Playing around...

Oh the joys of playing around with an idea - it's such fun! I am currently busy exploring with the 'holy-leaf' on my coffee plant painting... Keeping the thread going with all of the work I have done previous to this (whilst satisfying my interest in ethnobotanical plants, the environment, plant conservation and the desire to produce educational paintings for the 21st century) I am currently hijacking brands. The idea of incorporating packaging into my work started last year when I began collecting data for the Bare Necessities Project and now, at long last, I am putting it into practice and seeing how it looks...

I am not sure on the size of the logo, but I like the watermarking effect on them so that they blend in more with the rest of the leaves. The picture below shows what it looked like before I used the eraser tool and as we can see it's completely ruining the composition. In my view, it is staring me in the face too much and looks about as wrong as 'the hole', but not for the right reasons. With the hole I like the tension and the questioning, in the picture below it just looks strange and like I couldn't be bothered to finish it.

Inky Leaves at the Espacio Gallery - Preview Night

So it was the opening night of 'Natural Selection' at the Espacio Gallery on Bethnal Green Road on Friday night and it was an absolute blast! It was super seeing all the other artists work and to meet my friends. I am so grateful to everyone who has supported me, including you. Without the encouragement of my readers and followers this exhibition might not have happened.

Sally was everyone's favourite - she is such a poser!

There was a lot of excellent work on the walls in this show, so do pop in if you can. I am invigilating the space a couple of times during the fortnight, so drop me an email if you want to meet me in the gallery. My favourite work was by Kit Boyd who had some really beautiful etchings on show. Apparently he also has a solo show from 31st May at the Barbican Library so I might have to pop in and see that. It was his little creatures in seed pods against a London skyline that I liked so much, they had a wonderful nurturing quality to them.

I also liked Carlos Martybn Burgos' work. He works in tea, so naturally a favourite! I very much liked Tania Beaumont's work - she had several beautiful  prints on display and a couple of really seductively made three dimensional canvases which had a Georgia O'Keeffe feel to them. Kirsty O'Leary had some super graphite pieces on show. She interestingly draws on plaster which actually gives the graphite a super smooth quality to it - such a great idea! I think you guys will like her work as she does a lot of beautiful trees. 

The incredible work by Richard Rogan Brown

Lastly incredibly detailed work by paper artist Richard Rogan Brown is on show too. I have never seen anything like it. I am impressed that someone can work both two and three dimensionally in one piece

This took me by surprise - there was a camera crew there and they came over to my corner for an interview.

Team Monthope Road (my street) came to support me on the night. I am so lucky to have such great friends

A view of the upstairs portion of the gallery space - a busy night!

Putting on the Inky Leaves stickers onto my prints - my step dad made these for me and it was brilliant getting them on the night.

Tulipa 'Rory McEwen'

We had a lovely delivery in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art this week - six bottles of beer, filled with water and each holding one cut Old English Florists’ Tulip. Naturally, these are no ordinary Tulips - they are very special varieties which had come all the way from Wakefields. Dating from 1836, the Wakefield andNorth of England Tulip Society is a long established floral society with a tradition of growing English Florists' Tulips and today it is the only society left specialising in Tulips. They have an Annual Show which is held in the Wakefield area each year. This is open to the public and I really want to go!

           

Tulipa 'Rory McEwen'

English Florists' Tulips had their peak of popularity in the early 19th Century, with many florist societies growing the Tulip and other florist's flowers such as Carnations, Anemones and the Auriculas. The English Florists' Tulip has to conform to certain strict standards, particularly in having a shape like half a hollow ball, and having a base colour cleanly white or yellow, on top of which the darker colour is overlaid. The attractive markings on some of the flowers arise when their bulbs are infected with Tulip Breaking Virus. The markings have been known about since the days of 'Tulipomania' in the 17th Century, but it wasn't until the 1930s when Tulip Breaking Virus was discovered to be the cause. The flowers do not seem to suffer from the infection (one of the oldest cultivars known is Habit de Noce (Wedding Coat), dating from the 1790s, and it is still grown by society members today). 

Tulipa 'Rory McEwen'

Two of the six bottles in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art each had a very special Tulip in – Tulipa ‘Rory McEwen’, named after the man himself! They were so uttlery beautiful. You can really feel their rarity - they are like diamonds in a botanical world. I just had to take a photograph, complete with the traditional beer bottles in the background, which Wakefields traditionally exhibit their Tulips at shows.

Web Cow Girl has lots of images from one of the shows if you are interested...

Picture, Painter, Printer, Framer

Yesterday I didn't manage to do any painting. This is because I was officially exhausted. I've been overdoing it again, what with the garden needing a 'good old dig', the seeds needing a 'good old sow' and the bamboo needing a 'good old removal'. Plus it's been very busy at work and my other half has been poorly. I felt like I had been riding a wave and I pushed it just a little bit too much last week. It was time for a break and today I feel much better for it.

So on my day off I went off to the printers to drop off Monstera problema and Chelsea Tulips. I don't think I will offer these two pieces as prints, but I like to have a scan as a record. Neither of these are as finished as I'd hoped, but I am keen to move on with new work. At least Monstera is alright not being perfect as that was the whole point. I painted this one at a time when I had an ovarian health issue going on and felt 'imperfect' and like I was missing something. I painted it because the leaf has egg-shaped holes and is itself missing bits... Problem was, I was in a fit of absolute upset when I started it. You know how it goes - you got to get what ever it is out of your system with a brush... I just had to paint there and THEN, but I had no paper big enough, so I grabbed some Intaglio printing stuff I bought a while back from the bottom of my wardrobe. What a mistake that was - this paper is great for Intaglio - but completely unsuitable for botanical art. The paint didn't really stay on the paper very well and the masking fluid took bits of the paper off. It was a nightmare. So this is an unfinished painting of an imperfect leaf on imperfect paper by an imperfect artist. It's finished - as an unfinished piece.

Then I went to the framer to check on my latest frames... "Hey nice going there framer - you did a good job!" - I am really pleased with the job so far. I see a lot of frames in my other line of work and this really helps me to see what shapes a piece well and what doesn't. Over the past year I have seen a lot of David Nash's work and he seems to have the same taste as me when it comes to framing. He uses either no mount at all or a floating one. What I like about this is it looks modern and gives a contemporary feel to botanical art. I'd like to think that customers feel like they are getting a present in a box. 

Changes at the Gallery

 One of Rory McEwen's Leaves * 

(I want to know which shade of green he used to get this colour - ideas anyone?)

So it's all change here in the gallery this week! At 8am this morning I witnessed two of our David Nash sculptures leaving on the back of a lorry - The Sliced Cedars. A sad moment in the morning drizzle (below), and the end of a season. I am glad that the exhibition closed during Spring though, as it's a time of new leaves and colour and that makes me feel more hopeful.

So less about what is going on outside the gallery and more about what's happening indoors! Like a chrysalis, there is a lot going on inside our walls. We've been having lots of deliveries... all paintings. The Rory McEwen show is starting to take shape as we get work from Kew, the family and from private collections. It's really exciting to be part of this. The paintings arrive all wrapped up in white opaque bubble wrap and we have no idea what's in them. Unwrapping each one if like unwrapping a very expensive and delicate chocolate truffle. It's a million Christmas' all at once. I have never seen so many beautiful pieces of work in such a short space of time. I felt like crying.  It's going to be an extraordinary show - real food for the eyes and soul.

Laying out the paintings for the Rory McEwen show

As a point of interest, I feel that now is a good time to talk about frames. Many of the frames around Rory McEwen's work are now roughly 40-60 years old. Some are amazing - my favourite one is a bamboo piece which looks very 1970s! However, what I really wanted to talk to you all about is how frames deteriorate over time and what we can do as artists to prevent this.

 A close up on one of Rory's Fritillarias*

*Please note that these pieces might not be in the exhibition. We are still selecting work. This is how we work - we select a whole collection of work, and then lay them all out and decide which paintings work well together in each gallery space.

Now I know all us good artists invest in proper frames with acid free boards and mounts and a proper seal at the back. Rory probably did too. But something I have discovered since working in this show is what happens to frames over time and how badly they can age. I had a chat with a conservator about frames as I was interested to know more about them and how damage occurs. Apparently, the biggest killer is just neglect on the owners part. Even acid free materials don't last forever. This brought back memories of me working in a museum and the fact that we have to repackage objects every few years because acid free tissue paper loses its effectiveness. I guess the same goes for frames. 

So apparently we need to check our frames every 5 years for damage and bugs. We need to pay particular attention to the seal at the back, the state of the mount and for rusty nails etc. Even if acid free board has been used, this still needs replacing roughly every ten years. So, if anyone owns a piece of artwork which they love and value, like a classic car - you need to maintain it. I think there is a bit of a mentality in many of us that once you have parted with your hard earned cash for a piece of art, one feels that they don't need to pay anymore. They own it and it's theirs, but like a classic car or a house - you need to keep injecting the cash now and then to keep it looking good and structurally sound.

 

Bugs are the worst problem - they get in all sorts of ways, but it's especially bad if the taped seal at the back is broken. Acid boards are pretty bad too, as are woods that emit a lot of acidic gas. Apparently pear wood is the best wood you can use as it emits less gas and lignins and isn't on a CITES list unlike other woods.

A close up on one of Rory's decaying leaves*

*Please note that these pieces might not be in the exhibition. We are still selecting work. This is how we work - we select a whole collection of work, and then lay them all out and decide which paintings work well together in each gallery space.

Music Hiding In The Air by Christian McEwen

I have just been informed that another book about Rory McEwen is due to come out this Spring! The book is a beautiful memoir about Rory McEwen and is entitled ‘Music Hiding in the Air’. It talks about Rory intimately and honestly. Christian really helps you to understand the man on an emotional level and it very touching in his words. The book comes with some family pictures and four or five reproductions of his artwork and talks about his musical career. It’s a small book and will be on sale from May, in the Kew store, to coincide with the show. If you like Rory's work, I recommend adding this little gem to your collection.


If you are interested in purchasing this book, here are the details:

Title: Music Hiding In The Air

Publisher: Bauhan Publishing. Distributed in the UK by Eurospan.

ISBN: 978-0-87233-166-2

Price: £9.99

At this point in time the book is not available through tax-dodging Amazon, but it will be available at the Kew retail store and an independent book seller can order it in for you. Or, you can order your copy personally through:

G. Heywood Hill Ltd, 10 Curzon St, London W1J SHH. Tel: 0207 629 0647.



Jools Holland on Rory McEwen

In this BBC radio programme, Jools Holland will talk about Rory McEwen, the father-in-law he never knew. Although I know about Rory McEwen for his extraordinary botanical artistry skills, Rory was also quite a musician. With his brother Alec, Rory McEwen was a powerful voice in the folk music revival of the late 50s and early 60s. Apparently he was the host of the network TV music show 'Hullabaloo', a frequent performer on 'Tonight with Cliff Michelmore' and a prolific recording artist. He introduced George Harrison to Ravi Shankar and was the catalyst for, and hub of, much of what came to be known as Swinging London.




Rosa species by Rory McEwen



He did all of this before he decided to concentrate on his painting, a field where his contemporaries included David Hockney, R.B. Kitaj and Peter Blake.

Sadly Rory died in 1982, 25 years before Jools married his daughter Christabel.

In this special programme some of the people Rory influenced discuss his life, shedding light on the career of this shadowy figure.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01rhxwm



Press and the Media

Radio and Television

• In Search for Rory McEwen, BBC4, broadcast February 2015

• Interview (click to listen) on BBC Radio Devon about Sir John St. Aubyn aired 2008

Exhibitions  

• The Incredible Exploding Pomegranate, Granada, Spain, Summer 2015

• Natural Selection, Espacio Gallery, London, Spring 2012

• Sir John St. Aubyn - the secret life of a collector from 2010 - 2012:

• From Darwin to Digital, April, 2009:

Publications

Egelnick and Webb, 2015

The Joy of Plants, 2015

The English Home Magazine, Issue 117, October 2014

RHS Botanical Art Show, April 2014

International Dendrology Society Yearbook, 2015, Illustrations.

Chelsea Tulips

Did a bit more painting yesterday on both Monstera and Chelsea Tulips, but it was rather slow going! I guess I wasn't in the mood so it just took a little longer to get things onto paper.

 

I think maybe after one more day, this one and it will be finished. I am desperate to start something new if I am honest! I am finding this one still very tricky - the stripes, the highlights and the colour changes. Those petals have nearly ever single colour in them - oranges, yellows, reds, purples, pinks, greens and blues. The highlights are ultramarine to mauve in colour, which is really tricky to achieve as it requires only a light wash.

 

Been busy sewing again too and will post the progress I have made with this next time. I am off to see my mum soon which will be nice. It's hers and my step dad's wedding anniversary next week. It'll be nice to see them both and refreshing to visit the seaside.

I am now starting to think on what I can paint next after this one. Again I want to do leaves which doesn't really fit in with the title of the next SBA exhibition. I just seem to be attracted to leaves much more than flowers - I always have been and probably will always be!

Rory McEwen

 The Colours of Reality 

 Tulipa by Rory McEwen © Trustees of the McEwen Estate

Upcoming exhibition at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Rory McEwen, The Colours of Reality will showcase the botanical work and other creative talents of Rory McEwen, ranging from the 1950s to early 1980s, featuring works loaned from his family and private collectors. His paintings will be accompanied by work by other artists who influenced him.

 

Rory McEwen’s Legacy

This will be a  supporting exhibition which will show how he inspired many of today’s artists in the Shirley Sherwood Collection.

 

Rory McEwen was ‘perhaps the most gifted artist to pass through my hands’ – Wilfred Blunt

Born in Berwickshire, Scotland in 1932 Rory McEwen began developing his natural aptitude for art whilst at Eton College. He had a talent to represent his botanical subject matter with scientific precision and artistic flair, and never compromised one for the other. McEwen had no formal art school training, but by the time he finished at Cambridge University his illustrations had been published in Old Carnations and Pinks by Charles Oscar Moreton, 1955. In 1964 he illustrated The Auricula, and painted many of the plates for Wilfred Blunt’s Tulips and Tulipomania, 1977. McEwen developed a distinctive style, using large backgrounds to float his objects on unadorned vellum, without shadows, and executed in exact, minutely accurate detail; he saw them as ‘plant portraits’, recording the imperfect and the unique as well as the flawless.

The exhibition will open at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in summer 2013 - dates yet to be confirmed. More information.