The School of Art is currently holding the exhibition Another Line to Follow, a collaboration between 5 artists who met through studying or teaching Fine Art at Aberystwyth University, June Forster, Carolyn Wallace, Rachel Rea, Tom Voyce and Alysia Webster.
I'm not sure whether it is due to the artworks themselves or the connection I have between several of the artists, but this exhibition stands as one the best I have been to. I absolutely love the concept of the whole exhibition, showing how easy it can be to be inspired by another work of art. The artists collaborated by following lines in each other's work, hence the title of the exhibition. They used postcards and photographs to keep in touch and show each other what they'd been working on, and I love the way some of the postcards are displayed in the exhibition.
A lot of the work I have produced in the past couple of years has been greatly inspired by Nant-Y-Moch, an area of Wales that my painting tutor June Forster told me about. In Another Line to Follow, many of the artworks are also based on Nant-Y-Moch, which is another reason I feel so connected to this exhibition. On the left is a painting by June Forster in which the greens and purples used reflect the cool colours that can be found in nature. Forster has used layers to give depth and substance to this painting which causes each small area to be interesting on their own.
Tom Voyce's interests seem to lie more in street scenes, using straight lines and angular shapes to give an architectural appearance. Voyce also displays clear understanding of colour theory, using complimentary colours for areas of shadow and cooler blues for aerial perspective.
The use of tone in Voyce's painting Cityscape shown on the right, is very effective in conveying a sense of light in the scene. And using large blocks for shadowy areas shows confidence and intent.
I particularly like the intentional lack of defined edges and straight line towards the top of the painting, which gives the impression of distance, as if that area is out of focus.
Voyce takes inspiration from artist Richard Diebenkorn which is evident in the way he uses line to split up the composition into a few larges areas.
Alysia Webster and Rachel Rea both produced several small, square, abstract paintings, inspired by each other's work. Their use of thin layers, creates depth and adds more interesting aspects to each piece.
The contrast between warm orange and peach colours alongside side cool blues and purples, helps to create a balanced composition.
It is evident that both artists have used different tools in their paintings such as palette knives and brushes, which adds an experimental and loose appearance.
On the right is Webster's painting Warmer Places and below is Rea's Painting Farm Hill Landscape.
The amount of variety on display in this exhibition whilst still remaining harmonious, is something I will always remember. I have taken so much inspiration from each on the paintings and I hope to incorporate some of the colours, compositions or painting techniques into my own work, as though I am joining in with their collaboration.
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