With nearly 100 miles of coastline, and where no-one is ever more than eight miles from the sea, it is not surprising that the physical geography of the Isle of Man has always had a profound effect on local artists. ‘Coast’ - at the Sayle Gallery from Friday 5 July - brings nine artists together under one roof, each of whom has produced new work which interprets the theme in their own unique way.
Well-respected and much admired painter Chris Powles is exhibiting six new watercolours which show a landscape in transition, with areas of detailed of texture, light and form playing against larger areas treated simply. ‘Coast’ will also include the first chance for local admirers of Chris’s work to see his painting ‘Ramsey Pier, To the North’ which was selected from over 1000 entries to appear in last year’s Sunday Times Watercolour Competition final exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London, and then as part of its UK tour.
For Win Norton, the Isle of Man shore is a continuous thread in her life: she grew up by the sea, became a marine biologist, and now lives in a house overlooking the coast. Although she began as a watercolourist, Win credits the enthusiastic staff at the Isle of Man College who encouraged her to take up ceramics. Her love of the sea, and its effect on the coastline is clear in her work, and ‘Coast’ includes new pieces which capture personal memories and emotions, and show a further development of her distinctive style. Her decorative semi-abstract ceramics – all hand built and unique – are inspired by the natural world where, as she says, “the fluidity and restless energy of the water contrasts with less yielding rocks, sand and ice.”
Bryony Harrison takes childhood memories of times on the beach and in the sea, and mixes them with more adult concerns about the fragility of life in the oceans and what she sees as a growing human disregard of the undersea habitats of animals, corals and plants. Bryony’s new exciting, vibrant paintings – she uses very wet paint poured onto canvas to capture both fluidity and depth - showcase the wonderful colours, shapes and creatures below the surface of the ocean, highlighting the astonishing diversity of what is becoming an increasingly fragile underwater life.
Back on dry land, Brigid Stowell has concentrated on the rocky shores and coves of Port Skillian and Marine Drive in her familiar semi-abstract acrylic paintings. “I’m fascinated by the way these little coves are so near to town,” says Brigid, “yet they feel so wild and ‘other’. Seascapes were the first subject in my painting, and it has been illuminating to revisit them to see how my development as a painter has changed the way I approach painting the sea.”
And for fans of McNeill Glass, there will be new work on the ‘Coast’ theme especially created for this exhibition, all of which is on sale exclusively at the Sayle Gallery.
There is no doubt that living on an island has played a major part in the art of all those contributing to‘Coast’. As Win Norton says: “The coast is a place which most of us are attracted to ... to wonder at nature’s beauty and tremble at its awesome power”, and visitors to the Sayle Gallery during this exhibition can be sure to see some beautiful and powerful pieces of work from some of the Island’s leading artists.
Other artists taking part in ‘Coast’ are Gill Dyer, Charlotte Jane Henry, Paul Parker and Rosi Robinson.
Location: The Sayle Gallery, Villa Marina Arcade, 1-3 Harris Promenade, Douglas, IM1 2HN
Opening times: 10am – 5pm Tue – Sat, 1.30 – 4.30pm Sundays, 1pm – 5pm Mondays
Admission: FREE
Telephone: 01624 674557
