At the end of summer and the start of autumn, if we're lucky we get some glorious, golden days that blend both seasons into something special. Autumn hints at the future with a touch of butter yellow here, deep red there and an underlying feeling of endings, but late summer warmth fills the world and sunshine gilds every leaf edge. The air is heavy and sleepy, and the default mode of getting around is a dreamy amble.
Today was one of those days and, by happy chance, also the opening day of the exhibition of work by Jen Nuttall and Natasha Lolljee at the Parsonage, Didsbury - a perfect place for a golden day. I'm afraid I didn't give Natasha's work as much attention as I might have, which wasn't fair, but I was there to see Jen's work and it therefore received the lion's share of my time. She has a lovely loose drawing style which translates into print beautifully through her chosen methods of waterless lithography and screenprinting. For many of the pieces here she had built up layer upon layer of imagery, often creating a dense texture that escaped its origins to become something else entirely, hinting at crumple, brocade, crushed velvet. There were massed horses and fountains, wild flocks of birds and buildings, in such profusion that there was almost an archaeological element in the work. You could imagine the infinitely slow and meticulous stripping back of these prints, the separating and laying out of all those layers. Some beautiful juxtapositions of colour too.
Today was one of those days and, by happy chance, also the opening day of the exhibition of work by Jen Nuttall and Natasha Lolljee at the Parsonage, Didsbury - a perfect place for a golden day. I'm afraid I didn't give Natasha's work as much attention as I might have, which wasn't fair, but I was there to see Jen's work and it therefore received the lion's share of my time. She has a lovely loose drawing style which translates into print beautifully through her chosen methods of waterless lithography and screenprinting. For many of the pieces here she had built up layer upon layer of imagery, often creating a dense texture that escaped its origins to become something else entirely, hinting at crumple, brocade, crushed velvet. There were massed horses and fountains, wild flocks of birds and buildings, in such profusion that there was almost an archaeological element in the work. You could imagine the infinitely slow and meticulous stripping back of these prints, the separating and laying out of all those layers. Some beautiful juxtapositions of colour too.
This was the biggest work - a wild guess would say 1.5 metres by 2 metres. but I really have no idea.
This one was behind glass, hence the splinters of light across the bottom. I've decided not even to show the other framed one because now that I look at it again, what I can mostly see is the room behind me ... and me, taking a photo. Shame - it was full of horses and had developed some wonderful textured areas.
These two are close-ups from the big work. So much colour!
And then, because it was a lovely day with dramatic sunlight, and Fletcher Moss Gardens are just beyond the Parsonage, I went for a short wander and found a gorgeous avenue of poplars. I'm not a great fan of poplars - to me they always look awkward and ungainly in the landscape, unnatural. Well nothing could be less natural than this avenue of poplars and its fanned barcode of shadows, and it was fantastic. Fletcher Moss Gardens definitely need more exploration.
Above, the immediate view from the front door.
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