What’s On

Exhibition:

This display is a celebration of the work by James TA Osborne RE (1907 – 1979) who regularly exhibited at the Royal Academy and the Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers.

He was well know for his experimentation with print and paper and leaves behind a varied body of work, examples of which are held in public and private collections internationally.

Now extended to 24th July.

Artist in Residence

Jenny Reynish is a freelance illustrator who have produced illustrations for a number of both in the UK and abroad. She enjoys incorporating elements of ethnic and folk art, and details inspired by those in Persian carpets and woodcarvings, in addition to imagery from nature, cities and buildings.

Jenny uses a variety of media, including oils, watercolours and acrylics.

http://www.magiccarpetpics.co.uk/

Artist in Residence
Ann Swan works primarily in graphite and coloured pencil and is well known for her exquisitely fine detail, vibrant colours and strong contemporary style. She champions the underdog in the plant world, drawing our attention to Brussels sprouts or beetroots feeling they are just as beautiful as the iris or tulip. She is passionate about coloured pencils believing they are easy to master, forgiving and accessible so that even a complete beginner can quite quickly produce work of quality.

Exhibition:

This exhibition has been assembled in collaboration with the Charles Tunnicliffe Society. We record our thanks to them, particularly Ken Broughton and Stuart Pittman, and to the many private collectors and public collections who have loaned work. Tunnicliffe was one of the most important and influential nature inspired artists of the twentieth century. His impact is still felt today.

Charles Tunnicliffe (1901 – 1979) was the only son of a shoemaker turned farmer and grew up in Cheshire. All his later work as an artist shows him to be a man totally familiar with the animals and machinery of the farm, and the beauty, customs and modesty of the countryside. After art training in Macclesfield and Manchester, he won a scholarship to the Royal College of Art, London, where he won another scholarship for a further year to study etching.

Having worked for a while as a part-time teacher, Tunnicliffe left London in 1928 and returned to Cheshire as a commercial artist. In 1932 he produced the illustrations for Henry Williamson’s Tarka the Otter which was a great success and established the reputations of both artist and author.

From 1947 until his death Tunnicliffe lived on the Isle of Anglesey. He was hard work and versatility personified. Etchings, wood engravings, scraper-board illustrations, oil paintings, delicate pencil drawings, simple tiny composition sketches and large finished watercolours – all were part of his prolific output.

He was elected RA in 1954 and awarded the OBE in 1978. In 1974, he was honoured at the Royal Academy by an exhibition of his collection of measured drawings of birds. Several of these (and other RA pictures) are included in this show.

Having had work widely published in magazines and books, including some of his own, as well as the likes of Cussons Imperial Leather advertisements, Brook Bond tea cards, The Radio Times, Ladybird books and for 12 years the covers to RSPB’s magazine Bird Notes, he is an artist whose work has impacted on countless people’s lives, earning respect too, not just in the wildlife art world, but the wider art establishment.

Sir Peter Scott described him as simply ’the greatest wildlife artist of the twentieth century’.

Artist in Residence

Clare Robertson, artist blacksmith, works under the creative name of ‘MissFire’.

Inspiration for many of her pieces comes from the beauty of the natural world. Her ability to imagine, design and manufacture pieces that satisfy the specific requirements and personal tastes of her customers has resulted in a vibrant collection of exciting, and often functional, works of art.

www.missfire.co.uk