Western Morning News (Saturday)
Oil paintings that are drawn to the light
FRANK RUHRMUND views an artist whose work epitomises a distinctive phase in the landscape painting tradition
The many fans of Amanda Hoskin will be delighted to learn that three of her striking oils on canvas, plus a framed excerpt from her sketchbook, have now been added by the directors of the Lighthouse Gallery, Penzance, Tracey Spry and Christine Weschke, to the artist’s exhibition Drawn to the Light, which opens today. As they say, “It has been a very strange year for us all, so we are especially happy to be open once again in sunny, if cold, West Cornwall, and extend a warm welcome to all art lovers, particularly those who will recall how the opening of a previous show by Amanda had to be abandoned because of the pandemic.” An artist about whom it has been said that, when the story of Cornish art in the early 21st century comes to be written, she is likely to feature as an artist whose work epitomises a distinctive phase in the landscape painting tradition. “Cornwall, especially the rugged landscape of West Cornwall, ignites a powerful response and Amanda Hoskin’s emotive paintings convey this masterfully.”
An artist who grew up in Falmouth, not surprisingly, her career in art began at Falmouth School of Art, and continued at Chelsea College. Subsequent to her graduation from there, she was to work for a time in the capital as a wild life illustrator until, as might be expected, the call of Cornwall proved impossible to resist and, in the 1990s, lured her back to the place where, as it has been said, was “The key frontier for her, the meeting place of rock and water, sea and sky, stillness and movement, permanence and ephemerality.” A keen sailor, she once worked as a sailing instructor when she enjoyed the best of two worlds, sailing in the summer, painting in the winter. Talking about her work, she now says that she can’t imagine doing anything else other than paint, and since those carefree days has gained recognition in Cornwall as “a leading exponent of modern expressionism.”
An all-action artist, as well as sailing, she has also done a considerable amount of walking in pursuit of the muse, and has walked the whole of Cornwall’s coastal path, also the St. Michael’s and the Saints’ Way. Indeed, as she says, “Every solo show starts with me sketching outdoors, working with watercolour and pastels, and quickly with oils. This is where I get my inspiration and feel re-energised to paint. I love the process when I can experiment with colour, texture and technique. At this point anything goes. As I paint everything else gets held at bay and only the painting matters. I’m completely there, and the challenges of day to day life simply melt away. In this way the collection grows organically and in time I sense that a body of work that genuinely belongs together is being created.”
Drawn to the Light is such a body of work, and well worth seeing. It can be seen in the Lighthouse Gallery, Penzance, 10am-4pm, Monday-Saturday, from today until May 8.