My Sky – His Sea, His Sky – My Sea: Darren Lewis & Ross Andrews

Dates:13 September 2019 to 24 September 2019
Times:10am to 5pm
Email:darrenlewispaintings@gmail.com

This is Darren and Ross’ fourth joint exhibition at Pie Factory Margate following previous exhibitions titled ‘Sand, Sea and Light’ in 2016, ‘In and Out the Sea’ in 2017 and ‘Thrills and Spills’ in 2018.  The exhibition ‘Sand , Sea and Light’ gained interest by BBC reporter, Robin Gibson, and was featured on BBC South East News Today on Monday 26th September 2016.

This new exhibition, ‘My Sky–His Sea, His Sky–My Sea’ emphasises the two main elements which dominate their work, the Sky and the Sea.  Both artists often use the same subject matter but from very different approaches, perspectives and disciplines.

Darren works in traditional oils capturing the stunning light, colour and luminosity that the local coastlines have to offer.  He seeks out euphoric skies full of intense colour and vibrancy aiming to capture the movement of the air with a subtle play of colours across a canvas.  His skies serve as a dramatic backdrop to his chosen locations but the sea also plays an equally vital component to his compositions.  The sea can often provide stunning reflections to the skies he depicts, particularly Margate Harbour in the Winter seasons.  Darren is becoming increasingly known for his depictions of the well documented Margate Harbour sunsets.

Ross has always been passionate about the sea and spends a vast amount of his free time on the beach and in the sea.  Through extreme photography Ross pushes himself physically to capture the life and power of the sea and offers a new view of them, unfamiliar to and unseen by many. He endeavours to bring the sea, the coastline and the sky together from beyond the wave.  Awareness, patience and timing are key elements to Ross’ work.  Some pieces can take more than two years to plan and with a very small window of opportunity.  All of the elements, including the purity of the sky, positioning of the sun and ultimately the right type of wave have to all simultaneously come together in a moment captured.

Darren Lewis

Darren has had previous paintings featured in 3 International Art Magazines; Modern Painters (2000), Paint and Draw (2017, issue 9) and he was the editor’s choice in Leisure Painter (March 2017).  Darren has also featured on the front cover of Margate Mercury (Spring issue) 2017 and appeared in articles in Kent Life Magazine and Isle Magazine (both 2017).  Essentially, Darren is a painter from Margate and a painter of Margate.  Darren exhibits traditional oil paintings capturing the varied light and atmosphere of Margate Harbour and the surrounding coastlines.  Darren uses strong colour to emphasise the beauty of his chosen locations of the coast.  Living in Margate, he paints the things he sees around him, the things he knows well and is comfortable with.  Darren responds to the coastlines of Thanet, with a focus on the vistas of sand, sea and sky of chosen locations.  Darren’s work sits traditionally in seascapes, expressing with a command of colour, the qualities of light and form of his chosen locations.  Locality remains critical in his approach to all his work expressing his perception of his surroundings.   Having lived by the sea for 47 years visual coastlines are ingrained in his make-up.

Contact details:

Website: http://www.darrenlewispaintings.co.uk

Twitter: @dlewispaintings and @paintingmargate

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DarrenLewisPaintings

Instagram: darrenlewispaintings

Email: darrenlewispaintings@gmail.com

Tel: 07725005923

Ross Andrews

Ross’ passion is the coast, you won’t find him far from it.  From a young age Ross involved himself in many water sports and instantly became connected with the sea.  Now he spends his time capturing it through a lens.  Ross states, ‘It’s exhilarating, the shore break crashing over me and trying to capture that split second in time. Its natural beauty and the ever-changing colours and light make each shot unique’.  Braving the cold conditions of the UK waters, Ross is able to produce some amazing shots in often average conditions which is a rare quality for a surf photographer.  Ross clearly brings perseverance, energy and precision to his art. The results are impressive images of fleeting moments in various scale.  Ross also uses the natural environment as his canvas to produce Sand Art of pattern configurations to a monolithic scale using a rake and a stick. Most of Ross’ work is done on a freestyle basis, often with no planning but a visualization of what feels right at the time.

Ross’ work has been showcased on TV on several occasions and he has attracted previous national press coverage.

Contact details:

Website: http://www.rossandrews.co.uk

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Ross-Andrews

Twitter: @rossandrews3

Instagram: @rossandrewsart

Email: hello@rossandrews.co.uk

Tel: 07779230300