All quiet now Dorothy

 Hello m' art clubbers,


Last year I came across a Kurt Jackson painting in Falmouth Gallery called 'All Quiet Now Dorothy'. Those who frequent my blog may know I am partial to a good handsome pit. There was a beautiful, aquamarine sereneness to this painting; a spellbinding calm after a noisy, hectic day. It drew me in. For some time I couldn't quite comprehend my emotional response to it. No matter what we do to mother earth, she eventually comes to rest and reveals beauty in her scars.


 All quiet now Dorothy- mixed media on wood panel (60 x 60cm)
 

Upon returning home I did some feet-up-post-dinner iPad browsing. I discovered Jackson has a whole series of 'Clay Country' paintings. Sadly I'd missed the dedicated exhibition. Jackson immersed himself in these extraordinary man made environments, working plein air to depict the less glamorous, industrial side of Cornwall, scenes you don't see on TV's 'Caroline Quentin & Fern Britton try to out quaint each other'.

There's just something about Dorothy...

Dorothy - mixed media on canvas (76 x 102cm)


 Pits of noise and light - mixed media with kaolin and sand on linen (202 x 203cm)

 Littlejohns' new sink - mixed media on canvas (76 x 102cm)

In February I finally made it over to the Jackson Foundation Gallery in St Just, Penwith, to see one of the last days of an exhibition entitled 'The Fowey'. The setting was an altogether more organic one, Jackson tracing the river Fowey from its source to the sea.

 
Dozmary grasshopper and skylark song - mixed media on linen (122 x 200cm) 
 
The large scale 'Dozmary grasshopper...' was one of my favourites. Whilst it could almost be a re-wilded quarry, it is infact an ancient pool up in the north of Bodmin Moor. Suspected to be the source of the Fowey river, it is also one of the alleged sites where King Arthur returned his sword Excalibur to The Lady of The Lake.

Kindly I was allowed to take my own pictures, so I can share some of the magic painterly details that prints often miss...


Close up detail of dancing foxgloves and golden grass.



 

Vast, large scale paintings sit alongside smaller, more intimate ones such as the one of Fowey Well (below).

Silence and sunshine. Fowey Well below Brown Willy - mixed media on museum board (22 x 22cm)


 
Another favourite of mine - a scene where the Fowey reaches the sea.  Beautiful elemental squiggles with earthy colours seeping into one another -

Storm off the mouth of the Fowey - mixed media on paper (38 x 42cm)

Sublime paintwork on this one too -

 Over the Fowey in her valley to Restormel Castle. Daddy longlegs in the grass -
mixed media on paper (57 x 60cm)

This was my tweenage daughter's favourite. She is obsessed with all things yellow -

Cattle at Fowey source, Bodmin Moor - mixed media on museum board (22 x 22cm)

 

That concludes Art club for today! I hope you enjoyed it.

Time for some sticky cake and cup of tea at the cosy Dog and Rabbit Cafe, a stone's throw away from the gallery.

 
Take care and gossip soon,

Lulu xXx

 

p.s. Thanks Cherie love for the gorgeous, handmade card and accompanying seeds!

p.p.s. Back with a garden update very soon....


 
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Comments

  1. Ellie Foster24 March 2024 at 02:38

    Dear Lulu
    What fabulous paintings - really capturing the places. I love all the different paint marks, huge blobs of paint, scratches into it etc. It makes for very interesting details. Thank you for sharing - not someone I had heard of. I particularly like 'Dozmary grasshopper...' for its serenity and 'Storm off the mouth of the Fowey' for that wonderful mark making.
    The cakes look great too!
    Have a good week
    Best wishes
    Ellie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lulu29 March 2024 at 01:05

      Glad you appreciate the paint work Ellie, gorgeous isn't it. Cake was spot on too ;) Hope you're having a good week xXx

      Delete
  2. Polyester Princess24 March 2024 at 11:14

    I totally get the appeal of those Kurt Jackson paintings: they are absolutely stunning, and I'm sure they are even more so in real life!
    "Dozmary grasshopper and skylark song" is my favourite, closely followed by "Storm off the mouth of the Fowey" and "Over the Fowey in her valley to Restormel Castle. Daddy longlegs in the grass", which deserves a price for its title alone. Thank you so much for sharing these Lulu! xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lulu29 March 2024 at 01:08

      Yes, great title Ann! :) I love it when songs have ridiculously long tiles too :) It was surprising how big some of the paintings were. Hope you're all set for a nice weekend in Belgium xXx

      Delete
  3. Cherie24 March 2024 at 13:16

    I love an art gallery. We have MIMA here but I really don't get modern art. Hope you get a decent crop off those seeds. X

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lulu29 March 2024 at 01:12

      Thanks Cherie, will be doing some speed sowing this weekend :) xXx

      Delete
  4. bahnwärterin24 March 2024 at 23:31

    totally enjoyed the long mizzle art club excursion!
    wonderful paintings - it must be even better to know the places pictured. and i´m with your daughter - love the yellow field with cattle.
    and i love that you take the kids to an art exhibition!!
    and yummy cake afterwards - perfect day :-D
    cute pink beret!
    xxxxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lulu29 March 2024 at 01:15

      Happy to hear you enjoyed art club Beate :) My mum always took me along to art galleries as a kid, and when she was little, her uncle would take her. Always a treat, especially when followed by tea & cake :) xXx

      Delete
  5. Winter Peach Photography26 March 2024 at 06:44

    Amazing artwork! Thanks for sharing. I can see why you like All Quiet Now Dorothy. For me the composition and the colours are very striking. I second Ann though. I think my favourite is "Storm off the mouth of the Fowey."
    I was going to say "That cake takes the biscuit" but that's all kinds of wrong!
    I love your beret! xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lulu29 March 2024 at 01:21

      Thanks Claire :) That cake had eaten all the other cakes AND biscuits in the cafe :0 Oooh yes, the mood in 'Storm off the mouth of the Fowey" was gorgeous. Plus there was a large scale seascape where the water appeared to move around! xXx

      Delete
  6. David Bennett26 March 2024 at 13:57

    Fascinating paintings, I love strong colours. On our one & only holiday to Devon and Cirnwall, many years ago, I remember what a great place Fowey was.
    David.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lulu29 March 2024 at 01:28

      It has been many years since I've been to Fowey too. You might enjoy the aerial landscape photography projects of David Maisel - I find the mining ones particularly striking. Hope you are keeping well xXx https://davidmaisel.com/photographs/

      Delete
  7. Elderberry-Rob27 March 2024 at 09:36

    fabulous paintings, I think my favourite is the yellow/cow painting your tweenager likes but also
    dancing foxgloves and golden grass has my attention. I rarely go and look at art - should get out more.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lulu29 March 2024 at 01:31

      You must Betty! A hop on the train & you have all the London galleries! I'm eagerly awaiting foxglove season. Hope you are all set to have a lovely bank holiday weekend xXx

      Delete
  8. Vix31 March 2024 at 08:21

    Alright bab! Funnily enough I was out with an artist mate last night and she talking about how landscapes were her least favourite subject but I shall send her a link to this post as Kurt Jackson's work has so much energy and interest than your usual literal representation of a vista.
    You ought to glue that whopping slice of cake to your beret, its a perfect match! xxx

    ReplyDelete

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