Rowley Gallery Blog
As a painter of beaches, when I saw the Giotto frescoes at the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua I was struck by how much parts of it resemble pools of water with angels swimming about in them. The azure of the ceiling and pale cerulean and pinky golds of the chapel walls look to me like a deep plunge pool flanked by sandy cliffs. Continue reading “At The Beach With Giotto (In Mind)”
Three carved wooden panels made by Sir Frank Brangwyn for the facade of The Rowley Gallery in 1933 were destroyed in a fire last week at Chilford Hall. They had been part of The Rowley Gallery showroom until 1941, when the premises were hit by an incendiary bomb during WW2, but amazingly they survived that blaze only to be lost to arsonists 71 years later. Continue reading “Brangwyn’s Frieze No More”
This striking mandala-like collection of foliage was a recent visitor to our workshop. As the winner of the Blake Prize (an Australian art prize in honour of William Blake) it had been on a world tour and its frame was in need of some TLC. It is Above & Beyond by Janine Mackintosh, made from Eucalyptus leaves, linen thread and bookbinder’s gum on canvas and it measures 120 x 120 centimetres. It reminded me of another circular piece that I often see on my way into work each day. Continue reading “Above & Beyond”
Andrew Walton is opening his garden studio this weekend. All welcome. He is having a huge sale and studio clearance so there will be many great bargains on offer! More details from The Rowley Gallery.
This is Fanny Shorter‘s screenprint Common Wood Pigeon (Columba Palumbus). All Fanny’s birds are depicted life size. See flocks of them this weekend at her open studio at Cockpit Arts, Cockpit Yard, Holborn. More details here.
David Stubbs has a small oil painting in this year’s Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. It is titled Green, Yellow & Grey with Pink & Cream (Dutch Pots III) and it sold almost straightaway, though others are available at The Rowley Gallery. David’s painting has been reproduced as an RA card.
Another in what has become an occasional series combining variations and combinations of combs and cwms and combes. This time we feature wood engravings by Howard Phipps. This first is Loscombe, an engraving that appeared in Anna Pavord‘s book The Curious Gardener. Continue reading “Combe Again”
Our neighbours down the road at Kensington Palace just had a makeover. They recently reopened their doors to visitors after months of redecorating. The entrance hall is entrancing. It features a luminous lace light sculpture adorned with Swarovski crystals, in homage to the Royal Dress Collection. It’s tree-like structure appears to be related to the new concourse canopy at King’s Cross. Trees and branches also make an appearance in other rooms. Look out for the bottle-tree and the dolls tree-houses. Here below are more photographs from the palace. Continue reading “Kensington Palace”
Jazmin Velasco is fascinated by all the paraphernalia of printmaking, particularly vintage presses and letterpress printing blocks. Her studio is full of all kinds of mechanical devices for producing multiple images and she loves to mix up the various techniques. Few of her prints are ever straightforward but all are witty and playful. This one’s called It’s Complicated. Continue reading “It’s Complicated”