Painting Memories: The Cotswold Story
Earlier this summer, artist Sam Morris invited me to collaborate on a small collection of joint works for her two week pop up at The Cotswold Designer Outlet. The invitation was simple, open and full of possibility: I would begin a painting in my usual expressive abstract style and she would respond with her own narrative, illustrative mark making.
We talked about connecting the history and quiet beauty of nearby Tewkesbury, old and new held in tension. We spoke about places of quiet, the benches we sit on and return to and the stories held within the. That gentle theme, memory, stillness, presence and absence became the thread that ran through the work.
So I took a solo visit to Tewkesbury, not with a paintbrush, but a camera and open senses. I walked slowly, listened deeply. I explored the pond near to the secret garden tucked away in the town and spent time near the Abbey, a place full of presence and hush. I chose to shoot mainly in black and white that day, i didn't want to get lost in colour, as Sam and I had already agreed on a soft, restrained palette: a blue-grey, warm charcoals and muted tones that leave space for emotion.
As I wandered, I notices things, a yellow ribbon tied around a bench, a quiet gesture of remembrance. I watched the sun skim the surface of the pond, the way reflections shifted gently with the ripples.
I moved through to the Abbey, big overhanging trees with these interesting spaces where people walked through. A dog stopped beside me for a while, contented stroke, almost as if it didn't want to move on. All of it lodged in my mind.
Back in the studio, I started to paint, loose gestural marks that held those feeling of stillness and time passing. Then Sam took over, layering narrative illustrations over the abstracted spaces I had created.
One piece where I had painted a huge tree dominating the canvas became "The bench we used to sit at" Sam added a bench beneath with owner, a dog, and if you look closely a second shadow, the suggestion of someone no longer there but present.
In the second piece, where my focus had been the reflections and rhythms of the pond, Sam added a stag, gazing across the water. A small boat glides and stencilled golden leaves trail from the stag to the boat, a quiet bridge between worlds. This one was called "Calm Calls the Keeper".
We will both be in the pop up space on Saturday 9th August, painting live, talking to visitors and sharing more of the story behind these pieces. If you're nearby, do come and say hello I'd love to share more of the process in person.
These collaborations feel like pages in a shared visual journal, part memory, part story, part quiet observation. A cotswold story in paint and pencil.
If you want to purchase any of the pieces they are available on Sam's website. https://www.samantha-morris.com/