a quiet place …

 

A quiet place. Acrylic/ink on canvas board. Mari French 2015

A quiet place. Acrylic/ink on canvas board. Mari French 2015


I painted these two new Saltmarsh works just recently and they’re now at the framers in preparation for my small solo show at Fineline Frames Gallery, Creake Abbey, North Norfolk, this September.

I admit I’m quietly pleased with them. I’m so enjoying working on this series and excited by the way my interpretation of the Saltmarsh is developing. I can’t wait to see them framed.

For those of you not familiar with my obsession with this subject, this is what I’ve written as an intro to the blurb for the exhibition:

Mari French’s current work is inspired by the ever changing beauty of the saltmarsh coast of North Norfolk. Since moving to Norfolk six years ago, she has spent many hours walking and sketching around Thornham, Brancaster and Burnham Overy Staithe, in particular. This has culminated in an ongoing series of mixed-media abstracted landscapes, which will eventually form a larger body of work on the theme of saltmarsh. Her aim is to suggest the shapes, colours and textures of the saltmarsh that capture her interest – old staithes, channel markers, creeks, grazings, breakwaters, tidal marks, reedbeds – and place them in the wider coastal environment.

My exhibition starts on Saturday 5th September and runs for the whole month. Tues – Sun 10am – 4pm.

Fineline Frames Gallery, Creake Abbey, North Creake, Fakenham, Norfolk NR21 9LF.

 
Liminal space. Acrylic/ink on canvas board. Mari French 2015

Liminal space. Acrylic/ink on canvas board. Mari French 2015



salt and sand…

Saltmarsh series, mixed-media on canvas board. © Mari French

Saltmarsh series, mixed-media on canvas board. © Mari French

… happily working on the Saltmarsh series. Well, sometimes I’m happy, other times I’m cursing with frustration! 

Today was a calm, happy painting day.

Some of these works are for my upcoming solo show at Creake Abbey, North Norfolk, where Fineline Frames are hosting a selection of my work (which they have beautifully framed). It runs from 5th September onwards for the month.

Saltmarsh series, mixed-media on canvas. © Mari French

Saltmarsh series, mixed-media on canvas. © Mari French

Meanwhile, I’ve been invited by a contemporary Edinburgh venue, The Sutton Gallery on Dundas Street in the vibrant New Town district, to show four works, three of which are from the new Saltmarsh series. These will be on view as part of their mixed summer show, which runs from 4th to 29th August 2015 and coincides with the Edinburgh Festival.

Saltmarsh series, mixed-media on canvas board. © Mari French

Saltmarsh series, mixed-media on canvas board. © Mari French


Saltmarsh series, mixed-media on canvas board. © Mari French

Saltmarsh series, mixed-media on canvas board. © Mari French


Saltmarsh series, mixed-media on watercolour board. © Mari French

Saltmarsh series, mixed-media on watercolour board. © Mari French

 

meanwhile back at the easel …

 

Untitled, Mari French 2015

Untitled, Mari French 2015

 

It was good to be back in the studio painting last couple of days, after nearly three weeks of a horrible chest infection picked up on holiday in Venice. 

These are two small works in acrylic and Inktense stick on canvas board I finished today. I’m hoping to produce a few more before Norfolk Open Studios in 10 days, so I’ll have a few affordable pieces available aside from recently framed collagraph prints. I admit I’ve been panicking a bit wondering if I’d be well enough to prepare in time!

As with much of my recent work, these are inspired by Norfolk’s Saltmarsh Coast and I’ve deliberately kept to a limited palette of two acrylic colours plus my favourite Inktense colour, which I think adds to their atmosphere. I love the way the Inktense works with the canvas grain when I use it with lots of water.

Still thinking up titles.

Untitled, Mari French 2015

Untitled, Mari French 2015