My ‘Horsham District Year of Culture’ Project
2019 was Horsham District’s Year of Culture (HDYoC).
It was a big deal, a whole year of art and cultural events including at the very end a massive, solo exhibition by me to showcase four beautiful new paintings commissioned by the district council.
I called the exhibition “Colourful Places”
“Colourful Places” was a culmination of a year’s work; discovering and visiting different areas within the district, talking to local people, walking A LOT, running away from cows, eating too much cake and getting a Map made with a picture of my face on the front.
One of the main aims of the project was to involve local people, the four commissioned paintings were, after all, for the enjoyment of district residents and so they should be involved. It was a great opportunity to share the commission process with a large, diverse group, to demystyfy it and make it accessible to everyone. I asked for suggestions of views within the district and spent the first three months of the year visiting sites, sketching, photographing and chatting to people I met while out and about.
Eventually after several meetings, a pile of sketches and far too many coffees four views were chosen and painted.
Looking West
Landscape one was the View from Beeding Hill – A great spot for a summer sunset painting. You can see Bramber castle, the river Adur and Chanctonbury Ring from this view point. On the plus side it’s near my home so reaching it is easy, on the down side there are often cows at top of the hill cutting my walks short – cows are really, really scary.
Worth the Wait
A view from Chesworth Farm, one of Horsham’s hidden gems was landscape two. I always met great people and friendly dogs when I visited. You can see the spire of St Marys church from the highest field in the park and in the distance, the Downs look pale purple. I was told by local residents that the trees were glorious in the Autumn and so waited for what seemed like forever to begin my work at this spot. The colours were definitely worth waiting for.
Rewilding
Knepp Estate and ruin was landscape three. The rewilding project at Knepp has created a truly magical place, I visited many times and fell in love. At Knepp you can climb tree houses, visit ruins, bird watch on a lake, walk through a meadow filled with butterflies, see wild deer and experience the scariest cows I’ve ever encountered (I was promised that despite looking scary they are really very friendly). On one cold, frosty morning the light was pink and the ground blue, it was like entering Narnia.
Ambling
A view from the river in Amberley was the fourth landscape. The river Arun ambling through the beautiful landscape, Houghton bridge, the chalk pits and the little white house (I think it was the station masters cottage) all familiar to people as they drive into the district from the west. I met the same man out walking on two separate visits to this spot, he gave me some great advice on views and visited the exhibition when it was on.
The fluffy clouds in my “Ambling” painting were a promise for Nick and Lisa, my contacts on the HDYoC team.
The Exhibition ran for nearly three months at Horsham museum and art gallery, it was put together by the wonderful curator Jeremy Knight. It included sketchbooks, drawings, other works created in response to the project and my map - now covered in notes and arrows. It was both exhausting, brilliant and a huge achievement, I cried.
The Four paintings are now on display in Horsham museum, the map is also there, somewhere. You can buy prints and greeting cards of the paintings in the museum shop and from my website.
Want to know more?
Visit the Horsham District website Blog about the exhibition, here.