Membership is by invitation. After two successful entries for the Open Exhibition, membership is offered at the committee’s discretion.
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Gerry Coles
I discovered Linocut Printmaking quite late on in life compared to most who seem to have dabbled at school. My education was seriously lacking in that respect - maybe I just went to the sort of school where they didn't willingly give the kids sharp objects.
I adored drawing as a child and subsequently studied Art up to A level, but there I stopped. Life intervened and somehow, something I loved became something I never did.
Then, at a visit to the Victoria gallery in Bath a few years ago I encountered wonderful relief prints which were bold and intriguing and made me want to try for myself.
To paraphrase Mark Twain - "I never let schooling interfere with my education" so I bought myself a kit and I started to teach myself Linocut. I was hooked. Since then I have since attended workshops in Linocut with Alexandra Buckle, Laura Boswell and Beth Jenkins.
I became a member of Oxford Art Society in 2019. I exhibit and sell at at exhibitions throughout Oxfordshire, including Thame Art Crawl and Oxfordshire Artweeks in 2018, 2019 and online in 2020. Most recently, lockdown has forced an improved online presence, my audience has broadened and I now regularly sell internationally.
My print “Christmas in the Covered Market” was selected to be included in the Oxford Art Book published in 2018.
I love the combination of artistry, technical challenge and luck needed to produce a print, and I’m constantly in awe of what is revealed when the paper is peeled back from the block.