Pelham House exhibition

I will be exhibiting a selection of limited edition prints at Pelham House bar gallery, Lewes. There will be framed prints on show as well as unframed prints and cards in the reception area. You are very welcome to come along.

The exhibition runs from Monday 18th December 2017 until Tuesday 23rd January 2018
Open every day: 9am – 9pm

The exhibition is free and there is full disabled access. 

Venue address and directions:
Pelham House, St Andrews Lane, Lewes BN7 1UW, UK
www.pelhamhouse.com/

Any queries, please don’t hesitate to get in touch:
Email: rachel@rachelclarkart.com

Lewes Artwave

I’m taking part in Lewes Artwave this year. You’re very welcome to visit to see my limited edition prints, paintings and drawings. There will also be a selection of cards and new notebooks hot off the press! Tea, coffee and cake will be served in the garden (weather permitting).  Lovely to get a mention on page 47 of the August edition of Viva Lewes. Artwave opens on Saturday (19th August) and takes place at the weekends until 3rd September.

For more information please follow this link:

https://www.artwavefestival.org/2017venues/2017/7/31/rachel-clark

 

Along with many local artists, I will also be taking part in Artist United at Fitzroy House, Lewes. Opens on Friday 18th August and runs until Sunday 20th with almost half of proceeds going to Lewes Football club.

https://www.lewesfc.com/post/au2017

Drawing in Amsterdam

Amsterdam is a city with so much to offer. Following a visit to the Jean Dubuffet exhibition at the Stedlijk museum I sat in the Rijks museum garden. The Rijks building is beautiful and houses an amazing collection of paintings including (my favourites) The Nightwatch by Rembrandt (1642) and The Little Street by Vermeer (1658). I enjoyed the sun and watched passersby and tried to capture the building and atmosphere in my A3 drawing pad.

I then walked around aimlessly on the look out for a good spot. I like to find places that have a good vantage point so I can look down and draw. I do ask bar/cafe owners/ security at buildings sometimes if I can draw. In the Netherlands people don’t mince their words so I have had a few unfriendly ‘no’s however I’ve met many very friendly people who are happy to let me draw. One such person gave me access to the university library on the first floor overlooking the Spui. I drew the buildings, trams and tourists below trying not to rustle my bag and hoped my ink pens didn’t squeak too much.

Afterwards followed the canal and sketched the distinctive gabled houses. My pens were running out. But I liked the effect.

Germany – Saxony

I spent two weeks in Germany with family and had a wonderful time. The sun shone throughout the holiday (with the exception of one sudden downpour) We rented accommodation on campsites. The first was just outside Dresden so we travelled around the area. Highlights included Moritzburg with it’s beautiful fairytale castle. It was once a hunting lodge and there are many references. So many stags heads on the walls.  I did a number of drawings changing view points and perspective. Initially I sketched in my small moleskin and then got bigger. I was using pastels and watercolour and marker pens.

2 km down the road is the stunning Pheasant House. When I arrived it was late afternoon and it was closed (hence the closed shutters). Still a very pretty pink castle and I really liked the sculptures in the gardens.  The castle was named after the surrounding Little Pheasant Garden.

Nearby is Saxony’s only lighthouse. It’s tiny!

Spent some time relaxing on the campsite. I don’t think I’d ever drawn a caravan til now. So many different trees: Pines, spruces, beech and oak.

On another occasion we visited Domburg. In the blazing heat I sketched the gardens and pretty castles. Very picturesque and lots of amazing roses.

Also had a day trip to Prague which was a two hour drive from where we were staying. Always wanted to visit since I saw INXS’s Never Tear Us Apart video. Loved Michael Hutchence! Twenty years later I made it there. Clearly so much has changed since then. Spent most of the time walking around the city to get a feel for the city. So beautiful.  Once we had a break and a beer I took the opportunity to do a couple of small sketches of Charles Bridge (Karelsbrug) which was heaving with tourists when we crossed it.

Viva Lewes

Really enjoyed illustrating and designing the new May edition of Viva Lewes. Always enjoy browsing through the magazine and it’s had many great covers over the years. I was asked to design a cover to coincide with the opening of the new Depot cinema in Lewes. I was slightly apprehensive as the cinema was a building site when I had last visited and I usually prefer drawing on location. However when Katie at Viva emailed me a few photos of the building site and a few architectural drawings  I felt more confident and responded immediately with a couple of roughs. I then worked up our favourite and created linocuts for the main image an colour. I worked bigger than the magazine format which made it slightly easier to cut the image. Then scanned the linocut and made a few tweaks in Photoshop and hey presto the new cover!

 

Amsterdam Skyline

I had a lovely day on Saturday. On a previous visit with friends and family I’d visited Nemo (the brilliant Children’s Science museum) and The Sky Lounge. On this occasion I returned alone with my sketch books in tow. The Sky Lounge is close to Amsterdam central station and has a great view across Amsterdam towards St Nicholas church. I ordered a coffee ( Not cheap at 7 euros 50 a pop although you did get a couple of sweet bites including a tiny macaroon for that!) It wasn’t busy so I could easily select a spot and sketched looking out towards the city. I had bought my larger A3 book on this occasion and so glad I did as I ran out of pages with my A4. It made me stretch myself more as I generally feel more comfortable with the smaller format. When there is so much to see I tried to be selective, using more gestural marks and washes to indicate buildings. I liked all the high rise buildings in contrast to the old ones. After the visit to the Sky Lounge I strolled over to Nemo. It had certainly got a lot warmer since I arrived. I’ve a museum card and it’s great. I wish we had something similar in the UK . Pay 60 euros and you get into most museums and galleries in the Netherlands. Sometimes this includes unexpected places such as botanical gardens. I sat on the third floor by a window, plugged myself into my iPod and looked out across the bridges towards the central library and the eye catching Chinese restaurant. I struggled a bit with the bridge tbh and started and stopped a few drawings before settling on a composition. A fun day and I’ll definitely be returning.

 

Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam

Travelled to Amsterdam at the weekend. I like visiting the Jewish museum and I discovered that the Hortus Botanicus is nearby. Probably not the best time of year to visit but the glasshouses had lots of palm trees and plants to draw. The spiral staircase lead to a good view too. I went outside when there was a break from the rain and drew one of the glasshouses through the trees. The sky was grey but it didn’t put me off  drawing outside and experimenting with blue and purple tones. That was until the clouds opened and I didn’t have any choice but to run for shelter!

Leiden market

I had a few hours to myself so headed to Leiden market. It’s always busy on a Saturday especially now Christmas is coming up. I enjoy sitting outside cafes with a coffee and my sketch book. I planted myself opposite a fruit and veg stall and kept swapping seats to get different views and perspectives.

Heading home I stopped off at the park and was struck by how autumnal it looked. Generally the trees are looking much more skeletal but the trees here had an amazing orange glow in contrast to some darker green leaves.

Utrecht christmas market

I often return to Utrecht. It has so much charm with lots to do and places to visit. As it was a Saturday and not long til christmas, I stopped by the flower market. There was no seating where the best views were so I stood and sketched the visitors and stalls with the pretty surrounding trees and buildings. Also went to the library and looked out the window down on the main shopping area. Much warmer inside so worked a bit bigger.