Artists of Sussex offer Chichester exhibition

The exhibition will include works from: Clare Boyd-Wallis, who works mainly in oils because ‘they are a wonderful medium to work with when painting landscapes – the colours are softer and more subtle than acrylics’; Nicole Philips, a Midhurst-based artist whose work is inspired by the West Sussex landscapes and coastline; Jason Tremlett, a classically trained painter whose portraits and paintings are held in private collections throughout Europe; Colin Merrin, who works in oils, watercolour and mixed media and whose work provides a striking take on modern life; Linda Foskett works in both oils and acrylics and her landscapes often provide a unique perspective on the wonderful Sussex landscape; and Sheri Gee who specialises in lively, bold oil paintings. Her subjects range from portraits and life drawing to equine art and landscape, all executed in fresh marks and bold colour in an exploration of paint.

Also taking part is Helen Friend is a Chichester-based ceramicist specialising in raku ceramics. Her work often has a magical quality whose natural home is the cabinet of curiosities, she says. Also participating is Maddie Conrad, who grinds, washes and prepares her own pigments by hand to use on her still life, landscape and portraits. The exhibition until April 30 in the John Rank gallery.

Also coming up at the Oxmarket is Fergus Hare – Paintings (May 2-20).

A spokesman said: “In the last two or three years Fergus has almost exclusively been working in acrylics on brown paper or clear primed linen. He has been incorporating figures into his work from a range of different source material. Fergus tries to capture character and personality through the shapes of people’s posture and the way their clothes sit and will often deliberately leave sections of the painting unpainted or unfinished. Fergus like to paint people in almost mundane settings. For the most part, the gathering of the people in the paintings are random, and the compositions are often dictated by the colours of their clothing.”