After a quiet few months I have a busy few weeks ahead. As well as a couple of pictures in Eccles Community Art Gallery,  along with other members of Salford art club, I was invited to show a couple of my paintings in the Summer show at the Legacy Art Gallery in Todmorden.

We dropped off the paintings a couple of weeks ago and didn't really have a chance to look around the town. This time we planned a full afternoon's visit.

As we arrived there was already a nice buzz in the gallery. As you entered through the front door, my two paintings were on the far wall and I was pleased how good they looked. After viewing the exhibits and chatting with Stella Hill, the owner, we went to a nearby café for a hot drink.

After the drink, we decided to explore a little further. Across the road there was an interesting antiques and collectors market, which seems to be on quite often. 

As we wandered around town, we came across a couple more galleries and some interesting shops, the types you don't find in many larger towns. 

Being a Sunday some of these weren't open and we certainly plan another visit to explore further.

As we wandered we even came across a couple of surprise sculptures that certainly livened up the place.

As we arrived back at the gallery for a final look, it was pleasing to see that the rooms were now full of people enjoying the artwork and excellent buffet. 

An enjoyable afternoon, I now have to hope that someone likes one of my paintings enough to buy it.

I am always interested in seeing the work coming out of Universities. Sue and I have been following the progress of a friend of ours from the art club, George Lee and were invited to his final exhibition.
It has been interesting talking to him about his course and seeing the work he has been doing.

The course has involved various areas of study including photography, printing and sculpture, as well as being taught about organising and publicising an exhibition. For his final work George had focused on the decline of the local public houses and the changes in society related to this.

His exhibition featured a Warhol inspired wallpaper, several photographs and sketches as well as a large Resin sculpture containing items from a pub. His area was distinguished by a large Flemish Weaver pub sign. 

It was really pleasing to see his work and we wish him all the best with his future endeavours in the artistic field.

It was then interesting touring the other students exhibitions. Like in a lot of these shows you see a wide range of work. There  were a few with a political or moral message, some traditional art and a range of abstract work. Many students were at different levels of development and still experimenting with ideas.You could see that a few had decided upon a theme and one stood out. This was because they already had the language to go with their work as well as an accomplished style.

An enjoyable evening and we look forward to next years when another member of the art club will be on show.

Fancying some fresh air, we decided to go to the Quays and this gave us the chance to see the latest exhibition by Chantal Joffe. at the Lowry Centre.

On entering the rooms, the first impression is that these are in quite a naïve style, with loosely painted images. The paintings explore motherhood and show  Esme, Joffe's daughter, as she grows up. These images are enhanced by the juxtapositioning of mother and daughter within the canvas.

As you become immersed in the paintings, the images start to convey messages of the interactions between groups or feelings of awkwardness in adolescence. Joffe has played around with different viewpoints and  we found the way that she hadn't always painted the full heads of her subjects unusual and interesting.

The artist also pays homage to Paula Modersohn Becker, who was a key figure in the development of Modernism in the early 20th century and is probably the first Western woman artist, to paint herself naked. The information said, 'Her frank, but intimate approach defied expectations of how the female body should be painted, as defined by her male counterparts'.

​You can see several pictures that represent similar poses from both artists.

So, to sum up, an exhibition that surprises you; at first you see a picture and think the eyes are painted wrong or that is not a natural pose but this is where an artist can convey more than a photograph. Well worth a visit.