Vidya Wolton

I may have to leave my artboxes behind for now and give way to painting in earnest. Possibilities are opening up with some oil painting today, all quite abstract and actually re-working some older pieces from last year and before. It’s been some time since I’ve worked in oils, favouring the immediacy of acrylic and household emulsion more recently. I also dipped into some graphic works, drawings based on the figure mainly, with a strange take on fashion. I’m now moving between portraiture and pure abstraction in the usual state of unpredictability that constitutes my studio practice.

Open Studios - Jubilee Stores

The past two weekends have seen Open Studios taking place here on the Isle of Wight. I was able to cover a bit of ground and here at the Jubilee Stores caught up with artist Lisa Traxler in her new studio space, after what had been a hectic weekend of visitors. Lisa is just coming to the end of a studio residency at Artspace in Portsmouth and will be getting to grips with the dedicated space at the Jubilee Stores in Newport to continue her journey through photography, stitch and mixed media which have formed an important part of recent work.

Every artist I visited had interpreted the brief for Open Studios slightly differently. Some were particularly geared up for sales or for showing the latest work and what was really important for me was the conversations had as ideas were exchanged and a greater understanding of the work achieved. I look forward to next year’s event and may actually put myself on the trail for it, having been conspicuous by my absence for the past couple of years!

What a natty networking event that turned out to be as I went along as ‘Sole Trader’ artist come foodie! Not being one to miss an opportunity to raise my profile, here I am making hot pastry for pork pies with gastro pub chef Roger Serjent of the Tavener’s in Godshill. Actually, my partner Keith rather pushed me forward under the misconception that I wanted to take part! This was primarily a trade fair for the Island food industry but my curiosity rather got the better of me and  knowing that there would be cookery demonstrations by notables such Cyrus Todiwala of BBC Saturday Kitchen I had to get my fix of coriander and Indian spices.

Well here I am in Cowes with my new but perhaps transient friend. Very pleased to get out into the snow for a second day. Admittedly there was a big thaw on by late morning but worth a trip out all the same. We saw kids with redundant sledges as the ice melted although earlier in the day there had been some heavy falls of snow and the opportunity to see children making the most of what for many would be a new experience. On the way back along to Cowes this Cormorant was taking a characteristic stance with outstretched wings. I took the opportunity to do a quick sketch, which I was later able to work up in the studio as part of yet another box art collection. Trying now to go for my own brand of realism with the birds using brief sketches as a memory jogger.

Thanks to Keith for pics.

Well here I am doing a spot of birdwatching and sketching at a regular watering hole for a pair of Mute Swans. There were also Stonechat on the strandline above the creek. So there I was with the identification guide in one hand and the binoculars in the other. I probably looked like a serious birder until the mobile phone rang with hubbie wondering where to meet me! Actually hubbie, being on his way was able to take the photo and must be credited for this and the previous shot of me on Boxing Day. I can’t claim to be fully recovered from the lurgy but have had my finest creative moment this side of Christmas. I may have to move on from drawing Swans as I’m repeating myself endlessly. They do continue to fascinate and captivate as did the Stonechat (male and female) in typical Winter plumage and some fine antics between the strandline and a perching post immediately in front of me. If  only it were always this easy! Today the birds were coming to me, but then I know this stretch of water particularly well and its possible to guarantee some regular sightings.

Well actually there’s not alot to say as I’ve been laid low with a heavy cold, which seemed to come to a peak of virulence on Christmas Day! Still here I am having ‘a half’ (for medicinal purposes) at one of our fav watering holes, usually en route to more typically outdoor pursuits, namely birdwatching and walking. Hoping your Christmas passed peacefully and wasn’t short on festive cheer. More news to come in the New Year when looking to be much recovered.

This is by way of conveying a bit of attitude! I have now moved away from the boxes which were actually leaving me a bit boxed-in and am freely working on paper. The attitude of ‘So What’ prevails in that I’m questioning what art is all about and reflecting on the workings of the artworld. Don’t worry, not planning to get too heavy on all these weighty concerns, actually feeling quite light and free with my bits of paper and the word play that was anyway a theme running through recent work. I’m attempting to produce bad work that is raw and immediate, yet satisfies me aesthetically. What a total contradiction but then I am an artist!

Yes, this has been my main focus in the studio and I’ve been working towards applying for a competition Open exhibition at Holton Lee in Dorset. I developed whole collections of themed boxes including bird drawings and paintings all of which gave birth to the idea of an installed piece (shown above). Inspite of this stint of studio activity, I’ve also enjoyed getting out of the studio for anything from rambles to bird watching and botanising out of season. I quite enjoy seeing what is still in flower at this late stage of the season and also spotting the occassional butterfly on the wing, most notably the Red Admiral. Anyone got particular sightings to add to the list? Looking forward to hearing from nature lovers out there. Can you identify my fictitious birds from their drawings? I have a few ideas of my own as to what they might be but could also do with some help from those with a keen ornithological eye.

I’m arrested by the transition from Autumn into Winter which we now seem to be experiencing. With consecutive clear days there have been some stunningly moody skies. I have had to exit the studio for my mid-week excursion which took me through muddy woodland tracks and then steeply up on to downland at the site of the Worsley monument, which if you don’t know it provides views across the whole Island from East to West. It was a steep ascent, which put me in a seriously bad mood, but the exhilaration at the top soon put me right together with the simple pleasures of a picnic lunch. Last week provided a photo opportunity along the south coast to witness bracket fungus, in this case growing out of a decaying bench. I thought this image summed up something of Autumn, with fungi and ivy growth both at their best this time of year, both of which don’t shout about their presence but are nonetheless integral to any rural scene.

I got to Quarr Abbey this afternoon, which I alluded to earlier in the summer. I had hoped a residency might be possible, however that was not to be. All the same I can enjoy the peace and tranquility of this unique location and the light and shade of late afternoon, together with the chatter of jackdaws and the charm of the Glocester Old Spot Pigs snuffling about (eventual porkers!).

I wanted to flag up something current, which is the landscape piece currently showing at the ‘LOCATION’ Open exhibition at Quay Arts on the Isle of Wight. I have blogged previously in the run-up to submission and here is the finished piece. It relates to a part of the Island where I have made regular visits and on reflection is about ‘a sense of place’. I was over on the east coast this afternoon in fading light at another familiar location, St. Helens Duver and again got a real sense of this theme. Perhaps it is the Isle of Wight as a whole which gives me this sense and as I move around between different areas there may well be more paintings to come.