ArtMANAC
ArtÓ in Stow-on-the-Wold
ROYAL ACADEMY SUCCESS STORY
THE
#1 SPRING/sUMMER 2024
Charlotte Russell Stoneham’s ‘Jugs A Trio’
Award winning portrait artist
Emily Elton's artistic alchemy
all the elements
Insights from Lindy Allfrey
no ordinary gallery
IN THIS ISSUE
'Head in the clouds' - by silvia O'Neill OAlastair Gibson
Editor's letter
Editor's Letter Royal Academy Success Artistic Alchemy Musings on Art Spotlight on Lindy Allfrey Featured Gallery - ArtÓ Art News Colour Me Directory
Welcome to the very first edition of The Artmanac, a celebration and exploration of art in and around the Cotswolds. We’ll delve into the lives and inspirations of established and emerging artists in the area and showcase exciting projects, exhibitions and events. We start with a focus on Stow-on-the-Wold, a well-known art destination for visitors and locals alike, and its talented creatives. Thank you to all the artists for their support, especially Nur Ilham for our beautiful front cover, 'Lady at the Piano'. Enjoy the inaugural issue! Emma Bovill, Editor
'Engineered emotion - Heart of Gold' - by Alastair Gibson
'jugs a trio'
After studying at the London College of Fashion and Central St Martins University of the Arts, Charlotte Russell Stoneham worked in both London and New York, designing fabric and embroideries, wallpaper designs and doing freelance illustration. She moved to the Cotswolds in 2018 and works from her home studio between Stow-on-the-Wold and Broadway. She enjoys the creative vibe in Stow and uses Cotswold Art Supplies for art materials and for framing her artworks, which focus on still life. Charlotte’s piece ‘Jugs A Trio’, a mixed media watercolour, screen print and gouache, was exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition 2023. Charlotte delighted in the experience of ‘Varnishing Day’, the annual tradition surrounding the opening of the longest continuously staged exhibition of contemporary artwork in the world. ‘It’s such a special and joyful day with everyone so thrilled for each other to be there. We all congregate in the courtyard at the Royal Academy, around the statue of Sir Joshua Reynolds, with a steel band playing and then as a procession of artists walk to a wonderful church service at St James,’ she explains. ‘Then it’s back to the Royal Academy' to see the summer exhibition and find your own painting in one of the many rooms. As an exhibiting artist you receive a special pass so you can visit the Summer Exhibition as many times as you like, which is such a treat.' studiocrs.co.uk @studiocrs
royal academy success
'jugs a trio' - by charlotte russell stoneham
emily modelling a bowen dryden dress for THE brides beyond boundaries photo shoot
Emily Elton is an experimental, self-taught artist who paints with intuitive freedom within her chosen medium of acrylic. Based near Stow-on-the-Wold and with artworks exhibited at Stow's ArtÓ gallery and previously at Studio 36 in Cheltenham, she is making a name in the local arts scene. Although making has always been important to her, it was while on maternity leave before her son was born that she first starting actively producing art. ‘As a teenager it was more a hobby and a case of being playful than thinking it was a direction I could go in,’ she explains. ‘I grew up believing art wasn’t a stable future. I could be creative, but a creative path itself wasn’t encouraged.’ She has spent the last seven years honing her skills, using acrylic paint to create fluid forms on canvas. ‘I use air and heat to attempt to control the uncontrollable,’ she reveals. ‘There’s a lot of work involved in the preparation of the piece but once it’s started there’s no turning back. I feel a huge synergy energetically with what’s happening on the canvas which evokes a feeling of connection with nature.’ Jackson Pollock, working on the flat in the style of action painting, is just one of the artists Emily names as influential on her style. ‘I’ve had some interesting conversations with abstract artist Danny Cawley and will be learning about oils with Chris Guest this year in Rome,’ she says. ‘I’m constantly drawn to alternative methods and mediums and I’m excited that I’ll be forced outside my comfort zone. I’d also like to evolve my skills with sculpture.’ A firm believer that the worst piece of advice an artist can be given is to find their niche, Emily is an advocate for trial and error. ‘I enjoy what I do but I know there are other things within me and I don’t want to create limits for what I might make or share,’ she admits. ‘The only common theme in my work is it’s very colourful and messy! None of the artists I admire are producing what I’m producing.’ As a single mum with a full-time job, time is currently Emily’s largest creative challenge, but one she is overcoming with the support of friends and family who help her pursue and find energy for her art. ‘The time pressure sometimes leaves me feeling there’s not much room for error, and yet to produce excellent work I know I need to produce lots of awful work,’ she ruminates. ‘I recently moved to a new studio which gives me more room – mentally and physically – to have more pieces on the go, which I find really helps my process.’ The ‘Four Elements of Alchemy’ series commissioned by ArtÓ gallery was an important step for Emily as a professional artist. ‘The creative director had seen a few of my pieces which had evoked ideas of water within him and so he suggested a series to represent all four elements,’ she discloses. ‘It was only through this opportunity that I realised I use all four elements to create each of my artworks. Earth is represented in the paint pigments, I add water to the acrylic to make it more fluid, I use a hair dryer and blow through a straw to change where the paint is flowing and I use a blow torch to reveal different layers of paint.’ Emily has been involved in other creative collaborations including modelling for a provocative ‘Brides Beyond Boundaries’ photoshoot at ArtÓ gallery with renowned photographer Nikki Kirk and embellishing prints of other artists’ works. ‘It’s great exposure to other approaches and prompts me to use techniques I wouldn’t naturally have explored,’ she says. Although settled in her Cotswolds village home near Stow-on-the-Wold, she still feels the pull of the wild. ‘Nature inspires me deeply. I grew up in a coastal location and am happiest by the ocean, yet I love where I live,’ she muses. ‘By creating pieces that evoke the movement of water, I’m filling that void and reconnecting to my formative years by the sea.’ @emily.elton.art
'water'
artistic alchemy
'EARTH'
emily modelling a bowen dryden dress for THE brides beyond boundaries photo shoot - photo by carlé & moss
Musings on art
'new depths' - by Miranda carter
editor's
I’ve been carrying out a straw poll of artists for several months. At exhibitions, in galleries, at art classes and (the biggest treat of all) within the studios of artists I know. I ask them all the same question. When you’re producing art, what’s more important to you, the act of creating or the end result? With only one exception, the process held greater weight than the output. We live in a time where we’re lucky to be offered frequent and detailed insights into an artist’s creative practice without needing to attend a masterclass. I’m a particular fan of Chris Guest’s reels on Instagram, which reveal a surprising economy with his brush strokes and how each one plays a vital role in the final composition, and Amanda Eve’s TikTok videos, which, cleverly paired with music, are meditative in their straightforwardness. Technology has given us a free, bite-size and accessible way to connect to these moments of making, to capture a wisp of an artwork’s ‘aura’, but there’s not much that beats buying direct from an artist – long live the pop up and private view – or passionate gallerist and discussing the how and the why behind an artwork that grabs us, while sharing the same oxygen with other humans. If I hadn’t spoken to Malmesbury-based artist Miranda Carter at her open evening at affordable exhibition space Spring Cheltenham, I wouldn’t have learnt that in her abstract landscapes she was finally painting what she’d felt unable to in her earlier art school days. Life is certainly not linear, and from its conception to reception, neither is art. It’s the very thing that makes it compelling, challenging and enriching. mirandacarter.com @mirandacarterart
Lindy Allfrey is an award-winning artist based in Stow-on-the-Wold specialising in portraiture. She runs workshops (which also include still life and life drawing courses) from her inviting home studio. Her portrait of fellow Stow creative, Kariné Gazarian of Artful Mindscape, was Highly Commended at the Broadway Arts Festival 2023 and also won the Visitor’s Choice prize. Here she shares some insights about the piece and her life as an artist. How did you come to choose Kariné as your subject? Painting portraits is one of the most difficult genres in my opinion, mostly because of how we see naturally. The left brain, our practical side, takes over as we’re so used to seeing people either when in conversation or observing. The brain will magnify the eyes, the size of head, it will exaggerate features and distort them and this is all accepted by the left brain. Training the eye and right brain to override the left is crucial. Kariné is a neuroscientist and has taught me a lot about how the brain sees, so she was the perfect subject for a portrait. It was the first one I began to experiment with, especially in the background and with her shawl, in order to create a contemporary portrait whilst still keeping to the beauty of form in her face. I got out the modelling paste and a pallet knife for the background and set to work! Talk us through your process as a portrait artist. The process begins with drawing a proportional box, carving out the outline of the face, getting the large shapes in such as the orbital cavities (eye sockets) in raw umber, a natural pigment, and using white for highlights. I then paint in monochrome for the form, let that dry, then at the next sitting start adding colour, mosaic shapes and continue until complete. What are the most challenging and rewarding aspects of portraiture? I love portraiture, the challenge to get a likeness and feeling of the person in the painting, which I personally think is hugely important, is what makes me buzz. I really enjoy finding solutions using measurements and shapes. It’s such a privilege having people to sit for you as an artist and creates a special relationship, although achieving a likeness while also getting to know them is a juggle! Working in different locations with someone you’ve only just met is also challenging. Do you have any rituals to stay connected to your creativity? My ritual is to always paint portraits from life, it’s the only way to achieve the essence of the person. I keep this up, so every week I’m constantly practicing. I have a model once a week in the studio and a group of us paint portraits of them, it’s such bliss! Life drawing is also a great genre which I’m very lucky to also be able to offer here at the studio in Stow-on-the-Wold. What about the local arts scene inspires you as an artist? In recent years Stow has changed from being an antiques hub and now has many art galleries of which I’m one with a studio attached where I paint still life and portraits and where I teach portraiture. There’s a lovely community feel to our art town backed up by the wonderful Cotswold Art Supplies shop. My paintings can be found in my gallery, Lindy Allfrey Art on Sheep Street, or at Atelier8 down the road and people are most welcome to pop in, browse and chat.
'karine' - by lindy allfrey
Lindy Allfrey
lindyallfrey.co.uk @lindyallfrey
Spotlight on
Artó
nO oRDINARY GALLERY
photo by carlé & moss
Where ArtÓ is tucked away in Stow-on-the-Wold’s historic Brewery Yard off Sheep Street and attracts the inquisitively minded as a result. Part of a community of small businesses with creative flair all contributing to the rich fabric of the artistic scene in Stow, visitors can enjoy ArtÓ’s eclectic and evolving range of contemporary art, art books and curiosities over coffee. What Maverick by design, the ArtÓ collection includes carbon fibre sculptures by pioneering artist Alastair Gibson, gender stereotype-challenging bronzes by Jenny Nijenhuis, bold mixed media pieces by Lucinda Lyons and intricate artworks crafted from automotive vinyl by Joel Clark. Flamboyant wallpaper, design-led furniture and funky neons create a vibrant backdrop against which art really pops. Why ArtÓ is driven by a passion for the arts and has an ‘owned not loaned’ ethos, meaning artists are supported financially upfront so they can carry on with their creative practice. This alternative approach makes for authentic and exciting collaborations with established artists including William Thomas, Suki Nabarro and Nur Ilham and shines a light on emerging talents, offering opportunities for them to raise their profile. myarto.co.uk @artostow
atelier8.uk @atelier_8_stow
COLOUR ME
ART NEWS
aTELIER8 relaunches as creative community hub
Atelier8 in Stow-on-the-Wold has reopened with a new team of local residents running exercise and wellbeing classes, inspiring creative and teenager-specific workshops, regular life drawing and children’s art classes, community board games sessions, supper clubs and changing art exhibitions from local artists and photographers. It also stocks natural supplements and offers health support to anyone that needs it. The venue has already hosted a soul spa retreat, ostrich egg decorating, holistic tarot readings and a movement lab. ‘We're growing our events and creative workshop schedule for all ages with the aim that there’s something for everyone at Atelier8,’ enthuses creative producer Diana Findlay. ‘The beautiful space is full of character and is also available to rent for private events, birthday parties and small dining experiences.’ Describing herself as ‘1/8 of Atelier8’, alluding to the collaborative effort behind the recent reimagining of the venue, Diana and the rest of the team are excited that Atelier8 will be welcoming Stow-based artist Lindy Allfrey (also featured in this magazine) for an exhibition launching on 17 May. ‘Lindy will be running weekly art classes and is a huge advocate for the arts in Stow, having previously organised an art festival for the town.’ Atelier8 can be found on Park Street.
'TDK MIX TAPE' - by william thomas
THE LOCAL ART SCENE
Galleries ArtÓ myarto.co.uk Atelier8 atelier8.uk Clarendon Fine Art clarendonfineart.com Cotswold Art Supplies cotswoldartsupplies.com Cotswold Galleries cotswoldoriginalart.com Fosse Gallery fossegallery.com Peter Martin Gallery petermartingallery.com Red Rag redraggallery.co.uk Studios and workshops Artful Mindscape artfulmindscape.co.uk Lindy Allfrey Studios lindyallfrey.co.uk
@theartmanacmag
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'waterloo' - by william thomas