Site 11 Stroud Valley Open Studios

Stroud Subscription Rooms - Stroud, Gloucestershire

West Country Galleries attended an exhibition in the Stroud Subscription Rooms, Glos which featured our renowned resident artist Ray Hill.

As part of the Site 11 Stroud Valleys Open Studios, this is a group exhibition organised by Ray Hill of selected local artists.

Many gathered to soak in the the talent that lined the gallery walls. There was a wide variety of styles and subject matter ranging from landscapes, seascapes, figurative, abstract and semi abstract. The artists featured in this exhibition exhibit widely and are fervent about their art and succeed tenfold in tapping in to our emotions and becoming acquainted in what they are trying to convey to us. There was something at this exhibition that beckoned to all tastes.

At the exhibition, I had the pleasure of meeting Ahrabella Heabe Lewis. Her work has gained high ranking both at home and abroad. Her creations have also permeated the interests of art enthusiasts and collectors from the USA!

Her injection of colour which is incorporated in Ahrabella's work is evoked by the memories of her childhood in Africa making her aware and open to explorations in colour. You can witness this effect in her use of vivid yellow to emulate the sun and the reds which are a signature of the rich red earth.   

Ahrabella Heabe Lewis

Other featured artists we got to speak to were Penny Prince and Teresa Poole. Penny describes her work as a distillation of memory, place and time executed in transparent water-based media that combine rich colour with cartographic/calligraphic elements. Her prints are limited to an edition of twenty. When her work is sold, it is withdrawn and replaced with a new one. 

Penny is quoted as saying " My current work explores the marks visible on the landscape that are revealed by changing light and season; the geological strata, tracks and pathways that evidence mans' historical and continuing presence"

Penny Prince

Teresa Poole says that she is inspired by Japanese screens and artwork of the 17th and 18th century. "I want to explore the relationship between art and the beholder, and how a painting affects its surroundings and the emotions of an onlooker. I’m trying to perceive nature through the eyes of the Japanese artist, and not simply to copy it. The balance of a line is there for a reason, it has a beginning and an end, bringing balance and harmony to an image". 

Teresa Poole

For more information on this exhibition, please contact: Tourist Information, Subscription Rooms, George Street, Stroud, Glos, GL5 1AE , Telephone: 01453-760960