It’s not often you find a local art exhibition with four local artists, Amanda Lyon-Smith, Diannah Lowry, Jane Christian and Jane Hirst exhibiting together in the same gallery, all of whom have interesting stories to tell of their lives outside of the four walls of a gallery.
Diannah Lowry is an artist originally from Australia, where she played (under the stage name of Di Levi) in the 1980s in a post punk-band called Fast Cars. The band has recently re-formed and is going strong with their latest album released earlier this year. Diannah has gone from ‘rock chick to rock pools’ with inspiration for her multimedia abstract works being the beauty of rock pools of the Devon coastline.
The water theme continues with Amanda Lyon-Smith’s background of being a Dragon Boater, representing Great Britain (no less!) paddling her way around the world and winning two Gold Medals for GB. Amanda now prefers gentle paddle boarding around the dramatic Devon coast soaking up the inspiration for her beautiful intuitive ‘Coastal’ inspired multimedia abstracts, often including flotsam and beach finds from her beloved Teignmouth beach.
The group’s love of the water is again reflected in Jane Hirst’s background. Before settling in Devon in 2010 Jane worked as an illustrator in London but also found the time to scuba dive all over the world; to places as far flung as Tahiti, Belize, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, Thailand and Egypt. Jane’s love of the sea prompted her move from London to Devon, where she now finds the inspiration for her seascape paintings and collages. Jane’s work is an eclectic mix of nautical and flora themes brought to life through mixed media collaging and digital art.
And what could be more inspiring than having a local beach hut studio, which is where Jane Christian creates her stunning award-winning paintings of local scenes in acrylics. At home Jane creates watercolour and ink paintings relating to the history of the area including Agatha Christie inspired works, such as novel covers, portraits and historical local buildings that Agatha would frequent.
You can meet the women and view their artworks in the 4 Artists in Serenity exhibition running from 10 to 25 September at the Serenity Gallery, 38A Brunswick St in Teignmouth. The exhibition is part of this year’s Devon Open Studios event run by the Devon Artist Network. There are 8 Devon Open Studio venues in Teignmouth alone, with over 16 local artists.
So make a day of it in Teignmouth from 10 to 25 September, but definitely checkout 4 Artists in Serenity venue 147.