Saturday 11th June – Saturday 9th July 2011
“Fish and Ships”
by TotalPap

Total Pap are Justin Mitchell and Emily Firmin, two artists who have been making papier mache pictures, sculptures and automata since 1990. Starting with a stall at Camden Market which we run until 1994, we have developed an individual and wide ranging mixture of subject matter and ideas. These include private commissions for pets, friends, houses and cars etc to commercially oriented projects such as shop fascias and pub signs.

We work on our own pieces, but occasionally together on larger projects like the "Clown Stamp," commissioned by the Royal Mail for a set of greetings stamps in 1995.

We feel that our distinctive style offers a colourful and eye catching collection of designs that appeal to a broad cross section of tastes. Working in recycled newspaper, we can literally say that there is a story behind every picture! Currently, we are branching out into printing limited edition lino cuts with our archaic but beautiful, newly acquired 1869 Albion press.

Saturday 16th July - Saturday 13th August 2011
"Sea Meets Sky"
by Estelle Jourd

I have lived and worked in Whitstable for most of my life and studied art at the Kent Institute of Art and Design in Canterbury.

I paint on canvas or wood with oils, mostly with a palette knife. My work evolves over a period of time, layering the paint until the history of marks and colours creates the texture and form I want.

I have an intimate connection with the sea having sailed extensively off the North Kent coast. I have experienced the coastal waters between Whitstable and Ramsgate at close quarters in all weather and seasons.

I am inevitably influenced by the most powerful painter of the sea there has ever been, namely J.M.W. Turner 'the painter of light' who chose to paint on this coast, and his maxim 'paint a sky every day' has stood me in good stead.

“Estelle paints the sea as something awesome, sublime, fearsome, yet heavenly. She captures its calmness and its tempestuous waves equally; she shows both sides of its power. When looking at Estelle’s seascapes, one can really feel her passion for the ocean.”

Wednesday 17th August - Wednesday 31st August 2011
"Lovelys Summer Exhibition"


Featuring Paintings by Lisa Hawkins, Alan Whitehead, Sheila Richardson Andy Butler and Cheryl Culver
Textile Artist Kath Love and ceramics by Clare Wakefield.

Saturday 3rd September - Saturday 1st October 2011
"Post Penge- The Future"
I.C.F.A. Industrial Contemporary Fine Art. Simple designs and shapes given iconic status.
by Nigel Rhodes

I am an industrial screenprinter based in Westgate on Sea. I intersperse my industrial work with my art work. Consequently my art practice has an industrial feel. I classify my work as Industrial Contemporary Fine Art (I.C.F.A.).

After the relative success of the ‘Penge collection’, consisting of ‘Sunset over Penge’, ‘Solar eclipse- Penge’, and ‘Near Penge but not quite’. Nigel is moving on... with headier works such as:- ‘Nobody paints toilets’, ‘Gas.Electricity.Water.Marmite.’ and ‘disappointed’. With the Whitstable era behind him, Deal is his creative base, where he lives with his partner, the artist Kati Saqui.

My early influences were artists Frank Stella and Philip Guston. Recently I am inspired by artists Harland Miller and Gerherdt Richter.

Saturday 29th October - Saturday 26th November 2011
Les Étoiles Magiques - (The Magic Stars)
Mike Tedder

Collages and mixed-media works that explore real or imaginary universes with a sense of wonder.

My work creates a juxtaposition of dreams, realities and sensations, fleeting moments from life inspired by my own experiences. I explore a sense of empathy, belonging, identity and individuality; existing across different places and times, examining personal sensations of deja-vu without a fixed linear chronology. The boy is autobiographical, and being that intrepid explorer, I now report back on my findings. It is a never ending journey that spans different places and times; exploring the personal and the universal with equal fascination.

Images often develop out of quick sketches, inspired by many things such as a dream, a feeling, something suddenly remembered, a song, or a particular experience. I work with a diverse range of materials, enjoying experimenting with different art media (collage, drawing, painting and printmaking). Sometimes great surprises and discoveries come from working in an alternative medium.

I have always enjoyed image making, whether the process is drawing, painting, or photography. My first photographs date back to when I was nine years old, and was the proud owner of Kodak 127 roll film 'instamatic'. Shooting mostly holiday landscapes and friends portraits, I then progressed to using a wonderful Russian SLR, further fuelling my passion for black and white.

My photography explores past events, experiences the present, and contemplates the future. The camera records, as a sketchbook, the essence of ideas, and the nuances of existence. Pathways are revealed in landscapes and faces that lead the explorer towards discoveries. I am fascinated by the area of shared experience and empathy between the photographer and his model. The creation of the image is a collaborative event, which extends beyond the moment to include the viewer within this collective process.

My artwork has been commissioned and represented in various publications, with solo and group exhibitions showing in the UK, France, Holland, Spain, Germany, Italy, Canada and the USA. I have also taught adult classes and workshops in drawing, printmaking and painting.