Continuing my exploration of my ‘archives’ I came across the above photograph of an?exhibition held at Monmouth – at the Bridges Community Centre. An?independent organisation it is housed in a large old house which had old stables and tack rooms converted for artists and craftspersons – and I had one of the small studios. Inside the house was a large room which was available for meetings, talks and exhibitions. ??The photo shows some of my works which were exhibited along with other painters from the ‘Bridges Group’. Looking at the works now I’m conscious of how much landscape figures in my unconscious thinking – in its broad sweeps and in its minute details. In my last post, on a drawing of a collapsed stone wall, I talked about tensions and dynamics and these works seem to evidence that continuing concern – of the tension of the vertical and the horizontal – of one shape in relation to others – plus my continuing exploration of the dynamics and tensions of colour relationships.

William Rothenstein : ‘The Storm’ (or ‘Iles Farm, Far Oakridge’): 1915 : 75cms x 100cms : Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum

The South Cotswold hill village of Far Oakridge, along with the neighbouring villages of Oakridge, Oakridge Lynch, Chalford and Bisley became, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a thriving centre of what is known as the ‘Arts and Crafts Movement’. Here major figures in that  movement such as Edward Barnsley, Ernest Gimson, and Alfred Bucknall worked – designing and producing furniture and metalwork now highly prized and well represented in the nationally designated Museum of the Arts & Crafts Movement at nearby Cheltenham Art Gallery.  In that gallery, along with fine examples of Arts & Crafts furniture and metalwork, are works by painters associated with the movement. One of the most imposing of such paintings is this work by Sir William Rothenstein – a significant figure in British art of the early twentieth century who trained generations of artists at the Royal College of Art. He was the father of John Rothenstein, Director of the Tate Gallery, and of Michael Rothenstein an important painter and printmaker of the second half of the twentieth century.

From a Bradford family William was always drawn to hill country – from the Pennines and Dales of Yorkshire to the rugged hillsides of the South Cotswolds. His paintings of the aftermath of World War 1, its battlefields, are extremely powerful. For him Far Oakridge was bliss – and he enjoyed the company of the Arts & Crafts members and employed them, and local craftsmen they worked with, to renovate an old and somewhat derelict Gloucestershire farm – Iles farm.

This work is typical of his gritty and firm approach to painting – both in subject matter and technique. Trained at the Slade School and in Paris, where he met, amongst others, Degas, his approach is in firm basic drawing  and composition. His painting technique uses ‘short’ paint and mainly flat brushes – common amongst his Slade generation and influenced by Degas – giving a very tactile finish admirably suited for capturing the essence of stone buildings. He later became Head of the Royal College of Art, raising its status as a major training ground for artists and art lecturers to the very highest level.

David Addison : Collapsed dry-stone wall : soft pencil : Yorkshire : 1969

I have recently been browsing through innumerable sketches, studies, and unfinished work amassed over the years ? a salutary experience!? During that nostalgic trip through my past I came across this small drawing which reminded me of the basis of my work over the years ? observation, abstracting the essence, and a fascination with ?tension?.? The context was a camping holiday with a young family ? not on a camp site but in a farmer?s field on a limestone moorland hillside in Wharfedale. The weather had not been good ? in fact it rained most of the time ? necessitating remaining in the tent for many hours. This scene, of a collapsed wall, was right in front of us and in an attempt to cope with the dismal conditions I began to idly sketch ? then began to get really interested in the relationships of irregular shapes which had formed a new dynamic relationship when the wall had fallen. The vertical axis of the tree was in stark contrast to the horizontal fallen stones ? providing a powerful tension.??? I made various attempts in subsequent months to transfer that image into a painting ? but without success. Yet looking at it now, some fifty years later, I see that I did use those tensions and contrasts in my developing abstract works.

David Addison : Landscape with Tree : gouache on paper : 2007

IPSDEN CHURCH

MONGEWELL CHURCH

NORTH STOKE CHURCH

Our three churches of North Stoke, Mongewell, and Ipsden are all ancient, beautiful, and of human size. They were built for the community by the community and using local materials. All of the present buildings go back around 800 years – but are probably, in the case of North Stoke and Mongewell, on the site of what were probably pagan spiritual centres taken over by Christianity who would have created very simple, possibly wooden, buildings. Ipsden is a bit more problematical – as it was originally a chapel linked to the Mother Church of North Stoke. Legend has it that an earlier church stood in the field opposite the Old Vicarage – I think that is probably not right but only archaeological exploration can uncover that mystery. What is more certain is that St Birinus in AD626 came to this part of the country from Rome to convert the native Saxons – setting up initially a small chapel and then establishing a monastery and Abbey Church at Dorchester. That initial small chapel was probably sited at ‘Berins Hill’ – the narrow road from Ipsden to Stoke Row, above Well Place.

North Stoke church is noted for its medieval wall-paintings and for such things as the 17^th century pulpit (still used by the Vicar!) and the delightful stained glass. The churchyard boasts an ancient mulberry tree, the grave of Dame Clara Butt the famous opera singer of the very early twentieth century and a magnificent Lych-gate (body gate) given by Dame Clara and her husband in memory of one of their sons. (see the free leaflet on the history of the church).

Mongewell Church is now ‘redundant’ and in the care of a Conservation body. Until the early 20^th century it was an active church serving the local community and being part of North Stoke parish. Earlier it had been ‘twinned’ with nearby Nuneham Murren. The present building is partly ruinous but with a preserved section (the Chancel) with some very interesting monuments. The Mongewell Estate was the family home for generations of the Barrington family – and Bishop Barrington in the early 19^th century set about adding some neo-gothic additions whilst also redesigning the parkland and gardens along ‘Picturesque’ lines. We can still use it for Church Services on half a dozen occasions per year – it has a regular Christmas Carol Concert and we had a wedding there last year.

Ipsden church is a fascinating, and surprisingly spacious, building – full of unanswered questions. It retains a few examples of medieval wall-decoration, ancient oak beams, and some charming small and humorous carved heads.  Quite what the original shape of the building was is very much open to question – for instance there is an indication in the exterior walls of a now lost aisle. The Reade family of Ipsden House continue to be part of the village as they have been for many generations and the memorials, including stained glass, reflect that involvement. . (see the free leaflet on the history of the church).

IPSDEN CHURCH : Carved Capitals

MONGEWELL CHURCH Chancel

David Addison. November 2012.