Freedom in Painting in Porthleven, 5-11 Oct, 2 Places Left

Artist Sara Bor on 'Freedom in Porthleven' 2013

A wonderful opportunity to work in a small group with colourist and landscape artist Ashley Hanson in the ‘Lifeboat Art Studio’ in Porthleven, ideally situated on the edge of the harbour wall directly facing the sea. It is designed for painters who wish to enhance their creativity and look towards abstraction and beyond the representational. During the course Ashley will inspire and encourage artists to produce their own personal interpretation of Porthleven.

This 5 Day course is £320 - only 2 places left.

The course will start with an introduction on the Sunday afternoon, followed by four intense working days in the studio and around the harbour. The fifth day, (Friday) will be dedicated to transforming the studio into an exhibition space open to the public from 12 - 7.30pm, where the work will be available for sale.

'Porthleven 6'

Ashley has a very special connection with Porthleven: the paintings of Peter Lanyon (in particular 'Porthleven' made in 1951) had a major influence on his work and this unspoilt fishing town, with its double harbour and iconic clock tower was the inspiration for Ashley's first series of paintings about Cornwall.

There are now 18 paintings in the series and 'Porthleven 6' has been selected for the 'Brilliant Colour Exhibition' at Falmouth Art Gallery, 20 Sep - 22 Nov 2014 . This exhibition celebrates work from some of Cornwall's finest abstract artists including Sir Terry Frost, Grace Gardner and Patrick Heron.

To book or find out more contact:
 denise@ashleyhanson.co.uk or call 01208 77656

Testimonials from 'Freedom in Painting in Porthleven 2013'

Since Cornwall and being back in my studio, my work has moved on.Wonderful environment, wise criticism, excellent company.
Helen Herbert

I found the 4 days of concentrated work very useful in exploring different ways of painting.
Rebecca Child

'City of Glass 15- (Stillman walks..)' selected for The Discerning Eye

 

The exhibition is at the Mall Galleries in London, (admission is free) and opens Thurs 13 November until Sunday 23 November 2014. This years selectors were artists Emma Green and Emma Stibbon RA, collectors Charles Ingram and Dr Giles Brown, and critics Simon Martin and Helen Sumpter,

 

Here are my thoughts at the time of making:

 

'This is the smallest painting yet in the New York Trilogy series. It's always a problem going from big to small - there is no room, no space! - but I think that problem has been resolved. 

 

In this painting I returned to the idea of how to place both the figure of Stillman and the map-shape of Manhattan in the same painting, without Stillman appearing giant.  The painting started with Stillman in a gallery, walking past a painting containing the Manhattan shape ('City of Glass 1') but the verticality, which has been a constant throughout the series, was missing. I think the solution above is far more intriguing and ambiguous. 

 

The vertical grid on the right is a specific section of the Upper West Side. As 'detective' Quinn discovers, Stillman's daily walks, (where he invisibly writes the letters that spell T.H.E.T.O.W.E.R.O.F.B.A.B.E.L.) are all within 'a narrowly circumscribed area, bounded on the north by 110thSt, on the south by 72nd Ave, on the west by Riverside Park, and on the east by Amsterdam Avenue. No matter how haphazard his journeys- and each day his itinerary was different- Stillman never crossed these borders' *

 

*from 'The New York Trilogy' by Paul Auster