The summer will be prolonged a little longer this year as Cath Ray Gallery and Studios on Bridgegate in Retford will be filled with bright colours and nature, brought by the large-scale floral pastels and fresh landscapes of Retford-based artist, Joan Saxby.
See the exhibition between Saturday 7th September and Saturday 26th October.
Joan was born in Castleford, West Yorkshire, but was moved to Worksop at three months old and lived there throughout her childhood, travelling every day on the bus to Retford High School for Girls. She has been painting prolifically since her time in Worksop where she began to learn to draw, paint, and use pastels. This has continued throughout her life, including time spent living in Bridlington on the East Coast, back in Nottinghamshire at Ranskill, and she is now firmly settled back in Retford.
Joan has a beautiful home near the canal, surrounded by her paintings and flowers in the garden and this will be a retrospective of her work over all these years and includes lakes, woodlands, and rivers in oils, nature studies in watercolour, and her large signature pastels of flowers. Some are drawn on the spot, and some worked up later in her home studio. Joan has always written poetry throughout her life and some of her poems will also be in the gallery, on display with her artwork.
Unless you are lucky enough to have visited Joan at home, this show will be the only chance to see the scale and breadth of Joan’s work all in one place and view a lifetime’s work and her development as an artist. An eight-week course on ‘Colour For Artists’ will accompany the exhibition, taught by resident artist, Cath Ray.
The gallery is open from 10.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Saturday (closes at 2.00pm on Tuesdays). Contact them at 07803 204424 or raybooks@msn.com and follow them on Instagram: @cathraygalleryandstudios or Facebook: Cath Ray Gallery & Studios.