Exhibition archive

 
This exhibition features work completed on three different surfaces:  traditional watercolours on paper, acrylics on a textured base, and miniatures on ivorine.  Whilst all pictures use water-based media, the range of surfaces from rough to smooth dictates the level of detail in the paintings; the smooth surface of ivorine allows highly detailed work, whilst the roughness of the textured board results in an impression only.  Inspiration for the artworks is taken from farm animals, local landscape and figures.

 
Morton is based in Darlington and has painted in watercolours for many years.  She first tried her hand at miniatures after taking voluntary redundancy from her banking career in 1996 and has since won many awards including the Royal Miniature Society's Gold Bowl in 2005.  She first started experimenting in acrylic paint with added textures in 2007.

Kindling features the artist’s first body of abstract work. The artworks are created using mixed media including water based paints, mainly gouache, on paper and/or canvas. Some artworks also incorporate textiles, organic materials, beads and digital imagery. 

After a period of instability and uncertainty in her life, Schlesinger wanted to express her feelings of ambivalence towards change that had come out of her experiences. Kindling brings together a collection of work that are of both energy and obstruction, and the process of making them is one of construction followed by destruction followed again by reconstruction. Schlesinger creates paintings, cuts or tears them up and applies the pieces to other paintings. This process is repeated until the image reaches a state in which it becomes familiar and recognizable to her as a visual representation of these feelings.

Elements of wind, weather and landscape are also featured in the work.

Tuesday 1st April – Saturday 10th May

Exhibition of Watercolours features artworks by Mr M K Kelkar who lives in India, and was introduced to the Lounge Gallery by his son and daughter-in-law who are residents of Darlington.

At the age of 92, Kelkar’s passion for painting is still going strong.  His interest and aptitude in drawing and painting was recognised at secondary school and he was recommended for further education in art to the late eminent artist S.L. Haldankar who lived in Bombay.

In the old Indian tradition, Kelkar received his coaching in painting by assisting his mentor, while living at his residence and touring with him wherever he went to paint.  At the time of graduation, his mentor considered him as one of the most promising students and Kelkar promised him that he would keep the teachings and his style of painting alive.  This was a difficult promise to for a young man to keep, however Kelkar pursued his passion and commitment to watercolours for 70 years.

Kelkar has successfully managed to travel many places in India and capture in his paintings the landscapes and people in these places through the transparent medium of watercolours.  The changing colours of landscapes inspired him to travel to various places so he could paint the subjects from life.  He considers watercolours as the most effective medium to capture the ever-changing moods in nature.  He has exhibited his paintings in various art galleries in India and abroad and has coached many young art students in his traditional style.  Some of these artists have now become successful artists and are promoting his style of art.

Dover Prize – NORTHERN HEART

The Dover Prize art competition has been re-launched as a biennial event for Easter 2008. This exhibition features a selection of work entered for the competition. The exciting theme of this year’s competition is ‘NORTHERN HEART’ providing the opportunity for artists to respond to what they enjoy about living or working in the North.

Drawing Together

Wednesday 23rd January - Saturday 23rd Feb 2008

Drawing Together was a year long Creative Partnerships Tees Valley project, which aimed to provide pupils and teaching staff from six schools in the region with the skills, resources and inspiration to draw. The project also aimed to establish drawing within education as an important, yet often overlooked subject in its own right but also as a key element for supporting learning across the curriculum.
Professional artists Jake Attree, Jack Chesterman and Jo Chesterman led the project and worked closely with the pupils and teachers involved focusing on source material from the natural and man made worlds along the journey made by the River Tees.  Each school had a different section of the river and its surrounding area to focus on.  They went on field visits from the Teesmouth area where they drew inspiration from the beach, the wildlife and the futuristic and industrial landscape to Cow Green Reservoir with its outstanding natural beauty and fast flowing waterfalls.

 
This exhibition features a stunning collection of artwork that has been created to a high standard and comprises charismatic and detailed drawings and dramatic large scale pieces, using line, form, tone and mark-making expressively.  The commonality of the pieces is their sense of place and that this exhibition showcases the talent that is prevalent amongst our region’s schools.

 
 Pupils from the following schools are the project participants: English Martyrs Secondary School and Sixth Form College, Hartlepool, Tollesby School and Easterside Primary School, Middlesbrough, Kilton Thorpe School, Brotton, Mount Pleasant Primary School and Holy Family Primary, Darlington. 

The Light in Darkness
Frances Connolly

Tuesday 11 December 2007 – Saturday 19 January 2008

Connolly’s work is driven by a passionate love of colour, finding inspiration in the ever-changing skies. In recent years her work has become more abstract focusing of rain-washed landscapes in the wake of the darkness of a passing storm. This exhibition features a unique collection of pastel drawings and mixed media work.

Trellis Works
Colin Pearsall

Wednesday 31st October – Saturday 8th December

Trellis Works features paint covered matrices in high relief that buzz with repetition from the twill like lattice, scattering pulsating colours.  Pearsall has a precision of process using almost manufacturing methods, creating colour combinations of feelings making order of chaos.

Art for All
Darlington Society of Arts

Saturday 6th October – Friday 26th October 2007

Darlington Society of Arts was founded in 1922 to stimulate interest and appreciation of the arts in Darlington. The Society’s activities include: Saturday outdoor painting excursions in the summer, annual exhibition in October and a programme of club nights on Wednesday evenings at 7.30 pm in the Arts Studio at the Arts Centre for three terms during the year, when members have the opportunity to see demonstrations, take part in painting or craft related workshops, work from models/still life, or continue with their own work. Visitors are welcome at all our events.

This exhibition illustrates the wide range of styles, subject matter and interests of the society forming a unique collection of work. The artworks include watercolours, acrylics, pastel, collages and oils featuring floral work, landscapes, seascapes, portraits and more, reflecting the variety and quality that has come to characterise this historic Darlington Society.

Sanctuary
Barbara Goodchild

Wednesday 1 August – Saturday 29 September 2007

My work could be classed as Historical Abstraction with Neo-Romantic overtones since inspiration comes from ancient classical gothic images, particularly those of ruins.

Art is a means of achieving a catharsis – it exercises the emotion of the viewer whilst exorcizing the subconscious of the artist. The original sanctuary offered by Castles, Abbeys etc. still subliminally draws the viewer into their quiet perspective.

Some of my inspiration has been from ‘local’ monuments such as – Kirkstall, Byland, Whitby Abbeys, Guisborough Priory and Barnard Castle. My paintings are an emotional response to this architecture – built and painted on a mount of disposable material – these mixed media works contain figurative historical elements whilst at the same time referencing environmental issues.

From differing perspectives architecture motivated artists Keifer and Koshliakov have significantly informed my ideas and working methods. Keifer for his historical narrative using German Neo-Classical architecture intertwined with the Holocaust and Koshlikov’s mixture of classical and modern architectural themes painted on old cardboard to create his own vision of ruins.

What is the ultimate realization of my work? Using remnants of outer reality, with an inner vision to create a bridge – a personal relationship between architecture, paint and the observer, in the words of Hoffman – ‘dreams and reality united in imagination.’

Enchanted Lands
Lisa Nicholson

Tuesday 5 August - Saturday 13 September

Image: Underwater Angels