It’s saying something when you wait for two days for inspiration to come knocking and it ends up breaking the door down and throwing you out of bed at 5am!!! I don’t know if I like this life of a penniless author peddling twaddle if it’s going to interfere with my desperately needed beauty sleep. They say genious is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration – well I have sweated buckets for this little nugget of wit and wisdom, so there had better be someone out there who thinks it’s worth it!!
AHEM!! – I digress…..just for a change. Now where was I? Oh that’s right – Sunday! This truly was a red-letter day in our calendar, as we were finally going to get to see the culmination of all the blood, sweat and tears that had gone into setting up the hotly anticipated Exhibition showcasing the work of our favourite Local Artist and Graphic Designer, Lisa Catherwood. The Exhibition actually spanned the whole weekend, but as we were caught up in all things familial and sibling revelry – we had to fight to find a port-hole let alone a decent sized window! HOWEVER – finally at around 4pm we arrived at Quarterlands Barn, Drumbeg’s newest and most exciting Art Gallery.
There was naturally much coming and going, but without too much trouble we managed to find the lady herself and exchange hugs and arrange drinks for ourselves. The Exhibits were placed in three locations, two of them in adjoining rooms in the Gallery Barn and the third – housing the newest paintings, was her private Studio. On view, expertly hung in exactly the right spots to showcase them best, and cleverly laid out by colour and hue and subject matter by her Set Designer Sarah Kelly, resided the entire Catalogue of over 25 years work – minus those that already hang proudly in the homes of those of us fortunate enough to have already procured or been gifted with their own piece of beauty and artistic expression of course! I have known Lisa for all of this time and more, and although I’ve always been an avid supporter and a huge fan of her work, I was unprepared for the sudden lump in my throat, complete awe and unfettered pride I felt as I surveyed what amounted to hundreds of hours of lovingly crafted, inspirational paintings charting all of her devotion to putting her heart and soul onto canvas. To be honest it quite took my breath away. Sitting just beneath the paintings and adding an unusual but welcome eclectic twist were the gorgeous mirrors that she had hand-painted in a riot of sapphire blues, jade greens, mellow yellows and brightest blood reds. The overall effect was one of a kaleidoscopic explosion and profusion of light, colour, movement, imagination and inspiration to rival anything available in other Galleries claiming to house the genius of those, avaricious enough to demand exorbitant prices but sadly lacking in talent and flair to equal this woman when you gazed upon these creative diamonds. Lisa works largely with oils and earlier in her career her freedom of expression led her to follow her bliss and create pieces that, if they must be stifled by a label, would be thrust under the much-used title of Modern Art. This merely allows the viewer the liberty to use his or her own imagination and interpretation in deciding the subject matter viewed through their own eyes and unique perspective however – which is actively encouraged by Lisa herself.
In the studio however, were for me her most moving and exciting work to date – the Mas de Cadegnac and Sligo Ochres of sunsets and amazing cloud formations depicting the drenched and mystical myriad of intensity that she witnessed during the volcanic ash weeks of the erupting Icelandic Volcano filling European Skies earlier this year. Lisa discovered these new colours when she was on holiday with John in the South of France, near Nice in Spring, and their hot and surging intensity of charcoal, red, burnt umber and molten yellow, through to golden sand lend an altogether deeper and more passionately intense feel to these amazing and exciting paintings. It was a completely unforgettable experience and one that I have lingered over often in my mind’s eye since we left, and will continue to do so for a long time to come.
When the formal viewing time had passed and those who had been to peruse the Exhibition had disappeared it gave those of us left time to relax, have a glass of wine or two and chat about the day. I was also looking forward to catching up with good friends, and having the opportunity to meet some new ones – I wasn’t disappointed! We sat in the “Blue Room” of the Gallery Barn and were regaled with various hilarious stories of how the weekend had gone, and I got to meet two very interesting women, friends of Vanessa’s who hail from the other side of The Pond! The craic was mighty and we discussed many diverse subjects, ranging from Internet Dating and the charms of free and easy delectably sexy Spanish Ski-Instructors met on a train and now on tap to the elegant and intelligent woman (with great taste in shoes!!) when required….or is he Italian…?? – to the pros and cons of finding out the hot, fit and financially extremely solvent man that you’re seeing has a penchant for exploring his feminine side and testing your erotic boundaries whilst wearing heels and a distinctly Jordanesque range of attire. (When I say “exploring” I mean in the guise of a Scott of the Antarctic or a Christopher Columbus of the High Seas…!!) My darling, talented John – affectionately known as “Litchfield” Larmour to a select number of friends – whom I had lost to his passion for photography several hours before as he documented the Exhibition with his beloved digital camera and Lisa’s rather more professional one – and I were then cordially invited to stay for dinner, which, following heated debate over which of the world’s cuisines was the foremost in delectability, the majority vote was to fly over Europe in favour of flavours of the Orient – and Chinese Take-Out was ordered. During the meal it was revealed that one of our number who hails from High Wycombe, is having a rather pivotal birthday later this year (despite my husband declaring that he thought she looked about 25 – I have to concur decidedly on this by the way, and will have to think seriously of becoming vegetarian if that is what it does for your skin!!) it was then swiftly decided by our generous Hostess that there will be a costume party thrown for her at where else but Quarterlands Road at the end of October! Yippee – another grand day to look forward to – a fitting end to an amazing day and an incredibly busy weekend – AWESOME!!!!
We left soon after to pay a visit to my lovely and very patient sister-in-law in Belfast whose birthday it was and where we were expected shortly after 6pm (only four hours late then – just as well she’s a Night-Owl!!) and shortly thereafter wend our weary but socially and artistically-sated way home and to bed……!!!
Marvelle!!
4 August 2010
Debbie Larmour - Storyteller 