‘I feel fortunate to live the life in Whitby that I do...’
John Freeman Art
PANNETT ART GALLERY, WHITBY
P aintings by John Freeman have gone on show at Pannett Art Gallery, Whitby. The 84 paintings done over 50 years will be on display until December 15.
84 works from all the 50 years will be on show.
Following a successful one-man exhibition at the Sutcliffe Gallery in Whitby, John Freeman took the decision to give up a secure career in teaching near Doncaster and to open his Studio and Gallery in the Market Place in 1969.
At the time, the East Side of Whitby was not the magnet for visitors it is now so it was a bold step to open a business there.
With the arrival of other notable independent businesses, Church Street and Sandgate gradually became a draw for residents and visitors alike and the business has for some time now enjoyed a position in the very heart of the town.
Partnership with the late John Ibbotson, for the first three years, helped to mitigate the risk of such a move but the first long winter was uncertain and many may have questioned it.
However, favourable publicity and an increasing number of regular patrons soon proved, what John instinctively felt - that the move had been the right one.
“I consider myself to be a reasonably good artist and a reasonably good businessman and the combination of the two has given me a life in Whitby which I feel very fortunate to have,” said John.
During the years that followed, working in oils, designer inks and in pen, John built up a body of work capturing the town from every angle, as well as the remote Moorland villages and buildings he loves so much.
He had regular exhibitions further afield but always maintained a core of representative work at Abbey Galleries, as it was then known.
As opportunities arose he gradually acquired more property in the Market Place and was able to expand the gallery while retaining the character of the historic building.
Living ‘above the shop’ the family became part of the community and John began teaching art locally as part of Adult Further Education programmes.
This contact led to many enduring friendships and gave other local artists the encouragement and confidence to pursue their own artistic dreams.
John describes the teaching experience as a two-way flow and enjoyed having new subjects drawn to his attention, as well as the discussions about Art.
He became vice president of Whitby Art Society in 1982.
In 1981 his love affair with watercolours took hold and he has painted exclusively in that medium ever since.
The legacy of his oil painting, with its impasto, stark lines and strong tonal contrasts, had a considerable bearing on the way his watercolour style developed.
Implied texture and detail over the initial broad washes have given a strength not often associated with watercolour.
The same is true of his Nocturnes where, again, the depth of colour is not normally associated with the medium.
The retrospective exhibition provides a snapshot of the long and rewarding career John has enjoyed in the town he loves so much and which he has tried to re-pay with his innumerable images of the area; a conservative estimate is over 20,000 originals and reproductions of his work.
The business remains one of the few in the town that is still run by the same family for more than 50 years.