The local amateur art group Tuesday Painters' annual exhibition opened last weekend with more than 150 exhibits by about 40 artists in two rooms in St Mary's Centre in front of the Kino cinema in Lion Street.
The town's Mayor Cllr Jonathan Breeds opened the exhibition and is pictured, right, with one of the artists exhibiting, Priscilla Ryan. Her painting of a dancer, very reminiscent of the film "Cabaret", was among those that sold early and featured a red dot.
Prices started from around £45 and moved up to £325 so were somewhat more affordable than the recent exhibition by Rye Society of Artists (where some prices were in thousands) and, while the first room featured oils, pastels and acrylics, the second room was devoted particularly to watercolours. This was however strictly an exhibition of painters and, while some multi-media exhibits were drifting into other areas, this was not a showplace for ceramics or sculptures.
The subject matter is varied, including local scenes as well as portraits, and some were marked with green dots meaning they were not for sale. No doubt some of these were about personal memories, but it was disappointing to find that some of the more interesting exhibits had green dots.
However the Tuesday Painters (whose President is pictured, right) can be proud of the range and quality on show (which seemed to be limited to five items per member) and there were at least two I thought of buying - but the problem, as ever, is wall space.
Every exhibit has a clear description alongside it but I was slightly disappointed, with such a number of exhibits, not to have a catalogue I could take away while I pondered on possible purchases.
The exhibition is open 10am-6pm every day until Bank Holiday Monday, which is the final day. And, at that point, the big question is not only "where can I hang this?", but also "how do I get it home ?"
Photos : Kenneth Bird
