Yew Tree Gallery

FIONA MILLAIS’s paintings reflect her love of the countryside and her close observation of nature in all seasons.

She reveals what lies beneath the surface of a landscape by scraping back and layering the paint. Subtly conveying the atmosphere of weather and seasons, she paints among fields and woodlands, coastlines and lakes and often includes a feather, pebble or shell in the imagery to trigger the memory of that day’s experience and the sense of place. Fiona is intrigued by how landscapes and shorelines are shaped – by nature, ourselves and our ancestors – leaving traces, marks and echoes. A Fine Art graduate of Newcastle University, she is the great grand-daughter of the Pre-Raphaelite painter St John Everett Millais.

This is a selection of Fiona’s paintings in the exhibition. Images of others can be sent on request.

EMMA CHAMBERS gets very close to her subjects by nestling into the undergrowth as she works, giving her paintings almost an insect’s perspective. Painting in oils or watercolour on gesso panels gives the work a soft, translucent quality. She observes “Initially I feel I am sitting among a complicated tangle of chaos. I paint what I see but what emerges onto the canvas is a sense of order and pattern. The same plants grow in the same direction; the distance between their leaves has a mathematical balance. Nature has a sublime rhythm, but its only when you observe these details closely that this is apparent. Trying to capture this beauty is what excites me most

Further paintings by Emma can be seen on request

Oak and lime wood in the hands of NICOLA HENSHAW are carved with gouge chisels into bird sculptures which are also boxes, concealing hidden eggs, insects and other treasures. Her workshop is rooted in the heart of the New Forest, where she sources her timber. Inspired partly by her love of fables and folktales but also by 18^th century tapestries with their quirky representation of oversized animals and birds, Nicola stamps her own individual mark on these original expressions of wild creatures. Her formative years were spent in Africa where she was captivated by masks, simple forms, carvings and the wildlife.

Equally affected by rocks marked by the weathering of thousands of years, SHIRLEY VAUVELLE treasures her many finds along shoreline and craggy outcrops which feed into her work as a sculptor in clay. She uses stoneware to form her boulder-like shapes, incising with tool marks to give the effect of erosion. She then places on the surface found objects gathered from wild places as symbols of the rhythms of nature – much like Shamanic offerings to the Earth. Her work is a reflection on the ever-changing face of nature, the strength and fragility of our planet and its creatures.

A fine artist with a love of plants and great botanical knowledge, ARDYN GRIFFIN paints large canvases as well as using boxes to give 5-sided views of her subject, revealing a narrative story unfolding around them. A passionate gardener, Ardyn brings to life through her exquisite painting, the flowers and blossoms of different seasons, taking us on a stroll through garden and hedgerow. She lives in a very old half-timbered cottage in rural Worcestershire.

Following our previous exhibition ‘Treasures from JOHN MALTBY’s workshops’ earlier this summer, we were convinced all sources of his previously unseen work were at an end. However, a recent exploration of the loft of the Maltby home has revealed a further box of his early work in wood! Here are a few:

As you know, we always support a specific Charity from the commission on sales in our exhibitions, combined with your kind donations., Appropriately this time we are contributing to the SOIL ASSOCIATION (UK) who do sterling work in encouraging biodiversity and sustainability among farmers and growers. Their website makes fascinating reading - www.soilassociation.org

We look forward to seeing you at the exhibition, or being in touch with you online. Contact gilly@yewtreegallery.com or 01736 786425 or text 07974 001267.