Vanessa Cuthbert abandoned her studio to create a series of studies inspired by the Lancashire landscape. Barbara Waite reports
A contemporary artist with a worldwide reputation, Vanessa Cuthbert has completed a six-month series of works inspired by the Lancashire landscape.
Moving out of her studio, her experimentation spanned a range of disciplines including drawing and printing as well as colourful acrylics. The outcome was a series of works, some abstract others figurative, and the subjects were wide and varied.
Vanessa explained: ‘Last year I based myself in a studio in Mossley from where I was making paintings, prints and drawings from direct observations I made in the area. I engaged with subjects around Delph, Uppermill and Mossley walking and drawing in nature, and making notes in the area.’
Sometimes she produced work from memory, translating external spaces and responding through a number of processes. But as is obvious from this scene of a snowy Delph, colour is a central element in her landscape paintings.
‘Familiar visual signs are turned into abstract layers of colour and form, inviting the viewer to move into a space, which heightens their experience of the beauty of the land. I have also tried to capture the changing light of the region.
‘While in Delph I was deeply inspired by the sudden changes in weather and produced some work about ice after waking up one morning to find an unexpected covering of snow. The results reminded me about the impermanent nature of things,’ she added.
Using footage from the North West Film Archive captured by amateurs over the last century, Vanessa recently made a film which was shown at the Museum of Architecture and Design in Ljubljana and more locally by the BBC on the Big Screen at the Triangle in Manchester.
Since graduating from the Royal College of Art (with Distinction) and lecturing in art for many years she has exhibited in galleries and festivals worldwide including Slovenia, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal, India, Mexico, Costa Rica, USA, China and Japan, as well as the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in London.
Her original paintings start at £650 up to £2,000 – for more details visit her website www..kiteworksconsulting.co.uk or check out facebook.com/redshedpress
