Winter Landscapes
1996 was an eventful year with a significant development in the business. In February we held the fourth exhibition at our home in Ponteland. The theme was Winter Landscapes which meant watercolours of Winter Trees featured heavily. These were inspired by lots of late afternoon walks in the countryside with our German Shepherd Max. Often the focus point was a few solitary bales dusted with snow (like giant Swiss Rolls) and silhouetted trees set against a backdrop of a wintery sunset. This sketchbook watercolour of winter trees is typical of many of the paintings featured in the exhibition.
The key to the success of these paintings was to keep them as simple as possible, first time washes applied over rough, heavily texture hand made paper that helped to capture the bleak rural landscape. A major influence for these paintings was the watercolour paintings of Rowland Hilder which I’d studied since being a teenager. Hours of studying his work meant I could bring my own take on the winter landscape.
When giving painting lessons, I often get my students to copy Hilder’s work. I’ve done that myself to demonstrate his techniques, especially winter trees.
Eldon Gardens
No sooner had the exhibition finished, an opportunity presented itself. The year 1996 was “won” for the North East by the regional art association Northern Arts. Bringing together the counties of Cleveland, Cumbria, Durham, Northumberland and Tyne & Wear, the region prided itself on listing more than 3000 exhibitions, events, commissions and residencies from March until December 1996. It was during this time that Eldon Gardens approached me about potentially installing my artwork in a “pop up” style gallery in their busy shopping mall.
For six weeks, an empty unit within Eldon Gardens was transformed into a hive of activity – attracting shoppers, art lovers and tourists to the region, resulting in a phenomenally successful month of sales for Alan Reed Art and a boost overall in the community’s interest and perception of art.
As the six weeks quickly drew to a close, Susan and I discussed the idea of opening a gallery full time within Eldon Gardens, having been inspired by the Arts Council’s initiative. We returned in the autumn and ran the gallery for almost six years as a successful full time retail outlet until March 2002.