Foggy Dartmoor Residency

You may’ve noticed I havent been in my studio lately. Thats because I ve been on a residency with https://www.mayescreative.com/ on Dartmoor. Essentially for me to reconnect with a part of the world I’m very fond of and to get back out there painting en plein air, but also to stretch myself and learn some new things.

I’ve had painting trips to Dartmoor before and it was a regular stopping point for us on our family holidays. I’m the one standing up ‘enjoying the view’.

I revisited Bellever Bridge with the same sketchbook I took bike packing last summer and painted the view again. Its hardly changed just the water level slightly higher which is not surprising as the first sketch was summer and now we are just reaching the end of Autumn.

This got me thinking about timescales and how our existence is such a tiny blip in the grand scale of things. ‘Marking time’ as a theme pops up a lot in my work so I was fascinated to learn about the ancient stone circles, rows and burial cists that are abundant in this central part of Dartmoor where I was staying with the other artists. Ive always admired the Granite outcrops and standing stones here, they are very pleasing in the landscape aesthetically but I am ignorant of their meaning and significance. But on hand where Mayes Creatives Carolyn Kennett an expert in Astroarchaeology and Joanna Mayes artist and filmmaker (pictured below).Both Devon residents with an intimate knowledge of the area as well as being seasoned creatives and academics. They filled us with facts, data and stories about the land, skies and ecology on what was to prove to be a fascinating and enlightening residency.

Much of the thrust of the residency was making through photography although interested in this I was much more keen to get out drawing and painting. Although it was great fun to be a witness to the experimental photographic processes that were unfolding in front of me including performance and interaction with ancient stones shrouded in fog I was happy to leave the photographic artists to get on with it and lose myself in mark making.

I really enjoyed taking my iPad and easel up to Bellever Tor and trying to capture the 280 million year old Granite outcrops with my iPad Pro using Paper by We Transfer and my Apple Pen. The old and the new collide! Once you focussed on the formations you could make out the solidified molten lava making shapes like dripping very thick custard. A volcanic episode frozen in time for all to see. The crystals in the granite are aligned with the flow of the lava so if you know what you are looking for much can be mapped with the Geology that has been left behind.

Bellever tor has a trig point too which I was very excited to see but wasnt athletic enough to climb up to look at it closely. (I have a trig point project that is ongoing and very much work in progress)

If you have been following my work you will know I have an ongoing project of photographing the letter A. Imagine my delight on the second day of the residency when visiting Neolithic stone formations at Melliver we are shown a standing stone with an A carved in it. I of course record it and spent some time painting it. This is not a bronze age A but a more recent intervention made by Monks as part of the Abbots way. Its one of several way markers for the monks to follow. The A stands for Ashburton and on the other side of the stone is a T for Tavistock. Quite obvious when looking at the map of Dartmoor one settlement being either side of the moor and the monks wouldve travelled regularly between places of worship traversing the treachourous bogs. Most of our residency was shrouded in thick Dartmoor fog so we certainly had a taster of not being able to see f’all. An interesting constraint for those working in the visual arts.

The fog really did add a interesting atmosphere to the visit and my final piece of work made there was a studio piece from my imagination. I tried to make an impression of what I had learnt about the landscape and the placing of the ancient stones aligning with the moon and stars and landmarks like the tors. I also would’ve liked to have made charcoal from wood I gathered on the walks but of course time and health and safety wouldn’t allow so I made my drawing from Somerset charcoal that I brought along. To add to the atmosphere of the piece it was best viewed by fire or candle light rather than the UV strip lighting of the classroom, so I invited the other artists to view the drawing by the light of their torches or mobile phones only. I love charcoal for this kind of work it really does have its own atmosphere and feels primeval and ancient worldly. I’ve since rehung the piece in my studio back at East Quay and am hoping now the nights are drawing in folks can view it in dimmed light.

Dartmoor however will always remind me of family holidays so in a fit of nostalgia I brought one of my painted deckchairs with me and photographed it reclining at the hostel where we stayed and at the the beginning of the stone row. A complete nonsense of course as not a sandy beach or icecream van in sight.

We also had a tantalising and rather magical visit to not to go into Wistmans Wood. Quite a fun walk to get there and it looked very inviting in the distance but no member of the public is allowed in as it is such a fragile and special environmental site. So we had to make the most of the perimetre and peer into the tangle of stunted gnarled old oaks, moss covered granite boulders and wander at the autumnal trees dripping in angel hair like lichens which give the place its rather fairytale like appearance. Inspired by its magical qualities but frustrated by the difficulty in trying to paint the never-ending layers of the woods I played with the kaleidoscope app on my iPhone and hopefully captured some of the mystery of the place.

I mentioned the other artists on my residency, they are far too many and interesting to discuss here and you can find out more about them via Instagram we collected a healthy list of tags so go and have an explore.

@mayescreative

@sophiemeyer_art

@carolynkennett

@Replacement.hipster

@Lazy.Photon

@jennyklein_studio

@caroline.uff

@snenby

@rachaelnee.art

@art.helenelizabeth

@vickyhathway

@eva.barkardottir

@ruby.kester

@emmiesdrawings

@hagpoet

@oculus_sinistra

@joeCharrington