Playtime – astonishing seascapes by Sue Walsh!
‘The application of paint to canvas or board using brushes, palette knife and fingers result in passages of impasto as well as washes of translucent colour. The trick is knowing when to stop.
The subject matter is often light, air and water. The objective to create pieces that evoke emotions linked to memories’.
An exhibition of fantastic art by Sue this summer is an event we are really looking forward to. Following last year’s success, Sue’s floating and fresh paintings will yet again bring a bit of breeze to Chester Art Centre this summer!
Sue Walsh was born in Liverpool and grew up on the farms of Oxfordshire, the Lake District and Cheshire. She studied Art and Education at St. Katharine’s College in Liverpool in 1972-1975 and then became a Teacher of Art and Crafts in Liverpool. Sue then moved to Chester and continued teaching and painting. She is an Associate Member of The Penwith Society of Artists and a member of St. Ives Arts Club, (Sue used to live in St. Yves for a quite a while) and a lot of her work is inspired by the breath-taking views of Cornwall. Sue is a prolific artist and has successfully exhibited her art for many years. One of her paintings was shortlisted for the 2018 John Moore’s Painting Prize.
This July, a beautiful combination of the Coastal theme, People theme and Interior will showcase some of Sue’s finest pieces. Water, air, sand and rocks mixed with Figurative and slightly surreal paintings celebrating the miracle of existence…
A MUST SEE!
The exhibition will run between 23 July and 19 August with the private view taking place on Thursday 25 July between 6:30 PM and 9 PM. Join us for some coastal breeze and a glass of wine!
Sue’s Recent exhibitions:
2012
Penwith Gallery, St Ives, Cornwall
Associates’ Show (group)
2013
Penwith Gallery, St Ives, Cornwall
Associates’ Show (group)
2014
Salthouse Gallery, St Ives, Cornwall
Two person show.
Penwith Gallery, St Ives, Cornwall
Associates’ Show (group)
2015
Salthouse Gallery, St Ives, Cornwall
Two person show.
Little Picture Gallery, Mousehole, Cornwall
December exhibition (group)
2016
Affordable August Exhibition, Penwith Gallery, St Ives, Cornwall
(group)
St Ives Arts Club “Coast” exhibition
(Three person show)
2017
St Ives Arts Club “Setting Sail” Exhibition
Two person show
Salthouse Gallery, St Ives, Cornwall
(Two person show)
2017 – 2018
Chester Art Centre, Chester, Cheshire
(Group show)
July and August 2018
Solo Art Exhibition, Chester Art Centre, Northgate St., Chester
September 2018
Salthouse Gallery, St Ives, Cornwall, Arts Festival.
February 2019
Parallax Art Fair, Kensington Town Hall, London
ArtUPClose digital exhibition, Manhattan, New York and various international locations through the year.
Impossible
Mark Edmonds is an artist based in Stoke on Trent working exclusively in mixed media, which is a conscious choice by him.
‘I work in contemporary mediums. My studio is a mess of circuit boards, plastic resins and paint. I spend my time meditating and splicing one material with another. I love the contrast I create between colours and textures, everything is in a constant juxtaposition. I am probably considered a painter by many, but I feel more like a sculptor who works on canvas. To me the challenge is to create something with ‘feeling’ that evokes strong feelings in others. I am not always successful and at times this journey is painful, especially when you make that connection. Often, I feel naked when this happens, because someone is looking at me without my armour of bullshit. After the initial shock dies down and I no longer feel as vulnerable, I realise I have achieved something, that I am not pretending, there is a genuine connection.
The exhibition will run until 23 July.
Join us for a glass of bubbly and some breath-taking contemporary art on 11 July at 7 PM.
DIVERSITY – art exhibition preview by Janet Webb
DIVERSITY
Janet’s practice explores the diversity of creativity in all media:
‘Pain ceramics and text what is it to be you, what is it to be me. I break down barriers between us and ‘The Other’.
Janet Webb is a professional UK based recognised artist, who has been creating, exhibiting and selling her incredible work for many years across the country. Textiles, screen printing, painting, film making, sculpture, life drawing and teaching art are only some of Janet’s talents.
Janet has spent her life in art, painting, teaching and exhibiting and now is also reaching out to a greater audience through the internet. She owned her own gallery in Chester, designed and painted for the UK’s largest pub chains including Greenall Whitleys, Grand Met. catering, Ind Coop, Thistle Hotels and Imperial Inns and Taverns. Janet produced a number of documentaries and sat on the Board of the Friends of the Liverpool Tate.
During her DIVERSITY exhibition at Chester Art Centre, Janet will be exhibiting a range of paintings, sculptures and curios mixed media pieces.
The exhibition will run between 18 April and 7 May 2019 with the private view taking place on 18 April between 6:30 PM and 8:30 PM.
Space Dive – Art Exhibition by Luciana Hermida – private view
Luciana Hermida is a visual artist and graphic designer from Buenos Aires (Argentina), based in Chester UK.
Luciana brings a unique approach to mixed media art. Through her series ’Space Dive’ she looks to challenge the way we perceive reality. In this series there is also a prominent protagonism given to the creatures of the deep sea, a very deep passion of hers. These creatures are put in unusual environments alongside unusual elements in order to create imaginary worlds and challenge the mind. The creatures swim into space and vice-versa. There is no set narrative. The space, the sea and land are merged in order to allow the creatures move around freely.
‘Space Dive’ invites the observer to let go of natural ways of perceiving the world and dive into space with the imagination.
Seduction, metamorphosis, transformation, after life, time travelling are some of the topics that appear in Luciana’s artworks present in the series ‘Space Dive’.
Her art is visually stimulating as well as an imagination stimulant. Bright bold colours are embraced, giving each piece a very contemporary and fresh feel.
We look forward to seeing you for Luciana’s Space Dive private view on 23 May, 2019, between 6:30 and 8:30!
The exhibition will run until 6 June 2019.
RESURRECTION by PT MADDEN art exhibition Private View
PTMADDEN is a London artist who creates calligraphy, paintings, screen prints, fine art photographs, artist’s books, literature and sound recordings.
His photographic piece SEXPISTOLS APRIL 1976 was shown in 2014 at London’s premier East End Wilkinson Gallery (who represent that work at art trade fairs internationally). The piece was shown in the 2018 SEX BEATLES 1976-1978 exhibition at the research laboratory in Liverpool’s John Lennon Art and Design building and is currently on show at the Hornby Library in Liverpool’s Central Library as part of the British Library’s highly acclaimed touring exhibition PUNK.
His first solo painting show was at Liverpool’s View2 Gallery in 2014. During the summer of 2018 all of his work was displayed at CAC pop-up Gallery 118. During the run Sex Pistols’ guitarist Steve Jones bought a fine art photograph from SEX PISTOLS 1976 and four screenprints entitled TheImpossible#1. The gallery was visited by Elvis Costello who bought a portrait of the guitarist Peter Green.
Paintings from a future exhibition READY STEADY GAUGIN! will be displayed alongside RESURRECTION. These include works after Gaugin, Klimt, Rosetti with contemporary portraits of T800, Clint Eastwood, Che Guevara and Wolverine.
Screenprints and fine art photographs (from the artist’s series Chester Fog and Paris Immortel) are available from Chester Art Centre.
The show runs from April 18th to Monday May 6th (May Bank Holiday) inclusive.
During the show the gallery will be open seven days a week from 12 noon to 6pm.
Bryn Sutcliffe – Under the Bed ART SALE
Bryn Sutcliffe art sale to take place at Chester Art Centre between 5 February and 26 February 2019!
Bryn has been with us from the very beginning and we have had the joy of watching him progress with his work and get established in the international art scene. This month we are happy to announce a big art sale of Bryn’s older pieces of artwork, as well as incredibly affordable misprints (which are still absolutely gorgeous!) and limited edition prints.
“I began to experiment with many different medias at college and developed my skills using paint. At university I was encouraged to integrate conceptual ideas behind my work and hone in on particular medias which I preferred to use. Today, I mainly work in oil and acrylic paint but find acrylics lend themselves better to the spontaneous approach in my work. I specialise in figurative art in acrylic paint as I have always been fascinated and inspired by the human form. I have recently been commissioned by the Grosvenor Museum in Chester and many famous celebrities own pieces of my work.” (Bryn)
At the moment Bryn is working with Wonderland Memorabilia as well as selling a lot of his work in London and online. At the same time, many of his pieces are often on show at Chester Art Centre, where he is often busy painting or making frames ;).
This February we are happy to offer our friends a fantastic opportunity to get an original BRYN at a very affordable price! We look forward to seeing you at Chester Art Centre for a little get-together on 7 February between 6:30 and 8:30 to see some wonderful art, have a glass of wine and catch up in 2019!
Neil Kendall Burlesque Photography Exhibition
Neil Kendall has been established on the worldwide Vintage Photography scene since 1990. He currently lives in Chester.
He is known internationally as an award-winning photographer shooting campaigns for such celebrities as Dita Von Teese who called him ‘’a genuine talent ‘’. And underground heroes such as Violet Chachki, a recent winner of RuPauls Drag race in America .
In 2018 He was voted National Vintage Photographer of the Year and Number One Burlesque Figure in the World in the international Burlesque top fifty poll.
His Portraits are inspired by his love of Hollywood and each set is a miniature production. Often working with local Chester Artist Russell Kirk and Painter Mark Bell.
My portraits are as much about placing my sitter in an fantasy, a magical world. I want my sitters to have the old Master treatment as I often find them so Royal and aristocratic to shoot. I want my subject s,who are often other worldly to recline and pose in miniature worlds which match their own inimitable aesthetics and ultimately create vintage inspired but uniquely charming portraits.
The Exhibition will spring to life on August 11th at St Mary’s Centre with a live Cabaret featuring Burlesque and Boylesque from around the World at St Mary’s Centreto coincide with Chester Pride.
A focus of this exhibition is on artists who are part of the international Lesbian, Gay and Trans communities and Neil Kendall is proud to be associated in partnership with Chester Pride on August 11th.
The exhibition will run from 2 August until 15 August.
We look forward to seeing you at the private view on 2 August between 6.30 PM and 9 PM for a couple of glasses of wine and some amazing images!
v 
Life Drawing and Painting Class
New Life Drawing and Painting Class: Come and learn or practise your life drawing skills in our newly launched professionally taught life drawing class!
Taught by our internationally recognised fine artist Bryn Sutcliffe, who specialises in figurative drawing and painting.
You will have the flexibility to work without input if you wish or learn Bryn’s unorthodox approaches to his art.
All art equipment, a beautiful, young female model and refreshments will be provided.
Price for 3 hour long class – only £22!
Saturday 14th April (12pm – 3pm)
Fracturing Reality – abstract resin art exhibition by Mark Edmonds
You are cordially invited to attend a Private Viewing event for the art show: ‘Fracturing Reality’ featuring a selection of works by artist Mark Edmonds. The event will take place on the 9th of December from 7pm o
The show will feature a range of artworks designed to challenge the nature of the viewer’s awareness and personal relationship with their reality. There will be a mixture of styles but with this common theme tying each work together.
The Dress code is Smart Casual and there will be refreshments provided including wine and canopies.
Please feel free to bring guests along with you if you wish to do so. (could you please notify us in advance if you wish to bring more than 2 guests with you as there are a limited number of places).
Mark Edmonds is an established artist who channels his life’s experience and knowledge into creating work that highlights the issues he is passionate about. So far he has participated in numerous shows all over the UK and abroad.
The themes of Mark’s paintings are often premeditated and decided prior to the application of paint. Imagery will be conjured at the base layer in the form of various shapes and textures. Paint is subsequently applied in an expressive manner, using meditative techniques, some documented by those who practice ‘automatic drawing’. A combination of paint and varnish is then used to reveal the hidden esoteric patterns within.
“My portfolio tends to consist of mixed media paintings incorporating a heavy material element; by this, I mean textual elements, found objects and sometimes photography embedded into the surface. I use a variety of painting techniques depending on the context and theme of the painting. I incorporate elements from differing historical art movements, the idea behind this is to embrace absolute freedom in painting and not limiting oneself to a particular genre or medium.”
“The themes in my work relate to mass production, in that, I often use manufactured canvases and industrial paints. I am currently working on a project where I ‘reclaim’ mass produced commercial prints’ turning them into individual works of art by painting over them but keeping the ‘original’ design. To me this is a reply to the ‘throw-away’ nature of modern western society, by ‘reclaiming’ a mass produced article and presenting it as an object of value. I’m trying to question the acceptance of artworks within differing strata’s of society. Who values what and why?”
Chester Art Centre Open Exhibition Celebration Party
Dear artists and friends of Chester Art Centre,
Thank you for participating in Chester Art Centre’s Open Exhibition this year! Our apologies for not being in touch – we have had a busy year, filled with many creative projects, but now all of the votes for the competition have been counted and we are pleased to announce the winners!
The ceremony will take place on the 23rd November, 2017 at 6.30pm – 8.30pm.
The party – to which all are invited – will start at 6.30pm, with the awards presented to the winners at 7.30pm.
The prints that were on display, but have not sold, are available to purchase by the artists at a discounted price of:
£5 per print, unframed or £12 per print, framed. (This is to cover some of our costs involved in organising and running the exhibition.) Alternatively, We are happy to keep displaying the work on rotation as and when possible. However, We cannot guarantee that the work will regularly be on display, as we have a lot of exhibition bookings.
Here are our winners for the Watercolour category:
*First Prize*
Sarah Adams – ‘Don’t Look Back’
*Second Prize*
Lisa Jayne Holmes – Stag
*Third Prize*
Susan Welsby – Bromeliad
The winners for the Oils/Acrylics category are:
*First Prize*
Mark Funge – Koi
*Second Prize*
Christopher Furminger – Two Men Kissing
*Third Prize*
Kathrine Geoghegan – Rosebay Willowherb
The winners for our Photography category are:
*First Prize*
John Cockshaw – York Minster Interior
*Second Prize*
Kim Keogh – Yellow
*Third Prize*
Matthew Martin – Paradise
Here are our winners for the Digital Art category:
*First Prize*
Philip McKay – Time That Never Was
*Second Prize*
Jenny Meehan – Leap of Faith
*Third Prize*
Jacob Skeldon – Scan 1
A huge congratulations to all of the winners, and another massive thank you to everyone who participated. We are planning to run another open exhibition like this next year, but on a smaller scale and only with proven venues, in order to achieve the best experience for everyone involved.
We are looking forward to seeing everybody at Chester Art Centre to celebrate the success of our Open Exhibition and meet the winners and all of the participating artists!
- 1
- 2