A few more images of work made for our Watts Contemporary Gallery Exhibition, in the words of the artist who created the pieces.
Steve Edwards - Mortuary Owl
I have been attracted to owls for a long time and have depicted them in my work over the years. They have symbolic meanings in different times and cultures, and for me symbolically the owl is part of myself. I spotted owls along with other birds on the exterior decoration of the Mortuary Chapel and was immediately captivated. Lyrics from a madrigal by Thomas Vautor 1592 - 1619:
Sweet Suffolk owl, so trimly dight, With feathers like a lady bright, Thou sing'st alone, sitting by night: Te-whit, te-whoo… Thy note, that forth so freely rolls, With shrill command the mouse controls, And sings a dirge for dying souls: Te-whit, te-whoo…
Nikki Braunton - Hare in the Moonlight & Crow in the Moonlight
Crow in the Moonlight and Hare in the Moonlight were created specially as a pair for the Watts Gallery exhibition.
They were taken from sketches whilst walking around the Surrey Countryside which I visit
regularly when walking with my family at weekends. Both are two plate dry points. The back ground colour was printed first with the darker blue printed over the top once the first colour had dried. It is the first time I have used two plates on a dry point and I very much enjoyed doing the two alongside each other and experimenting with texture and colour.
It has given me the confidence to experiment with colour more freely in my future work.
