’Snapdragon Solstice’
Summer Exhibition opens on Saturday July 5th 2025
Returning by popular demand Lynda Jones’ mysterious canvases and drawings are mostly depictions of the Monmouthshire landscape, and its rolling wooded hills, that surrounds her. The final image often bears little relation to the original subject but all have a common starting point – the memory of a place she knows well.
Sue Hayden‘s paintings are based on the relationship between texture, shape and light. Starting with observational drawings from life she uses bright acrylics and pastels on layered surfaces to add randomness and energy to her work. Particularly drawn to natural objects and landscapes her work emphasises a love of colour, texture and movement in what can be touched and what can be seen in the distance.
New to the gallery is artist Stuart Roper who was born in England and brought up in Scotland. Having spent many years as a commercial illustrator he is now based in the Welsh Marches, working in a variety of media, including watercolour, gouache, acrylics and oils. A colourist at heart, he says: “I enjoy painting from the natural landscape; my fascination with trees is prompted by the way the light changes their colours – purple trunks with dashes of pink, turquoise leaves against burgundy-coloured bark. As a painter, I am increasingly drawn to the astonishingly vivid colour in nature around me.” He builds his compositions through gestural marks, his impressionistic style depicting a dapple of light as it dances on the canvas. For him, the natural world proves an endless source of inspiration and delight.
Much loved ceramicist Hilke MacIntyre was born in Germany near the Danish border. She studied architecture at the College for Art & Design in Kiel and worked for various architects until she moved to Scotland in1995. Since then she has focused on printmaking, ceramics and painting, combining a simplified figurative style with bold shapes, strong colours and abstract patterns. Her work is widely exhibited in galleries throughout Britain and her linocuts and woodcuts have been used for numerous illustrations.
Distinguished stained glass artist Frans Wesselman grew up and trained in the Netherlands. He meticulously shapes glass panels that capture the essence of the human experience. These panels, thoughtfully combined into small installations, some on a plinth, serve as intimate reflections of the artist’s vision. People are central to his work, which is also based on the close observation of the natural world. Drawing inspiration largely from literary references and tales of travel, Fran’s natural eye for storytelling captures the warmth and character of relationships.
Jeweller Tracey Birchwood graduated in 3-Dimensional Design at university where she majored in ceramics. Each delicate porcelain petal within her Petal collection is hand formed and then edged, spotted or striped in intricate patterns painted with a special ceramic ‘lustre’ glaze (the gold contains real gold and the silver coloured lustre contains real platinum). Once the lustres have been fired onto the petals, they are carefully linked together with sterling silver fittings to form earrings and necklaces. Tiny freshwater pearls are used to embellish the pieces.
Since retiring from teaching, James Gilchrist is painting full time, inspired by the countryside he lives in and his journeys around the world. His work includes evocative, atmospheric landscapes in soft and oil pastels, watercolours, and oil paintings, along with charcoal and pencil figurative drawings.
To compliment our Summer exhibition we have a new collection of gorgeous linen jackets, dresses and tunics by Terry Macey.
