Combined creativity with Unison Colour for… ‘A Yorkshire Year’.
Working alongside artists who respect your creative vision and in return who’s work you admire, can create something magical to organise together.
Andrew Moodie (fellow Unison Colour Associate Artist) is one such artist and who’s work I’ve admired for several years, so when the idea came my way to have an exhibition of stature at National Trust Nunnington Hall in North Yorkshire, Andy was the first artist I thought of to share the exhibition space with me.
We got our heads together and soon came up with the idea of a Yorkshire landscape themed show. As seasoned plein air painters (we’ve often worked together pastel painting at different locations and independently on our own throughout the year), it wasn’t difficult to tie in these elements to create a cohesive exhibition.
‘A Yorkshire Year’ was born and Laura Kennedy (Visitor Experience and Programming Manager for North Yorkshire and Tees Valley) at Nunnington Hall loved the idea too!
The exhibition will have approximately 40 paintings combined by both of us celebrating the Yorkshire landscape in all 4 seasons – Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter and the four main exhibition spaces are perfect for a flowing exhibition taking you from the start of our joint year (Spring) right through to Winter.
Both Andy and I have used Unison Colour pastels extensively when creating our exhibition paintings – often in combination with other media too. The versatility of the media is more than celebrated in our chosen painting locations of Coast, Moor, Dale, Village, Valley and personally included by myself, the unique wild South Pennine upland landscapes and deep industrial valleys of Calderdale and Kirklees – to name but a few.
In gratitude for this wonderful opportunity to showcase our creative vision at National Trust Nunnington Hall, both Andy and I have included pastel and mixed media paintings created (often in the same day) at Nunnington Hall. I teach workshops there and when Andy joined me on several of those days boy did he work hard! As a prolific artist he would often create two or even three pastel paintings in one day! Each one is lovely too. My style is a little different – although expressive too, I returned on my own on several occasions to complete my exhibition paintings. It helps that I live in Nunnington village itself. I can see the rooftops of this historic and impressive building from the office window of our home and is in easy walking distance.
I could more or less pick my days when it was sunny to complete my paintings over several afternoon or morning sessions for each, to finish them free from teaching distractions. If students attend my workshops, the day is theirs, not mine!
The exhibition is not just a visual one. Working alongside the expert guidance of Laura, both Andy and I have created informative text which features alongside our paintings, explaining a personal response to why, when, where and with what, for individual paintings and themed work for the collective seasonal locations for the exhibition.
I’ve lived in Yorkshire for almost 40 years now. Following a career as a Graphic Designer, illustrator and visualiser that spanned over 30 years in the county, it’s been my ambition to bring together a substantial body of work in a cohesive exhibition such as this, so it’s an honour and privilege to present what you may call ‘a life time of creative artist skills and my creative vision’ (especially for the beautiful, ever inspiring Yorkshire Landscape) alongside Andy’s work in our exciting exhibition.
Like Andy, I do believe it is unusual to see an Exhibition that features and promotes the art of the soft pastel outside of London. My immediate thoughts turn to ‘The Pastel Society in London at Mall Galleries’ with The Federation of British Artists where, over several years, off and on, my pastels have been shown. I’ve included several fully worked monotone and coloured mixed media drawings too, in the exhibition.
Once again these have been shown in London exhibitions alongside fellow artists with the SGFA (Society of Graphic Fine Art). It is an honour to be a full member with this prestigious society and a previous award winner too, in the open shows. Again, you don’t have to travel that far to see such expressive drawings – it’s right here in the north of England at Nunnington Hall, North Yorkshire!
If you live in Yorkshire or are visiting ‘Gods own county’ I hope you will be able to come and see this unique exhibition that celebrates the beautiful inspiring Yorkshire landscape in all its glory through the seasons.
‘A Yorkshire Year’
14 September to 15 December 2024
Nunnington Hall National Trust,
Nunnington, North Yorkshire
Artists: Robert Dutton and Andrew Moodie
Title: Spring Landscape
Artist: Robert Dutton
Inspiration: The changes that occur in the landscape are not only seasonal but are historically evident too in the form of construct boundaries, faint traces of ancient settlements, modern roads building over ancient pathways and ley lines are all within the landscape.
This pastel painting combines multiple aspects of that changing landscape – one which is in constant flux. Being in the landscape itself – absorbing it, this creative framework together with what realistically becomes a ‘layered landscape’ in effect is the ethos I build my new collection of semi abstract paintings upon, using multiple layers of hard and soft Unison Colour pastels in combination with LOTS of fixative layers.
Working intuitively and by allowing things to happen and working with the marks I make when creating each piece, I allow many different types of overlayed, drawn, scumbled, blended and masked areas in pastel technique to lead the way at first. After close observation and analysis I bring each pastel painting together in a much more focused and mindful way to both represent a sense of place and yet become more abstracted at the same time with greater meaning and added depth.
Media: Soft pastel on Canson Moulin du Roy ‘not’ 100% cotton rich watercolour paper 300gsm (140lb)
Title: Landscape forms – evening light
Artist: Robert Dutton
Inspiration: The landscape is a sensual form of moving shifting tonal shapes – non more so with the approach of evening when ethereal qualities of the landscape are revealed within interplay of fading light.
This pastel painting gave me another great opportunity to use several important complimentary colours within the Unison Colour range on which to base this semi abstract painting.
Tip and side strokes together with blended techniques create a plethora of mark making and layered depth to create visual engaging interest in the pastel painting.
Media: Soft pastel on Canson Moulin du Roy 300gsm (140lb) ‘not’ watercolour paper
Title: Summer evening clouds above Sutton Bank and Hood Hill, North Yorkshire
Artist: Robert Dutton
Inspiration: Getting to know a place is important because you know where the best views are, in the right season and at the right time of day, to paint them at their best.
This view is some distance from Sutton Bank along the Cleveland Way and having frequently visited the area and walked the tracks, lanes and public footpaths in different seasons and times of day, I chose the perfect Summers evening to visit this particular location to express the contrasts and fading dramatic light within the landscape. As the evening progressed I was delighted to witness the beautiful crepuscular rays moving across the landscape and just had to include them!
Mixed media (watercolour, Gouache, Rembrandt and Unison Colour soft pastels) on 640gsm (300lb) hot pressed watercolour paper
Title: Late Summer evening light Swaledale, Yorkshire Dales
Artist: Robert Dutton
Inspiration: The meadows positively ‘glow’ surrounding the traditional barns that pepper the valley of Swaledale and both are delightful in late summer evening light. It’s a magical time. The final walkers wind their way down into the valley, pass me with an acknowledging nod and the day trippers have all but gone leaving me in total peace and contentment to capture the final moments of the scene before that glorious light disappears.
The immediacy of being able to work quickly and effectively with pastel in such moments cannot be understated. I’ll let the results speak for themselves.
Media: Soft pastel on Clairefontaine (Anthracite Grey) 350gsm pastelmat
Title: Early Autumn morning light – Wharfedale, The Yorkshire Dales
Artist: Robert Dutton
Inspiration: At the start of the day or at the end of the day, the light and colours in the landscape are far less harsh. This is an ancient ‘green lane’ traditionally used to drive livestock to market and between pasture, and is still used today by farmers on the outskirts of Grassington, to do just that. I loved the contrast between bright fields and deep shadows in the old stone wall lane.
I used a lot of side strokes with Unison Colour pastels to create a great deal of the layered expressive marks in this painting. By choosing a black sanded surface on which to work, each and every pastel mark positively glowed! A good choice as collectively each inter blended and overlayed colour added something special to this lovely Yorkshire Dale intimate scene.
Media: Soft pastel on Canson Mi-Tientes ‘Touch’ 350gsm sanded pastel paper
Title: South Pennine moorland farmstead
Artist: Robert Dutton
Inspiration: I adore the Pennines! My association with the Pennine landscapes that surround Huddersfield in particular, are far reaching. The moorland ‘tops’ are dramatic, the land is rough, tough and hard won – it’s wonder anyone can make a living from such an environment, but some folk do! This painting is testament to those who do just that and live, thrive and survive in this unique and dramatic creatively inspiring landscape.
As an artist its great to use different surfaces to paint upon. You get to know which paper is most suitable to express a desired effect. The softer quality of Clairefontaine pastel mat in particular was ideal for the gently blended and overlayed pastel marks in the background and sky to express the misty, bright and ethereal light qualities behind the dark farmhouse.
Media: Soft pastel on Clairefontaine 350gsm pastelmat (Anthracite Grey)
Title: Soft Winter light over the Vale of York – Sneck Yate Bank, North Yorkshire
Artist: Robert Dutton
Inspiration: The beauty of Winter is unsurpassed. As a creative artist it’s MY season – the season I like to be out and painting the most. The palette is subtle, colours muted, yet the season is full of drama, energy and it’s exciting! This painting was created along the Cleveland Way a few miles from Sutton Bank at ‘Sneck Yate’ overlooking the vale of York. It was cold – very cold! Ideal to work intuitively and focused and without hesitation – as this painting expresses in so many ways!
I worked a lot of soft pastel marks with water in this painting, to create lots of expressive marks both dry and wet to compliment watercolour underpinned layers. Foreground marks representing all the dark winter grasses were created with crushed pastel, a little water with plenty of vigour with a long haired brush to finish.
Media: Mixed media on Canson Heritage 300gsm (140lb ‘not’ watercolour paper
Get Andrew’s perspective, in the second part to this blog, at the link below…
3 comments
Rhonda Roth
Beautiful work! I love the vibrant colors and the composition is great.
Judy Turner
I’m very much looking forward to visiting your exhibition!
PETER
Amazing art work – would love to see this exhibition at Nunnington Hall.. Great stuff..