By Mary Ann Rogers
With the annual summer exhibition in June on the horizon, several of the new paintings have been professionally scanned, prior to heading off to the fine art printers to be made into lithographic prints, on a press, by craftsmen printers using the most lightfast inks available, and printmaking skills built up over many years.
Deciding which of the 20+ new paintings might become successful prints is a mixture of hunch, and public opinion. I might consider a certain painting to be a contender, but during the past few weeks, I’ve collared gallery visitors and asked them to choose between a handful of paintings. My opinion is less important, as I’m not the one who might ultimately choose a print for my own wall, or as a gift.
As usual, we take a few days away at the end of April to recharge the batteries and discover a new part of the UK. We chose a holiday house north of Scarborough for a cycling holiday. The house is close to the Cinder Track, a former railway line running from Scarborough to Whitby, which provided great, safe cycling days out. We also cycled to Flamborough head via Bempton cliffs, where the nesting birds were in full swing. Not only did we watch hundreds of gannets, terns, razorbills, cormorants and guillemots, but by pure chance a pod of bottle nose dolphins happened to be passing by which was a real treat.
Sadly, no swimming this trip. The sea was fairly rough due to recent east winds, plus the tides were inconvenient, and steep rocky cliff paths made the hot tub more appealing!
Back home the river is a little warmer, and a short bike ride away. Shandy coloured waters, frequent kingfisher sightings, oystercatchers, herons and mallard provide endless interest, along with the primrose covered banks.
While we were away, the bluebells have appeared all along the track and in the woodland surrounding Leam Cottage. They will be appearing in the new paintings very soon I think.
Mary Ann Rogers summer exhibition preview weekend – Sat 27th June & Sunday 28th June 3-6pm, all welcome.
Mary Ann Rogers Gallery, West Woodburn, Hexham NE48 2SE
Open Tues, Thurs, Fri 10-4 – Sundays 2-5
07967 550772 – www.marogers.com
