J U M

Bideford Black

Hand Sourced | Hand Processed | Hand Printed

This print was made using the natural pigment "Bideford Black" which is found only in North Devon. The raw pigment was hand harvested and refined before being mixed with an egg tempera medium using a muller. This traditional method of paint making produced an incredibly rich black paint. This paint was then printed straight from the muller onto the card. Each print is unique.

Up until 1969 Bideford Black was mined industrial throughout Bideford and its surrounding areas. It has had many uses including; camouflage during WWII, Max Factor mascara and artists' pigment.

All aspects of this project were designed and created by local artist Jum Fernandez.

Alan Cotton is a much loved British Landscape painter. He uses pallet knives to create impasto marks which look rather uninformed and unplanned up close but from a distance make incredibly realistic, almost photographic, landscapes. The work in the exhibition is breathtakingly executed. The pieces have traditional and homely feels to them due to the safe, shared subject of "landscapes" but I also found some pieces challenge my mind with the almost Impressionist style of paint application. This was particularly true in the case of the Venice series, where Cotton painted the reflections of the Venetian buildings in the water.

It was wonderful to see such a distinguished artist exhibiting locally. The Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter never fails to provide a fantastic show. The exhibition was beautifully curated, I personally interpreted the layout as starting in distant lands (Venice, mountain ranges etc) and ending with more familiar scenes (the dull skies of England).

Dear readers, I sincerely apologise for my delay in posting. In fact, you may not have realised this but I have not updated this site in two months. Needless to say a lot of very interesting content has left un posted about. I dislike posts that go along the lines of "throw back thursdays" so this post is a way of recapping a few of my favourite art related adventures that have happened since my last blog post.

Social Fabric @ RAMM

Muller Prints from my studio

Workshop "Flora and Fauna Extracting Natural Dyes"

House of Justice, Brussels

Photographs from Bideford's Heritage Day which took place on July 5th 2015 and was held in Victoria Park.

The event featured "living history" in the form of a group of mercenaries from the mid 1400s. The community included weavers, spinners, dyers, craftsmen, herbalists and, of course, fighters who were no longer needed at war and thus hired themselves out as protectors in order to make living.

The festival also had armour to try on, swords, spears and other weaponry, musket firing, archery and a knights training course demonstrated by kitted out enthusiasts!

Trepanning Through History

J U M

Bideford Black

Hand Sourced | Hand Processed | Hand Printed

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