Newsletter: May 2022
Nidderdale has become green and lush with growth this month; all rains and sunny spells and dramatic skies.
Living on what was a working farm, with people who have lived right here all their lives, makes you realise what really knowing a place means…we’re not anywhere in the same league, but we are getting there; exploring footpaths, getting to know the way the weather works, where there will be berries to pick later on… And wow have we had weather; big storms, bright sun, driving wind and rain, and often all within a few hours! Anyway, every time we leave, it feels wonderful coming back, so I reckon we’ve made a good choice.
Actually, just as I’m writing this, I’ve had to jump up and turn on all the lights-it’s gone pitch black outside and we have torrential rain…
I’m still battling with lack of broadband, which is why this newsletter is just about scraping out at the end of the month (fingers crossed that the broadband hangs in there!), and that also explains why I haven’t been able to post as much as usual.
So here goes for a bit of a catch up…
When we moved I was working on a series of paintings inspired by a trip to Dumfries and Galloway, back last Autumn. I’ve done a bit of work on some of the canvases and cradled panels, but I think the hiatus caused by moving has meant I’ve lost the thread of them a bit. I’m hoping I will get it back and be able to continue with the series in a little while, but I need a break for now.
Meanwhile, I’ve started exploring my local surroundings in more depth, playing with colour palettes, making loose sketches and tentatively starting a new body of work, which I think will evolve based on very local walks. I’m also itching to do some large pieces…moving meant I really had to rationalise my stock of panels and canvases, so I think an order of some larger ones is overdue! Maybe its the 360 degree views and big skies that are making me long to work large again??
You can see above and below, some of the ideas I’ve been working on…these are all sketchbook pages, all worked quickly and directly in paint on paper, sometimes with a little mixed media. Hopefully some of these will turn into larger paintings in the coming weeks!
I’m feeling very happy in my new surroundings; landscape, home and studio and the new studio itself is bedding in nicely!
Lots of people have been asking me about North Yorkshire Open Studios, and I’m very sad that I can’t be part of it this year-when the application deadline happened we had no idea where we would be; whether we would have moved or not, so it was just too big a risk to go ahead. Loads of wonderful artists will be taking part this year, and opening their studios across North Yorkshire on the weekends of the 4th and 5th and 11th and 12th of June…don’t miss it, it will be amazing and I’m really hoping to be back exhibiting next year! Meanwhile loads of luck to all my lovely NYOS friends for 2022.
The two abstracted landscapes above are just about done I think, although I may make some small tweaks? Both represent old pathways through the landscape; drovers routes, paths people walked from farm to farm, or to school, through a pattern of fields and dry stone walls, with panoramas appearing and disappearing with the undulation of the land. I find places with history, where people have lived and worked really fascinating….there is often a real sense of place and there are layers in both the landscape and its history too.
These are both 40cm x 40 cm in acrylic layers, the left one is on canvas and the right is on an Aluminium Dibond panel…these are new to me and I thought I would see how it felt. They have amazing rigidity and feel like they would take loads of artist ‘punishment’, I also liked the surface which is perfectly smooth, but you can add a ‘tooth’ and fine-tune very easily with gesso. ‘May well try some more pieces on Aluminium, the research suggests it will be one of the very best substrates for longevity and conservation, being incredibly stable, and impervious to changes in moisture levels.
The painting above is an atmospheric abstraction, exploring the landscape in colour and movement. It’s about grey skies, driving wind and the colour of wild gorse emerging through the grey. I think it might be finished, but will live with it for a while in the studio to be sure-this one is 40cm x 40 cm on canvas, and will be available soon, do contact me if you would like to know more. The second painting on the right is a related piece and shows the first few layers as it is still a WIP.
The paintings above are really quite different responses to the local landscape. It wasn’t a deliberate idea to pursue two different approaches, but I quite like having two threads to work on, so I’m OK with it working out in this way.
With a little bit of luck, I might be a bit further on with this body of work by next month, and also have some more exhibition news too.
I think that’s all from me for now, and so take care until next time and do get in touch if there is anything more you would like to know about my work, or any specific pieces.
Thanks as always for the lovely feedback from last time, and I’ll leave you with a photo of a painting in its new home sent by a lovely client!
Jo xx
All text and images copyright ©️Jo York 2022