Experiencing the landscape: Art on the East Devon Way

Experiencing the landscape: Art on the East Devon Way was a commission from Thelma Hulbert Gallery and East Devon District Council that I carried out in the summer of 2018, alongside other artists. This involved walking the length of the EDW and then making some work based on that experience. Having done so I made 25 landscape format paintings on Khadi paper, a short film of the ground as it changed along the way, and some books of photographs. All the paintings were made using some local pigments found near the Devon coastline, and some commercially prepared ones from further afield. Several workshops also took place with various groups - with adults and also a school and youth group. The landscapes absorbed on that journey are likely to infiltrate future works alongside other influences, although now, some time later, the set of paintings seem to reflect the unique ambiences of the places in combination with the exceptionally warm summer of 2018. So very often, when seated on the Waterloo line train, I've gazed out at the gently undulating, but seemingly inaccessible landscapes of East Devon. The plains of the sinuous, silvery River Axe, where mammoths may once have roamed, and the wooded slopes on the horizon have always held a mysterious allure like the distant topography of fair vistas in Renaissance background landscapes. Therefore, the revelation of the existence of the EDW and the opportunity to embark on a project relating to this environment more or less resembled an invitation to wander through a kind of Shangri-la, but not so inaccessible after all! In celebration of the 25 years since this walk was created (or more likely re-established) I undertook to make 25 paintings made with mainly local pigments, and sometimes found foliage for tools. There are also photographic records of my walks that form a separate body of work. It seems that most of the former represent something of the the euphoria of reaching much anticipated landmarks or resting places along the way. Over time, they may also carry with them some feeling of the exceptional heat, light and stillness of the summer of 2018. The atmospheres and environments of different types of forest - broad leafed, conifer, and mixed, that characterise certain sections of the way were also places that returned readily to mind when facing blank paper back in the studio. Contrasts between managed and unmanaged land, depending on it's purpose, also influenced compositional elements, as well as magnificent glimpses of the sea that are encountered at special moments along the paths. The photographs are a less subjective documentation of the nature of ground that was covered, and record unexpected discoveries, and the transient, ephemeral nature of light on various surfaces. Less exposed than the coastal path, the East Devon Way also makes clear how varied are the environments from beginning to end. Many microcosms are discovered underfoot, long with more major high and low land contrasts. Another series of photographs reveal human intervention along the route, such as piles of discarded silage bags, the interiors of dusty barns, relics of long-gone communities, glimpses of contemporary village life, signs and symbols. Those responses via different media perhaps emphasize contrasts between exhilarating moments in scenic spots and the much longer, (although interesting) physical struggle of traveling between them. As with any long hike, the slow speed and proximity to the ground allows one to absorb the atmosphere of the landscape at every turn. All along the route there is evidence suggesting a past event, some recent, some re-emerging after decades or centuries of concealment beneath the apparel of changing seasons. Found objects hint at previous events, the passage of others through the same space. A bicycle frame without wheels, a scrap of fabric the colour of the summer sky, or a few man-made tiles from long demolished buildings,.