The exhibition will run until April 5, and is well worth a visit. The two artists have different styles and interests, Legg in watercolour and acrylics, Harpur in acrylics and oils.
Harpur has been painting in the Garden Route for 12 years, and painting is a passion which yields great satisfaction to her. Every painting captures a scene which has caught her imagination. Going out with a back-pack on a hike she will photograph scenes that have meaning to her, to capture the movement, the light and the colour. She never paints from someone else’s photograph, only her own that capture her imagination, often market scenes full of colour and movement. She is inspired by the colour, brilliance and flexibility of oils, but also uses acrylics, both on boards.
Legg retired to Plettenberg Bay years ago after working as a graphic designer, and begun painting in watercolour, a difficult medium to master. Some five years ago he began to paint in acrylics, and today he uses both media. He paints on canvas fixed on board, primed with a mixture of PVA paint and Alcolin wood glue, which gives him a firm flat surface to work on.
He paints what he sees, basically landscapes and seascapes. He will photograph a scene to work from, make a sketch from it, adjusting composition and colour, which will take time to prepare, and only then will he begin to paint, working to capture the atmosphere of the scene.
The exhibition was put on by Bridget Read at the Knysna Art Gallery, and the official opening was well attended by local art lovers, including some fellow artists. Timothy Twiddle gave an inspired opening speech, dwelling on the importance of art to all living beings which drew well earned applause.
Gordon Legg with a typical scene that inspires him, the Knysna Lagoon, with a boat in the centre for interest.
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