Valerie McLean

There are around fourteen venues to visit this year around Ledbury, more than any other town in Herefordshire. For more information … www.h-art.org

I have been painting a large raven to hang on my fence and greet visitors to my studio !

 

I have two paintings accepted for the Hereford Open exhibition, held as part of h’Art, at the City Gallery. The work is selected for this annual exhibition on merit and the artists all live, study or work in Herefordshire. The exhibition runs from 7th September – 30th October. …closed Mondays. This painting..titled Anthony was made after making dozens of drawings based on the face, while attending a master class with Jesse Leroy Smith R.A. in Cornwall earlier this  year .

I am again opening my studio for Hereford Art Week 7 – 15th September. The brochures are now available from all galleries, T.I.C.’s and other usual venues around the county or visit  www.h-art.org.uk. I am revisiting and reworking the motif of the crow as messenger in a new series of small square paintings alongside new paintings about memory and sacred places.

Please visit our Ledbury BooksArts exhibition at the Shell House Gallery in the Homend, Ledbury HR81BT ..open every day, 10a.m.-5p.m. during the Ledbury Poetry Festival. 5th -14th July. www.shellhousegallery.co.uk

An exhibition of artist’s books as objects, ideas, time-travel, mind mapping, revolutions; unique and poetic.

I attended a BookArts workshop at the Shellhouse gallery in Ledbury with Guy Begbie, who supported the group to make  unique concertina books incorporating many different techniques. I decided to prepare paper with inks in advance to use for my book with the idea of drawing into the colours and shapes. I plan to  record memories of walks with friends in the local countryside

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“The book is perhaps the most intimate, easily accessible and portable of all the art forms.

 The book as a visual medium can provide links and meeting points between art disciplines.

 Guy Begbie demonstrates this, in his practice as a multi-disciplinary artist. ”  www.guybegbie.com

I attended another workshop with stained glass artist,  Nicolas Hopwood at Brillie, a stunning location near Hay on Wye. The panel that I made is to be incorporated into my front door, alongside the crow window made at a previous workshop. Please see Nicky’s own website for information about her courses. www.nicolashopwood.co.uk

I was pleased to meet Professor Malcolm Thurlby when he gave a lecture at Hereford cathedral last night to coincide with the launch of the new edition of his book The Herefordshire School of Romanesque Sculpture, which is essential reading for anyone interested in the subject. Professor Thurlby gave a splendid talk focusing on the link between images of The School,  paying particular regard to sculpture in Hereford Cathedral. I was able to give Professor Thurlby a copy of my book Kilpeck and the Romanesque in Herefordshire which is my personal response in visual images, often sketchbook pages  of this fascinating sculpture from the twelfth century.

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For more information about new paintings on my open Facebook page      www.facebook.com/valeriemcleanpaintngs. Please click on ‘Like’ for regular updates into your newsfeed.

I have just registered for h’Art, which is Herefordshire’s open studio event in  September……  a long time now to plan for the event . I chose a recent painting from my new series about crows for the brochure.

After picking up two paintings from the R.W.A. Open exhibition, I was pleased to deliver them to the Applestore Gallery in Hereford, along with nine more, selected from my series  about memory.  The work is about reminiscence rather than nostalgia and I strive to capture a moment in time  as we remember an experience from the past. The exhibition entitled “Third Servings ” continues until the 23rd February and the gallery is closed on Saturday afternoon, Sunday and Monday.