

Devon Open Studios
2024

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Louise Banks, Claire Belcher and Charlotte Ellis
'Watching Water'
Three Lympstone artists reflect on the centrality of water on village life. The atmosphere, colours, textures and life on the Exe are explored through paintings, lino prints and pyrography.





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Louise Banks has exhibited and sold her work at the Mall Galleries in London at two exhibitions this year.
'I enjoy exploring effects of translucency, layering colours as glazes in gesso, ink, gouache and watercolour; methods that show what lies beneath the surface. The village is one of the few in the area where there is still small scale commercial fishing. My practice is partly an attempt to document this activity and record the ebb and flow of life that revolves around the harbour'.
Claire Belcher is a pyrography artist creating unique pieces inspired by the natural beauty of wood. She is a Professor of Fire Ecology, at the University of Exeter, so perhaps it is no surprise that she also uses fire in her creative practice, where she hand-burns her pieces.
'My works typically feature animals and waterscapes, often crossing the land-water divide. I primarily work with highly grained wood, working with the pattern of the wood to create the environment or movement within the piece. I also work on turned wood and on paper- anything that was built from sunlight and air to breathe life into my work.'
Charlotte Ellis, artist and gallery owner, paints and creates lino prints which are intrinsically linked to the natural world.
'The colours and textures I use are those that I see around me as I sit and paint and sketch on the foreshore of the Exe. The light on the water is ever-changing and it is this which makes it such an inspiring and interesting place to be. Layer upon layer of colour and texture form as the light plays on them. As I swim, I embrace the nature around me, especially the birds flying overhead. In my paintings and lino prints, I try to recreate the sense of peace I feel when swimming. As I work , in my head, I am always in or near the water.'
Opening Times
11-4 Friday 6th September until Sunday 22nd September. Closed Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Introduction to lino print workshops:
Tuesday 10th September and Monday 16th September 10:12.30 £40
Botanical Lino Printing workshop
Wednesday 11th September 10-12:30 £40
Louise Banks
@lou-insta-art
Claire Belcher
@incharnations
Charlotte Ellis
@ontheforeshoreartist