A special treat - a solo exhibition plus

'Drawn to Water'

Strange times we find ourselves in. Scary times for many, liberating for others.

Firstly, I hope that you and your loved ones are safe.

The gallery is "open" on-line, daily we continue to populate our social media feeds (see at the bottom of this email) with news, updates, items of artwork & we have a blog too, though I confess it's not quite the go-to place I had hoped it might become!

No matter, it's Saturday and time for me to introduce Fay Collins' new body of paintings.

Stay safe, and we look forward to seeing you
both on-line and then, "on the other side".

The NLG are delighted to show Fay’s new landscape paintings in her inaugural solo exhibition with the gallery, regardless of this COVID-19 plague on our houses.

In this exhibition, “Drawn to Water”, Fay’s painting themes tread that line between permanence and transience, exploring the intriguing paradox of wild places where fixed outlines of geology are tempered by ever-changing weather, seasons, vegetation and light.

Using the materiality of her paints - layering, scratching, thinning, reworking - she produces artworks that explore a sensitive understanding of the effects of humankind and climate on landscape. The work results from the continual cycle of observing, researching, processing, selecting and creating, which is carried out both en plain air and back in the studio.

Fay, a full-time professional artist lives & works from her studio in the Forest of Bowland AONB, is a keen walker and cyclist having explored the uplands and valleys of England, Wales, Scotland, western Ireland and the French Alps.

Through mountaineering and other outdoor adventure activities, Fay has experienced first-hand the exhilaration and danger associated with hostile environments and now, unashamedly admits to preferring less stressful adventures by foot or bike.

Fay’s body of work is diverse, ranging from Lakeland and Bowland views to tiny flowers, wide coastal studies and water in all its forms. Fay has been successfully exhibiting in northern England since 2012 including the latest exhibition “Wild at the Margins” at Lancaster City Museum from November 2019 - March 2020. Her work is in collections across the globe including Australia, Sweden, USA, France and across the UK.