Devonstream

Devonstream’s new cover artist is Clare Willcocks, an artist and illustrator based in north Devon.

This painting is ‘Azure’ (oil on cradled wood panel, 18 in × 24 in).

Clare says ‘Azure’ is:

“An ode to the power of water and the spectacle that light creates on its ever-changing surfaces.

“I’m constantly inspired by the shapes of the waves, the slow arc as it draws up water and the crashing of white foam as it closes out. Furious, calm, vast and worthy of our respect and protection – the ocean is my muse”.

This piece is being exhibited during Devon Open Studios (until 25 September 2022). Clare can be found with fellow artist Josie Grant at venue 7, Tadworthy Tower, in Northam. Find out more on the Devon Open Studios website.

Find out more about Clare and her work at https://clarewillcocks.co.uk

Photograph by Dimitri Vetsikas.

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If you’re a Devon-based visual artist and you’d like us to consider your work as future Devonstream cover artwork, drop us a line at hello@devon.stream.

Topsham-based Jane Cope is Devonstream’s latest cover artist with this painting, ‘Dartmoor Blues’.

Jane was a book illustrator for many years, so narrative pictures — images that tell a story — are her home ground. Whilst she experiments with more abstract painting forms, work often returns to this familiar territory.

Most of Jane’s painting work is oil and mixed media on canvas, often using newsprint as a basis for the painting. The words can also add a layer of meaning: sometimes the headlines are random, but sometimes deliberately chosen, and they peep through the picture we see on the surface.

Jane says:

“Dartmoor has been a part of my life for a very long time and I’ve done various paintings and sketches of it, but usually of specific places. This image is different. It’s an emotional snapshot, an inner memory of that landscape, an attempt to create a visual ‘feeling’ of the place.

“I usually start a painting by laying down newsprint, because I like the layers, texture and narrative quality it provides. It’s also something of a ritual process, a way of getting me started!

“My career as a book illustrator led me to styles and content that embrace anything from cartoon to natural history. I think this has made me comfortable to tackle a variety of subjects in my painting. Landscape, cityscape, things about climate change, or just playful ideas that pop into my head, may all resolve into a painting.”

Find out more about Jane and her work at janecope.co.uk.

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If you’re a Devon-based visual artist and you’d like us to consider your work as future Devonstream cover artwork, drop us a line at hello@devon.stream.

We’re delighted to feature an image by Ashburton artist Mark Jessett as Devonstream’s latest cover artwork.

Mark Jessett is an artist specialising in works on paper. He was born in Oxford and studied Fine Art at Goldsmiths’ College, London. He is co-founder of contemporary art group N-E-W, staging occasional art events and exhibitions in Ashburton, Devon, where he lives and works.

Working in acrylic on carefully selected papers, which are pasted to board, he overlays paint in very fine films, often with shimmering metallics and flat solids, to explore relationships between colour, surface texture, translucency and opacity.

Predominently non-representational and often playful, the feel of the work is guided by an appreciation for early 20th century children’s illustration, stylized representations of magic and the esoteric in print, outdated presentations in local museums, and folkloric artefacts and symbols.

Find out more about Mark and see more of his work at https://www.markjessett.com/.