19th July 2022
Two stunning new exhibitions by members of Limavady Art Group and local artist Jim Holmes are now open at Roe Valley Arts and Cultural Centre.
Limavady Art Group meet weekly to create and learn together over a cup of tea, working together to develop their skills in their shared pursuit of creating outstanding artworks in varied mediums, scales, and themes.
The group continued to produce pieces throughout the pandemic, and this exhibition reflects their stoicism and dedication to creating great art and nurturing the community they have created with each other.
Jim Holmes’ beautiful exhibition, ‘As I see it’, is inspired by a group of Australian impressionist artists. On August 17th 1889, Roberts, Conder, Streeton, McCubbin, and others held the 9" x 5" impressionism exhibition in Melbourne. At that time, it was difficult to get pieces of canvas to paint on, but they did have cigar box lids, made of cedar wood which measured approximately 9"x 5". This exhibition is now considered one of the most famous in Australian art history and the paintings are regarded as national treasures.
Art materials were difficult to get hold of in Northern Ireland during lockdown, so Jim had to improvise by using two larger canvas boards to give him a set of six 6" x 12" boards to paint on. He found these were an ideal size for painting outside and looked very well when framed. While most paintings in this exhibition are canvas-covered boards cut to size, some have been painted on various pieces of wood or card.
Congratulating all of the artists involved, the Mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council Councillor Ivor Wallace said: “I recently enjoyed a visit to both exhibitions, and I was very impressed by the level of skill and artistic detail on display. It’s very encouraging to see our Arts Centre promoting local artists in this way, and we clearly have a lot of creative talent to celebrate. Both exhibitions will run until August 20th so please take the time to drop in and enjoy these beautiful pieces for yourself.”
For more information, please visit www.roevalleyarts.com
