Contemplative Spaces

About

Pennie Elfick lives and works in the midst of the Somerset Moors. In 2014 the worst floods for over 200 years descended upon the area, causing devastation of land, properties and heart ache for the local inhabitants. The work in this Exhibition reflects the day to day changing nature of the area. Penny 2 In Detail: “My paintings and prints are informed by observing everyday occurrences in the environment. I investigate how colour and form can reflect a feeling ‘of place'. I create work that has a duality, it is an emotional response to something natural but resolutely abstract in its pictorial structure. By removing any figurative references I am able to investigate the poetry that can be created by colour and form in an abstract manner. These works by the particular use of colour create surfaces that sit quietly and yet command attention from the viewer challenging them to contemplate and reassess what they think they see. Penny 1 The work on show is based on the floods on Aller Moor. Each day I looked out from the Studio windows to see ever increasing levels of water . Some days it was beautiful with the water appearing blue as if it were a Mediterranean inland sea; other times it would be dark, forboding, with fast running currents and wind whipped surf. A beautiful sunrise could turn the water pink, or just cast a gossamer thin veil of grey over everywhere. There were days when to look would evoke a terrible sense of despair, knowing that under the water the land was rotting, creating a grave yard of vegetation and wildlife. This is how these paintings were inspired.' Who's it for: Anybody who appreciates the beauty of nature and is looking for a sense of inner peace. Attendee's benefits: Attendee's will feel challenged to view this work in a contemplative way but will experience a sense of the changing but peaceful nature of the Somerset countryside. About Penny: Pennie Elfick is a painter who investigates the poetic language created by colour and form through the observed environment. Her involvement in a number of projects investigating the abstract interpretation of landscape has led to a major series of exhibitions throughout the West Country. In conjunction with these exhibitions Elfick delivered workshops on the Perception of Colour. In 2001 she completed a residency at the Cill Rialaig Project in Kerry, Republic of Ireland; the time spent there was to have a major influence on her work. Elfick successfully exhibits across the Southwest and London and has undertaken commissions for international companies