"Natural Inspirations"

10 - 29 August 2021, 10:00 - 16:00, Tuesday - Sunday, closed Mondays except for Bank Holidays

 Contemporary Art by Joan Aitchison.

Growing up in Wrea Green, I'd be off playing in the fields, making dens, picking blackberries and enjoying the outside world. Both my parents were artists and authors; I grew up around creativity and an appreciation of all living things.

My artistic leanings were supported by my teachers at Queen Mary School and I went on to study Art along with Education at Warwick University. I made huge wall hangings, full of texture and pattern.

My own art then took a back seat for a number years. I enjoyed exploring and encouraging creativity through my roles as a wife, mother, teacher and singer. Later, as children flew the nest and work subsided, it was time to prioritise my art again...

Inheriting my mother's watercolour paints when she passed away 12 years ago catalysed my adoption of a new medium.

There was something comforting about using that same palette and, as I was spending a large part of my time in the Lake District and abroad, it was definitely a more transportable medium than threads and fabric.

Watercolours are rather unpredictable and random at times, but capitalising on that very thing, is what makes them interesting. I'm always learning. My style is varied and evolves as I experiment with adding different media and types of watercolour. I think playing with ideas on how to represent what I see, is my key enjoyment.

And I do love what I see; the colours, textures and shapes; the smells and meditative absorption of walking in the countryside or by the sea .....yes , that is what inspires me to paint!

Exhibition poster

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