Western Morning News (Saturday)
Reflecting spring warmth in colour
FRANK RUHRMUND reviews an exhibition of work by Emma Jeffryes, an artist ‘with a passion for observing and painting all things marine’
Although painted long before the event, the bright blue, pink and yellow colours that predominate in the 40 paintings that make up the exhibition ‘St Ives Winter To Spring’, by Emma Jeffryes, now being held in the New Craftsman, St Ives, reflect the spell of good late spring-early summer weather we have recently enjoyed.
An artist who was born and bred in Hertfordshire and later studied at Middlesex University where she graduated as a specialist in textiles, and at the Royal College of Art, she subsequently worked as a textile designer in London. While the study and practice of textile design claimed a considerable amount of her time and energy, somehow she also managed to continue painting which had always been her first love and it was this which brought her to St Ives some 14 years ago, first of all as a frequent visitor and then as a resident.
It was when painting on Porthminster Beach that she met her husband Ben, now a freelance sports massage specialist but then a chef at the Porthminster beach cafe. The mother of their two children Sunny and Asa, in common with so many women artists, she had to put her artistic endeavours on the back burner for a few years while caring for her young family and it was not until four years ago that she was at last able to return to the art scene with her first solo show in St Ives. Held, as it happened, at the New Craftsman, the venue could not have been more appropriate as the first paintings she ever displayed publicly were shown there.
One who confesses quite happily to being passionate about painting in St Ives, she paints both indoors and outdoors, and from ‘Winter Blossom’, backed by a deep blue sea, to ‘Spring Table’, a part still life and landscape featuring a flower-filled table with rocks and sea seen through the window behind, there is a sense of high energy and great enjoyment in all that she does.
Her declared aim with this show has been to portray “just a little of the spring magic” to be seen at this time of the year and to do so has approached it in ways.
“Firstly”, as she says, “by working in the studio, building up some paintings from sketches, memory and photographs. I’ve found that that this works well, in that not being directly in front of a view can
have its advantages, It can be quite freeing in terms of compositions and detail. Secondly, in contrast, I’m hoping to get out in the elements and find some great vantage points to set up the easel. For me, this can be the most exhilarating way to paint. You never know what’s going to happen in front of you, and always being slightly uncomfortable can add a real edge to the work. I still have a fascination with painting fishing boats, which I’m also hoping to continue. This may be as tiny vessel out in the depths of the bay or from sitting right in front of them moored on the sand, where you can get a real feel for the volume and strength of their sturdy hulls.”
An artist who sums up her “passion for observing and painting all things marine and St Ives” as a privilege, it is an equal privilege to see her new paintings. As refreshing as they are rewarding, from examples of her ‘sturdy hulls’ paintings, such as ‘The New SS80’ and ‘Little Christina’, to her landscapes from a ‘View from Laity Lane’ to ‘Blossom Above Beach’; from ‘Turquoise to Blue Seas’ to ‘Summer in St Ives’, they are a joy. Accompanied by a selection of exceptional ceramics by Linda Styles, admission is free, and they can be seen in the New Craftsman, 24 Fore Street, St Ives, 10am-5pm, Monday-Saturday, until May 16.