Valerie K Wright

I live in North Cornwall in a wooded valley close to the Camel estuary. The woodland is a nature reserve belonging to the Cornwall Wildlife Trust. 

 

This area is a paradise for painting outdoors; there are the open spaces of the coast and river estuary and in contrast the secluded environment of woods and sunken lanes.

 

Atmosphere, light, colour and a strong connection with a place are major influences on what I choose to paint. For outdoor landscape painting I use oils, acrylics or pastels. In the studio experimenting with a variety of materials is important to me. I often employ mixed media, collage and printing techniques and find this exciting and a prompt to my imagination.

 

Each year in August I have had a joint exhibition with the potter Caroline Bousfield Gregory, at Rock in North Cornwall.  After thirty years we celebrated our last show in 2023. Now I am part of a small group of artists who will  be showing at the same place this August 2024

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EXHIBITION 2024

COMMON THREADS

At the Rock Village Institute, Rock, Cornwall PL27 6LQ

23rd to 27th August.   Open 10 - 5    Free parking.

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About the Paintings

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Since lockdown descended in 2022  I have stayed at home and painted outdoors in Hawkes Wood through every season of the year.

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My particular focus of interest has been the way the sunlight enters the woods, creating patterns, pools of light and areas of strong contrast. This last winter my interest has expanded to moments of twilight, mist and soft gradations of colour.

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The woodland has always been a source of imaginative inspiration for me, slowly revealing secrets, as I go on looking and experiencing. I hope this will continue for as long as we remain living here. I think it is one of the major gifts of my life.

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However, a surprise invitation from a friend in July 2023, plunged me into a different environment for one day a week. I was invited to join a small group of artists to paint in the newly opened Prideaux Walled Garden in Padstow. It is not entirely unknown to me, as I used to visit, buy vegetables and even paint there in the mid 1990s. I loved it then and even more so now and I am especially enjoying being there with others who also find it a place of peace and inspiration.

 

This year at the exhibition at Rock I will be showing garden paintings along with the other members of the group. Besides paintings there will be prints, photography, collage, textiles, drawings and ceramics.

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Below are some photos of paintings in progress in the Walled Garden and in the woods.  Click on the pictures for a full view.

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