine Way oil on canvas

CELF GALLERY

Connections Exhibition:

Installation View @ CELF GALLERY.

Image - CELF GALLERY

Connections Exhibition:

Installation View @ CELF GALLERY

Image - CELF GALLERY

Throughout Winter 2023 and Spring 2024 I was very busy! Busy out on the moors and the snow-lined mountains, busy in the studio with my giant canvasses and tubes of paint. Busy preparing, for a solo show at the brand new CELF gallery, Cardiff. Having worked with Myfanwy and Cerys for many years at Martin Tinney Gallery, I was thrilled to be invited to join this gallery when it opened last November. Celf represents a number of Wales’ foremost artists.

The show opened on the 18th of May - an evening full of sunshine and chatter,. I was so happy to meet Harry Holland, Kevin Sinnott and Carl Chapple, who not only are also Celf Gallery artists but artists whom I greatly admire.

This year marks 20 years since I graduated from university to live and work as a painter in Eryri. This exhibition explored the theme of ‘connection to place’. Over 20 new works comprised the exhibition; inspired by Yorkshire, Aberdeenshire and my home in Wales.

“My work always begins outside, working amongst the elements, often in places where humans have strived to thrive. When I am drawn to a particular place, I often find that generations of people have been drawn there also. For example; the hill which once held a fort, or a church built upon ancient grounds, a stone circle. All of these can represent ideas of connection, but with what? Our ancestors? Their human experience? Or is it an innate response to the physical aspects of that place? Perhaps it is both.

Since childhood, I have been in awe of Super 8 film. It’s dream-like qualities have for many years now informed my artistic voice – a sublime sun-flair at the edge of a memory.

I draw from these feelings when I get back to the studio, recalling through the filter of memory and sketchbook work.”

SHOW TIME

GOING HOME oil on linen: Karina Rosanne Barrett 2023

“I have spent several years travelling up to Scotland’s rugged, sea-kissed East coast, to paint the architecture, nestled beneath the rich-red, rocky headland. It has become something of an obsession with me!”

So this weekend saw the launch of another fantastic Summer exhibition at RCA Conwy.

It’s always a highlight in my calendar; a rare occasion to catch up with fellow academicians (most of whom I only see a couple of time a year) for a chat and a glass of wine.

There is a diverse range of work in this year’s show. You can view the exhibition and find more about the gallery online: www.rcaconwy.org

Or, you can visit the gallery in person, from Tuesday through to Saturday.

Running in conjunction to this exhibition is a very special online SECRET POSTCARD AUCTION (details about this at further down).

THE RED BOAT oil on linen: Karina Rosanne Barrett 2023

I have four pieces available to purchase from the RCA Summer Show this year.

This set of paintings are the products of a trip made this February. We arrived in the wake of a storm, a storm which had made national news and knocked the power off in the village.

The fantastically high tides during our stay, sent waves crashing over the narrow walkways between the cottages and the sea.

In Winter, I have to work swiftly en-plein-air; the light fades early and the fingers start to freeze!
I expect the temperature may have influenced my palette for this collection of paintings.

IN THE GALLERY

AH, THE AWKWARD POSING FOR A PHOTO BIT!

Secret Postcard Auction

The Secret Postcard Auction is running in conjunction with the Summer Exhibition. It offers you a chance to acquire unique works of art created by esteemed members of the Royal Cambrian Academy of Art. With bidding starting at just £40, this is an incredible value for an original piece of art. You never know, you might find yourself with the bargain of the century if one of these pieces happens to be by a leading artist.

All proceeds raised by the sale of the postcards will go towards supporting the Royal Cambrian Academy (Registered Charity No: 0123456)

Your support will:

Enable free art exhibitions for all.
Nurture artistic talents in schools through education programs.
Unite communities through art projects and workshops.
Facilitate artistic workshops for personal growth.

Champion and support artists in Wales.

Here is the link to The Secret Postcard Auction 2023: www.32auctions.com/RCApostcardauction

(Secret Postcard Auction Text sourced from the RCA Website www.rcaconwy.org)

THE WAVE ABOUT TO BREAK

CROVIE

The film ‘Local Hero,’ was a family favourite when I was growing up. The VHS tape, grainy and worn, seemed to add to the atmosphere somehow. Pennan was the primary location for the film, it had been on my ‘to visit’ list for a long time.

Several years ago I spent a week there, painting and exploring the surrounding area.

EVENING, AUGUST Painting on the harbourside, Pennan 2019

“My accommodation for the week had an unbridled view of the beach and an even better view of a red phone box (fans of Local Hero will know what I am talking about).

One morning, I get talking to the man next door. He’s making the most of the good weather to do some maintenance work on his property.
A ladder leans against the wall and he tells me that he’s “not too keen on heights”.

A little while later, as I sit on the quayside, paints spread at my feet, sketch-book on my knee, I see the postman ride through the village on a motorbike, he stops to chat to my neighbour. A few moments later I notice that he has removed his helmet and has ascended the ladder. I smile, this place is not so unlike it’s cinematic counterpart.”

— Visit to Pennan 2019

During that first trip to Scotland’s east coast, I visited a very special place which captured my heart and imagination. . .Crovie.

Crovie (pronounced Crivie), sits at the bottom of a steep red-earth cliff, just a few feet away from the waves; a row of stone cottages, gable ends, shuttered windows, caked in brine and bleached by the light; no road. When the conditions are right you can see the Northern Lights at play, then, in the Summer months you can watch the sun sink into the sea beyond the horizon. The following Summer I stayed in Crovie. I sat amongst the houses with my paints, trying to convey through my painting my obsession with this collection of pan-tiled roofs and conservation approved windows, all perched at higgledy-piggledy angles. Many of the dwellings here have been owned by the same families for years. I met a few residents of the bay during my trip. One neighbour knocked at my door one evening with freshly caught mackerel for my supper, another, Shona (one of the kindest humans I’ve ever met), offered me morning coffee whilst we sat and chatted about Joan Eardly’s paintings.

Since my first visit to this part of Scotland, I have noticed a change; a busying; a developing; new houses up on the hill; an aluminium extension here and a hot-tub there.

I had at first been taken aback by how unspoilt the area was. Portsoy harbour looked beautifully derelict – no cramped outside cafe seating or gift shops selling driftwood wind-chimes! Perhaps this is what makes it such a popular location for the film-crews (Peaky Blinders and Whisky Galore have both been shot at Portsoy over recent years). The 17th Century harbour buildings remain unchanged and dolphins can often be spotted just offshore.

BANFF SERIES 1i

It was undoubtedly the under-development to the architecture and landscape which led me to paint in a frenzy, lest it should change right in front of me. By the end of that first visit up to Aberdeenshire, the spirit of the place had lodged firmly in my heart, I couldn't help but sense, with some sadness, the wave about to break.

ON THE WALL

Well, it’s been quite a year! My show opened last week at the Royal Cambrian Academy of Art. I don’t know how many people will be going to visit the gallery to see the show as Conwy is currently under strict lockdown measures (I think this show will mainly be an ‘online event’).

I would like to again thank the Arts Council of Wales for their support with this project. It’s been a steep learning curve and I’m looking forward to expanding and developing the skills which I gained earlier this year. The entire show can be viewed on the RCA website www.rcaconwy.org and all work is for sale from the gallery (please email or contact the gallery for more info). Head over to my ‘Re-Working the Landscape’ page to see more images from the project. Work by Jeremy Yates (president of the RCA) is also on show in the upper gallery at the RCA.

I'll be tidying the studio over the next few days. . .in preparation for the next batch of work. I’m looking forward to getting back to the creative side of business!

On the Wall: Re-Working the Landscape

THE SHOW MUST GO ON

“ That moment, when painting and printmaking fused. . .”

Almost exactly one year ago I sat down to write a grant application to the Arts Council of Wales. This week I framed the last piece of work, ready for exhibition.

On October 8th 2020, after nearly 12 months of planning, my show will open at the Royal Cambrian Academy, Conwy. There will be no private view for the event, but as they say, “The show must go on.”

My Arts Council award gave me an opportunity to learn a specific type of printmaking; carborundum multi-block printing, with tuition from printmaker John Hedley RCA.

Carborundum is silicon carbide grit, which, when mixed into a fine paste and applied to a printing plate, is extremely durable. Several of these plates combined, inked and then pressed produce one print.

The title “Re-Working the Landscape” stems from my primary investigations with this printing process. I was able to apply my painting style to the work, but in addition, I found that the technique was influencing my approach to painting; I was therefore inspired to “re-paint” the landscape afresh. I was enthused by how the two disciplines fused together. This RCA show is a demonstration of how one main idea can translate across various media.

For me, the real shame is that Covid-19 put an end to the print side of my project just as it had begun to lead me down an enchanted path. Days before lock down, I had an ‘eureka moment’ and finally figured out how to create the desired atmosphere through my mark-making in print. The eureka moment piece is titled ‘Memory in Prussian Blue’ and I produced just five prints. My hope is to return to that inspired moment as soon as I am able to; that moment when painting and printmaking fused to physically demonstrate internal ideas and emotions.

The show runs from October 8th, through to November 7th at the Royal Cambrian Academy and combines prints, works on paper and paintings. All work can be viewed on the Royal Cambrian Academy website www.rcaconwy.org.

The gallery staff have done a superb job to make a socially distant, safe space for those who wish to visit. The gallery is currently open each Thursday, Friday and Saturday 11-4pm.

SNAPSHOT (RUST) / CIPLOWG (RWYD)

Mono-Carborundum & Etching Print

Mono-Carborundum ac Ysgythriad

HILL FORT / BRYNGAER

Carborundum& Etching (Limited Print)

Carborundum ac Ysgythriad (Nifer cyfyngedig)

FRACTURED LIGHT (SNOWDON) / GOLAU'N HOLLTI (YR WYDDFA)

Oil on Paper

Olew ar Bapur

MEMORY IN PRUSSIAN BLUE / ATGOF MEWN GLAS PRWSIA

Carborundum & Etching (Limited Print)

Carborundum ac Ysgythriad (Nifer Cyfyngedig)

SOLITUDE i / UNIGEDDI i

Mono-Carborundum Print

Print-Carborundum Mono

CASTELL

Olew ar Bapur

BACK TO SCHOOL!

As February draws to a close, I am well into my project ‘‘Re-Working the Landscape’’. For this very special project I have been visiting the print-studio of artist and print-maker John Hedley RCA for some expert tuition. I look over my notes and reflect on what I have been learning in the print-studio since January.

The Carborundum Printing Process

Preparing a card plate with Carborundum: Carborundum Grit (Silicon Carbide), when mixed with an acrylic resist medium, forms a paste which when applied to a printing plate will give a durable but textured surface which can be wiped clean and re-used many times. Using mount board to make the plates, I cut two or three pieces to the required size, I can then work on the plates with the Carborundum paste.

Preparing the plate

Preparing a copper plate: First of all I file the edges and the corners of the plate, this helps to protect the paper in the press. I remove any scratches on the surface, then I de-grease the plate ready for the application of the ground.

Then it’s time to apply the image to the plate using an etching needle to gently scratch into the ground. When I have done this I cover the back of the plate with sticky-back-plastic in order to protect the plate whilst it is on the mordant.

The Mordant: The plate is now ready to be ‘bitten’ in Ferric Chloride. The depth/intensity of the bite will depend on how long the metal is in the mordant. When working on copper plate, Ferric-chloride is used (Copper-sulphate is used with Zinc or Aluminium).

Inking the plate: I spread a small amount of ink onto the plate and work in thoroughly, then I gently remove with scrim and then tissue paper. The plate is now ready for printing. One of the elements of my project proposal was to prepare printing inks that use locally sourced Welsh pigment. I have been so excited about the prospect of making my own ink, it has been on the list for a very long time, I love the idea of creating a locally unique print!

Preparing the pigment

Preparing the Paper and Printing: The paper must be damp when it goes through the press so it is soaked in a bath of water. Soaking times vary depending on the paper. When the damp paper is removed from the water it can then be placed in blotting paper. I have been using ‘bread & butter’ paper for proofing and ‘‘Hahnemühle’’ paper for the final prints. The plates are then printed in turn on to the paper, this is the tricky part as they must register exactly with the paper each time it passes through the press!! Once the print is finished it can be hung up to dry and the plates can be cleaned.

The finished work will be exhibited at the Royal Cambrian Academy in June.

This project is supported by The Art’s Council of Wales.

EXPERIMENTATION BEGINS

Mixing ink/sketchbook work

Late January has brought a dusting of snow to the mountain peaks; an opportunity for me to get outside with my paints. I think that the mountains look their most beautiful in the snow; a buttery Winter light spreading over the dusky landscape.

Over the past few days I’ve also been in the studio mixing up inks and preparing my plates for printing, there’s a great deal of experimenting going on!

In the studio, watching the morning sun above Yr Wyddfa. I quickly try to capture the moment in my sketchbook.

Frozen pools/Black mirrors.

A walk to the summit of Moel Eilio. Yr Eifal and the Irish Sea in the distance.

NEW YEAR, NEW PROJECT

The Press

2020 kicks off with a brand new project “Re-Working the Landscape”. An exploration into the unique, multi-plate carborundum print process.

Culminating with an exhibition in June at the Royal Cambrian Academy and with an award from the Art’s Council of Wales, I shall be exploring the unique, multi-plate carborundum print process. Developing the theme ‘‘Re-Working the Landscape.’’

I had not encountered carborundum printing until very recently when I attended a workshop with printmaker John Hedley RCA. Carborundum is a fine grit, which is mixed with a gel and then applied to a series of cardboard ‘plates’ that are printed onto a piece of paper to create a visually vibrant image. My initial experience with this medium has inspired me to re-explore my creative pathways and ideas connected to the landscape.