Chatsworth Reflected

NEWS

admin — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 18:16:28 +0000

Just a few things to keep you up to date.

—————NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS————NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS—————–
> The exhibition at Chatsworth will now be in March 2009 to coincide with the official Spring opening of the estate to the public.

>There will be another round of painting course weekends in the spring. March to May no dates yet but keep an eye open.

> BBC VIDEO NATION. I will be on the BBC Video Nation website before the end of the year. These are a series of short videos about different aspects of British life.

> BBC RADIO DERBY - There will also be a feature on my Chatsworth project on BBC Radio Derby

Nov 03/08 Derbyshire Life,

admin — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 20:59:04 +0000

The ‘Artists Diary’ running in Derbyshire Life magazine is now on the second installment in the November issue.

‘The editor has kindly agreed to run several months of entries leading up to the exhibitions next year and this is a great forum to let people know what I’m up to and what it means to me.’

Oct 21/08 In the pipeline

admin — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:18:05 +0000

I know that there are many regular viewers of this site so seeing as I’ve been a bit qiuet for a few weeks I’ thought I’d check in with you.

I’ve been working pretty furiously on the ‘Flood’ paintings and this series I think is drawing to a close. I’m just trying to finish up the last (& biggest) one of these and as ever the end of the process is the most elusive thing. It’s getting there though.

I’m looking forward to the next group of paintings which I want to be of and from the Deer Park. I can’t say exactly as I’ve not been in there yet!

Sketch for Dewent River Torrent (30x30cm)

Oct 07/08 FLOOD

admin — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 13:44:17 +0000

In a project like this where you are focusing on a particular place, it is easy to become involved in the very local aspects of what you are doing, so much so that you can forget to take note of the bigger picture. This is especially true at Chatsworth where I have remarked before, there is a painting everywhere you look. Big as it is, it’s still seductive to think of the manicured gardens and carefully landscaped parklands as separate from the world at large.

So in the first weeks I began to think about narrowing my area of study and began to concentrate on how water is used and presented at Chatsworth. This seemed a good way of always having a central focus and theme no matter what any individual painting may be about. This is great for the project but does it have any wider relevance? Maybe not.

I was thinking about this while all the flooding was happening around the country. The village where I live suffered quite badly and certain families here are still recovering weeks later. I started to think about what I was doing and if there was some way I could reflect this in my work. These were important events affecting the lives of people I know and here I am swanning about at Chatsworth, painting.

Now, my paintings are not overtly political or conceptual, in some ways they’re quite traditional -landscape, oil paint on canvas- but I like to think that they do have meaning and on a good day, that meaning goes beyond being just pictures of things. So without wanting to sound pompous (but quite possibly failing) what is the function of art? Mine in particular. I don’t want to step too far outside of the project or to impose trite meanings upon it but if I can’t comment in however small ways about the impact of the environment on our lives then I’m not sure it has a function.

Pondering this, I was over there shortly after the heavy rain and walking by the Derwent River that flows through the estate. The river was higher and more swollen than I had ever seen it and thundering over the weir in a deluge of noise. I stood possibly slightly too close to the edge watching the smooth green black river on one side of the weir become a raging torrent on the other. I thought that if I fell in there, I would be swept away with no hope of swimming against it and either drown or be smashed on the rocky river bed. This was an embodiment of the awesome power of the natural world. Beautiful and fascinating, we can tame it in many ways but in the end it will always have the upper hand and a power over life and death which we are powerless against.

The first of these can be seen here….

‘Derwent River Torrent’ On the Edge
58×58cm
oil on watercolour paper

Oct 01/08 ART LONDON

admin — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:22:56 +0000

Hart Gallery

The Hart Gallery, are exhibiting new work by LEWIS NOBLE at ART LONDON 2 -6 Oct.
The fair is celebrating its 10^th anniversary and has become one of the major events
of the London art calendar.

Art London

Entrance

London Gate
Royal Hospital Road

Underground

Sloane Square

Opening times

Thursday, Sunday & Monday 11am-8.30pm
Friday, Saturday 11am-8pm

Phone

+44 (0)20 7259 9399

Fax

+44 (0)20 7259 0660

Email

info@artlondon.net

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Hart Gallery

Address
113 Upper Street
Islington
London N1 1QN

Phone/Fax
020 7704 1131 / 020 7288 2922

Email
info@hartgallery.co.uk

Website
www.hartgallery.co.uk

Sept 14/08 New works on paper

admin — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 16:53:25 +0000

There is a series of larger scale works on paper in progress. These are textural and energetic paintings in oil.

The first of these can be seen here….

Painted just after the recent heavy rain, the subject for ‘Derwent River Torrent’ 58×58cm is the weir on the river that runs through the Chatsworth Estate which was running faster and more furiously than I have ever seen it.

Aug 23/08 First Chance To See

admin — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 15:33:05 +0000

If you visit the gardens at Chatsworth from this week you will see the first exhibition of paintings from this project.

The two large canvases will be on display in the central area of the Conservative Wall. They will be there at least throughout September. Visitors might also be interested in the MASSIVE display of monumental sculptures for BEYOND LIMITS although of course the main interest will be the paintings!

Aug 21/08 Chatsworth Blog

admin — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 08:56:50 +0000

I’ve started contributing to the blog via the Chatsworth Website. I’ve added the complete post here even though it does repeat some things I’ve said before, however I think that there’s enough new words! L

You can go to the Chatsworth Blog Pages here.

Lewis Noble – CHATSWORTH REFLECTED

A year painting at Chatsworth.

This year I am working with Chatsworth making a body of work in response to the estate. This unique project will carry on through to May 2009 ending with an exhibition at the Hart Gallery, London and a preview show at Chatsworth in March.

Chatsworth has a long and illustrious involvement with the arts and with certain individual artists and of course the Sotheby’s sometimes controversial ‘Beyond Limits’ sculpture shows (Sept 2- Nov 9). Personally, I think it’s wonderful that the collection continues to live and grow, as no two people will agree on what they like - old or new - which is what makes this mixture of the historical and contemporary so fascinating.

In the middle of all this there is me and this is – to my knowledge – the first time that an artist has spent such an intensive period painting at Chatsworth making me feel extremely privileged to be doing so.

I have started by producing a lot of paintings and drawings directly in the landscape and gardens as I like to paint outside to get the feel for a place. (see www.lewisnoble.co.uk) I am also making a series of large scale studio oil paintings, developing themes and subjects from the work made on site. If you visit the central area of the Paxton Conservative in the gardens over the next few weeks you should be able to see the first of these on display.

Anyone who has been following my work so far will probably gather that I’ve become quite fascinated with the way water is so fundamental to the experience of visiting Chatsworth. So I’ve decided to follow the flow of the water from its main source in the lakes above the house to its entry to the Derwent River that winds through the park. The use of water is not only decorative but functional in that it still powers an electric generator (originally one of the first of its kind). However what I find most interesting is the way that the movement of water sparkling its way down through the estate seems to animate the landscape and create a sense of somewhere that is alive and vital.

I very much want this body of work to be far more than just ‘Views of Chatsworth’ but to make work that gets into the fabric of the place and tries to say something about it. The title ‘Chatsworth Reflected’ hopefully implies treading the less obvious and more thought provoking path.

I hope you enjoy following my progress which you can do at www.lewisnoble.co.uk. Also some of the first works will be at Art London 2 -6 Oct www.artlondon.net

There will be a series of painting days with Lewis in Sept. during the Beyond Limits show. For details visit www.lewisnoble.co.uk or email CF@chatsworth.org. Tel. 01246 565300

Aug 15/08 FIRST CANVASES

admin — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 22:16:20 +0000

Completed the first two of the large scale studio paintings. I’ve been working on these almost from the very start and I’m really pleased with the way they came out.
I wanted to explore two ideas in this pair of canvases. First the flow of water which I’ve mentioned before. Also how at Chatsworth when you look in one direction along a chosen path and then turn to look back at where you were, you get two completely different but equally fascinating experiences. In this case, the calmness of the pool and the noisy deluge of the falls.
I also wanted to have something in the paintings which physically stood in for the actual location. I took some leaves which were by the pool and made printing blocks from them. I then used these to print directly onto the painting, building up layers of printed and painted material.
L
View the Paintings

Aug 08/08 Chatsworth Reflected

admin — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 19:11:44 +0000

The new title of this project is CHATSWORTH REFLECTED.

Literal reflections and the painterly reflections. Also the way Chatsworth as a place is reflected in its collection of artworks . Particularity interesting is the choice of art and the way it is displayed. I was thinking about this yesterday as I was watching some of the Beyond Limits sculptures being positioned in the gardens. (see the most recent paintings http://lewisnoble.co.uk/content/image-archive?album=1&gallery=9)

Aug 07/08 More Water

admin — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 09:02:40 +0000

There are two new paintings in the Aug 08 Gallery and also some new drawings.

Aug 01/08 Still here

admin — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 08:47:58 +0000

Although it may seem like it’s gone a bit quiet recently with not many new works appearing but this is only because I’m trying to complete a couple of large scale canvases in the studio. I want to get these done as soon as I can so that they can be displayed in the Conservative over the summer. They’re taking a bit longer that I thought but then that’s always the way. I thought they were finished last week but then looking back over some of the work I’d done on site I decided that they needed a bit of a further push.

Hopefully I’ll have them complete and photographed but the end of the week. (i say hopefully)

July 16/08- WATER

admin — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:10:20 +0000

There’s quite a few new paintings now on the site and I have a couple of strong ideas as to the direction of this first phase of the project. As you will probably gather from the work, I’ve become quite fascinated with the way the water is so fundimental to the experience of visiting Chatsworth. I’m following the flow of the water down through the estate from its main source in the lakes above the house to its entry to the Derwent River that winds through the park.

The use of water is not just decorative but it’s also functional in that it still powers an electric generator (originally one of the first of it’s kind). However what I find most interesting is the way that the movement of water seems to brings the place to life.

In the studio I’m working on a large scale ‘version’ of the Sowter Stone diptych and hope to have it completed in the next couple of weeks. Then I can move down the hill, I might even make it as far as the river.

Sowter Stone Pool / Sowter Stone Falls 40×80 cm diptych

June 7/08 - FIRST PAINTINGS

admin — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 20:28:48 +0000

The first couple of paintings from the Chatsworth project are now online.
Follow this link to view.

Painting at Chatsworth

June 5/08 - Year long exhibition

admin — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 20:53:02 +0000

It seems likely that there will be at least one work on display at Chatsworth throughout the year. We are looking for an appropriate place site a painting, which can be changed regularly in order to demonstrate the progress of the work.

The final location hasn’t yet been chosen but one possibility is the Paxton Conservative in the garden.