Art5ive is a new exhibition showcasing the work of five local artists, June Murrell, Tracey Rapson, Lynda Kettle, Alison Young and Alison Hepburn.

The exhibition runs from Friday 27 March until Thursday 2 April and is open daily from 10am until 4:30pm. Entry is free of charge.

June Murrell

“My love of art started with flowers - arranging them, exhibiting them, and generally getting stuck into anything colourful. That’s where I first learnt about colour, texture, rhythm, and harmony - it was therefore only a matter of time before I picked up a paintbrush.

Living in Devon, right by the beautiful Jurassic Coast, I never run out of inspiration. The light changes constantly, the sea and sky are never the same, and nature throws a new colour palette at me every single day. I find myself itching to capture it all. I paint in acrylic, mixed media, and oil, and when the weather permits, I take my easel outside. Of course, it doesn’t always go to plan - many a time it has blown over, the sunshine, standing on the beach, people come and chat, I get out, and just enjoy it. Sometimes I come back with the start of a painting, I may alter it or discard it, whatever I’ve enjoyed my afternoon. This is where nearly all my paintings start.

My studio and plein air practices feed each other. Working directly outdoors allows me to connect with nature as I explore ideas and inspirations that I will take back and develop. Painting outside and working in my studio go hand in hand. Being out in nature gives me ideas and energy that I bring back inside to develop further (and to dry off if I’ve been caught in the rain!).

Tracey Rapson

Tracey Rapson’s practice intertwines her deep connection to nature with her creative interpretation of artmaking. Living in Devon, Tracey is known for continuously pushing her own boundaries drawing her inspiration from the diverse landscape around her. The lure of mixed media enables her to capture the essence of what she wants to portray, adding an element of surprise and dimension of the unexpected, working up initial sketches and photos into expressive artworks that vibrate with colour and texture.

Lynda Kettle R.B.S.A

Lynda has painted and drawn from an early age and now is a professional artist living in Devon. She trained at Stourbridge Art School, and then continued to Birmingham College of Art, specializing in Theatre Design, leaving with a First Class Honours degree. She first became a Designer in the theatre and then moved to a career as a Production Designer for the B.B.C. She was the creative set designer for over 200 high profile television productions.

Lynda enjoys painting in different styles inspired by the natural environment. She paints in a variety of mediums such as pastel, watercolour, oil and acrylic.

Lynda has a studio/ gallery near to the sea in Sidmouth, called Loft Art Studio in Libra Court. She sells paintings internationally and exhibits her work at galleries and exhibitions. She is a highly experienced demonstrator in all mediums with an audience and teaches art in short courses or longer workshops at holiday destinations.

Alison Young 

Alison has enjoyed making things from an early age including miniature gardens and dolls clothes which eventually led to her degree in Fashion and Textiles. She retired to Sidmouth almost 9 years ago and was inspired by the amount of creativity and craft around her.  After taking a Fibrecraft course at Bicton College which included wet felting and eco printing, she has since developed a range of crafts that she enjoys, which include using fabric, dyes, wool, paper, decoupage, copper, alcohol inks and painting. 

Drawing inspiration from photos she takes as well as visiting exhibitions, craft fairs and watching You Tube, she likes to make stylised pictures as well as 3D objects.  

Alison Hepburn

Alison creates mosaics through a process of collecting and transforming fragments of colour into something new. The practice is slow and meditative allowing space for ideas to develop and for creative decisions to emerge naturally. The glass and ceramics she uses are chosen for their intensity of colour and their ability to reflect light, giving each piece a sense of movement. Her work draws on the age-old tradition of mosaic, while using contemporary materials and ideas.