Rowley Gallery Blog
It’s April 2023, and I will be 70 years old. What better way to mark the occasion than to plant 70 trees, not in the ground, but in the window of the Rowley Gallery. I sent out a call to 70 artists and got lots of replies. I could plant a small forest. So here’s a small celebration of trees, of their variety and complexity, their shelter and enchantment, and all their green, filtered, numinous enlightenment. Continue reading “70 Trees”
Watercolours Liz Somerville
Eggardon Hill is an Iron Age hill fort to the north-east of Bridport in Dorset. I live on a farm half-way up it; the hill dominates the landscape behind us and in front there is a far-reaching view across Lyme Bay to Devon. My studio looks directly out on to Eggardon, the window at the back perfectly frames it. Continue reading “An Eggardon Summer”
A mixed up mishmash of pictures, but connected by a shared interest in grids of one kind or another. I cast about, wondering what to include, but there’s a surprising amount in the net. I’m stealing the limelight with one of mine from years ago, so you’ll need to step in close to see over the top of it. But it’s a moveable feast. We’ll change it around, take things out, put things in, so please keep checking for updates. Continue reading “A February Window”
We came to Symondsbury for breakfast, the best coffee and bacon roll in months, then down past the church and up the hill to Shute’s Lane. We were staying under Eggardon and we’d already driven down a tunnel of green lanes to get here. This one was closed to traffic so now we were on foot. Continue reading “A Holloways Walk”
Twelve framed hand-coloured linocuts by Liz Somerville in our window throughout August and September. They’re part of a suite of 48 prints called The Ways, celebrating four ancient paths through England. There’s also a limited edition concertina booklet of all the images in miniature. Continue reading “The Ways”
Eggardon Hill in west Dorset, 5 miles east of Bridport, overlooking the Marshwood Vale to the west. The Fort is Iron Age and is at the end of a long, little used, Roman road from Dorchester. On a clear day you can see from the Devon coast to the Purbecks in the east. Continue reading “The Drop”
The figure on the horse is George III riding away from Weymouth. The story goes that during a stay in the early 1800s he promised to give the town a substantial amount of money, so much that they carved a dedication in the local church with his name and a blank space for the exact amount, and gave a promise to carve a likeness on the hills rising behind the town. Unfortunately, he left leaving nothing. The locals were so angry they carved £000 after his name in the church and did indeed complete a likeness on the hills, but made it so he was riding away from the town (back to London).
Liz Somerville / The Rowley Gallery
There is something addictive about the Dorset coastline, I just can’t get enough. It always surprises me with its twists and turns and steep promontories. Continue reading “To Old Harry”
On Sunday I went down to Roche Court near Salisbury to see John Hubbard’s Paintings From The 1960s. They are beautiful atmospheric condensations on canvas and paper, displayed in a small light filled gallery in a corner of a garden overwhelmed with sculpture. This tranquil space is a refuge and standing before Rocky Woodland especially I was in a green shade reminded of the undercliff at Lyme Regis. There’s a lot to see. But I was not allowed to photograph it. So I will make do with some we framed earlier, for another exhibition, but one I now discover has just finished! Continue reading “Dorset Landscapes”
