Janet Haken thinks back to last year’s Tuesday Painters’ exhibition with fondness.
“A resounding success!” was the unanimous consensus on last year’s exhibition. This year, we are hoping for even greater things from our ever-popular annual exhibition. Now, the club welcomes membership from both professional and amateur artists from the local area. There is a lot to see!”
The preview, on Friday August 11, was well-attended and many paintings were sold. It is the first time there has been a preview since 2019 and the centre was full of well-wishers and people keen to take home a wonderful piece of art. It was a resounding success with lots of hard work and the results are stunning.
The members are able to create artworks in many mediums - oil, acrylic, watercolour, wash, pastel, pencil, lino print, mixed media, collage, digital print, and textiles. They are given no constraints on subject matter, style or genre and those attending the exhibition this year were warned to expect to see everything, from photorealism to impressionism; from figurative to abstract; large and miniature. This of course leads to a very interesting mix of paintings and they were beautifully displayed in the two galleries.
Janet explains about this year’s exhibition. “There are 156 framed works of art from 40 artists displayed on the walls and screens, all available for purchase. In addition, a selection of 78 originals and prints are to be found in the browsers placed around the two ‘galleries’, and greetings cards are a relatively recent addition. They proved so popular last year, that members have again produced a wide-ranging selection from their own artwork. As paintings are sold and taken away, artists are restocking, so you may want to visit us again over the course of the exhibition to see what’s new in.
“Mike Funnell, a popular local artist and tutor, has curated the exhibition and we are very happy to report that Mike is also exhibiting! Fortunately, he still has some wonderful pieces for us after the success of his ‘Contrasts’ exhibition in May.
“The philanthropic Richard Adams, our recently appointed club vice-president, is a hugely popular and respected Rye artist whose work is highly sought after. We are therefore so excited to report that he has created a unique piece exclusively for our exhibition: “Of A Tuesday” - a particularly apt composition and title - in his inimitable style. More of his work can be seen at the Rye Society of Artists’ summer exhibition, on now at the
Dance Hall, Conduit Hill, until August 28.
“Will you find a favourite Tuesday Painter? Visitors are invited to vote for their favourite picture. As a commemorative souvenir of the public vote, the ‘winning’ artist not only gets bragging rights, but will be awarded a suitably framed, celebratory certificate! For the artist, the accolade is (almost!) as gratifying as making a sale.
“ArtWrite, Rye, from where many of our members source their art materials and frames and who produced the club’s printed promo material, is offering an award for its own ‘favourite’ artwork. Look out for the certificate on their chosen piece.
“For over 60 years, a Tuesday Painter was invited to paint a ‘poster’ in a waterproof medium, i.e. oil or acrylic, to hang physically, come hell or high water, on the exterior lobby wall at St Mary’s. Last year, Claire Polley’s glorious geometric ‘Window to Rye’ was the subject of the poster (the original quickly sold). This year Tricia Bowler was invited and the result is her beautifully detailed oil painting, ‘Rye from the Salts’. Her work is traditionally very popular with buyers. The painting has been reproduced (as was last year’s) on posters and promotional material but also, for the first time, it is displayed on a 6ft. banner now hanging on the outside lobby wall at St Mary’s Centre.
“If you have picked up one of our promo leaflets, perhaps from the RSA exhibition, and visit our exhibition make sure you ask a steward to stamp it for you. Present it at the Kino café next door to enjoy a discount on drinks and snacks. The Kino café has kindly allowed us to display another six-foot banner inside … the club is very grateful to Neal Whittle for his co-operation, collaboration and good will.”
