An atmospheric study of Swanage Pier has been chosen as the best piece of art in an annual exhibition by Purbeck Arts Club in Swanage.
Artist Katie Heslop was presented with her award for best in show at the start of a 10 day exhibition at the Catholic Church Hall in Rempstone Road, Swanage.
Chair of Purbeck Arts Club Barry Goulding with judge and local artist Sharon James in front of the winning painting, Swanage Pier by Katie Heslop
Praised for its boldness
The oil painting was praised for its boldness and the looseness of its brush strokes while still being instantly recognisable as Swanage Pier.
Competition judge Sharon James said that although there were many more meticulous renditions of the pier, Katie Heslop had painted a very evocative image by not being a slave to the technical aspects.
Winning entries
- Best oil in show, Katie Heslop with Swanage Pier
- Best watercolour in show, Susan King with Stormy Seas
- Best acrylic in show, Jenny Ellis with Cottage 1
- Best mixed media artwork in show, Monica Hawley with Snowy Teasels
- Most improved artist in show, Barry Goulding.
Category winners from left: Barry Goulding, most improved; Susan King, best watercolour; Katie Heslop, best oil and best in show; Monica Hawley, best mixed media; Jenny Ellis, best acrylic
Raffle for signed paintings by top Dorset artist
Purbeck Arts Club exhibition is open to the public up to and including Bank Holiday Monday 26th August 2024, with a wide variety of paintings, prints, greetings cards and pottery on show, most of it available to buy.
A raffle is being run throughout the exhibition, for two original signed and mounted paintings by local Dorset artist Jake Winkle, a former finalist in the Daily Mail’s Not the Turner Prize competition who has been commissioned to paint for the National Trust.
A signed and mounted painting of an alpaca by Jake Winkle is being raffled at the exhibition
Village, a collage by Swanage artist Susan King
Butterfly meadows in mixed media by Monica Hawley
Professional artists run workshops
Purbeck Arts Club in Swanage, until recently known as The Studio Workshop, was founded more than 70 years ago to help boost post-war morale and by the 1950s, had more than 500 members.
Jayne Ashton of Purbeck Arts Club said:
“The world has changed since then and our leisure time is spent very differently now. Purbeck Art Club survives with fewer members but still with the same aims – to nurture interest in art.
“The club is run purely by volunteers and we would like to thank Douglas Addison and Gina Marshall, previous lead volunteers who ensured that the club is running today.
“During the winter, professional artists from outside the club run two-hour workshops using different media, allowing our members to learn new skills using watercolours, oils, pastel, acrylic and mixed media.
“In summer, members draw and paint outside at various local scenic locations, and we thank all those who open their doors to enable us to visit spectacular gardens and homes.”
Seaside Flowers and Summer Cornfield pen and ink art by Yvonne Adams
Tide’s Out at Kimmeridge, an acrylic on show from Linda Wallis
The Drinking Dragon, an acrylic by Ruth Mensikov
Friendly and supportive environment
Although most of the art in the club’s annual exhibition is for sale, they are not painted with the aim of making money and funds from successful sales generally just go towards buying more materials.
The club will meet on Tuesday mornings from 1st October 2024 until 29th April 2025 for the winter and spring terms.
It provides a friendly and supportive environment for artists of all abilities, from those who have not painted since leaving school to experienced painters in water colours, acrylics and oils.
The club offers workshop tutorials from its own members as well as local artists to help them produce higher quality art, with competition judge Sharon James due to host a tutorial on portrait painting this autumn.
Sharon James judged the 2024 exhibition’s annual best in show competition
Sharon’s own paintings are currently on display at the Fine Foundatio Gallery at Durlston Country Park
“Everyday domestic scenes”
Sharon is currently holding her own exhibition at the Fine Foundation Gallery at Durlston Country Park in Swanage, until Friday 23rd August 2024, entitled The Art of Motherhood, capturing everyday scenes in her home of three lively young children.
Speaking about her exhibition Sharon James said:
“These paintings came as a direct result of lockdown, spending so much time with the family and having little inspiration from the outside world, so I turned my gaze inside and painted what I saw.
“Figurative painting was a really big departure for me as I’m known as an abstract painter, but I still do paint both styles.
“I wanted to capture everyday domestic scenes from my point of view that are relatable to parents or anyone with their own experiences of childhood. It’s also social commentary – this is what happens in a house when you have three children.
“The comments book at the exhibition is full of mums saying that the pictures really resonate with them, or others picking out their favourites, and saying they are reminiscent of their childhood.”
Breakfast time brings a moment of peace in the James household
Everyday domestic scenes from a family with three lively children
“Very accessible, very relatable”
Sharon added:
“The paintings are very accessible, very relatable and seem to have been very well received, which is nice.
“Unusually, none of them are for sale – my father in law is horrified, but I think it would be weird to have pictures of my kids hanging on other peoples’ walls.
“My idea is that the exhibition will tour and generate interest in my work that will lead to other commissions, so the pictures will make money in their own way.
“And perhaps one day when the children aren’t quite so young I may reconsider selling them.”
Further information
- Follow the Purbeck Arts Club on its Facebook page
- More about artist Sharon James
