Land, Sea and Sky: A Solo Exhibition of Paintings by Colin Carruthers You are cordially invited to the opening of Colin Carruthers' Solo Exhibition. Please join us for refreshments on Sunday 5th February between 2.15 p.m - 5.15 p.m. Friends and family are all welcome to attend. The Exhibition continues from Wednesday 8th February until Sunday 4th March 2012. Throughout February, Purple Gallery will host a solo exhibition of Colin's latest paintings. Many of you will already know Colin quite well from your visits to the gallery, but for those that don't, Colin is originally from Antrim in Northern Ireland. He moved to Birmingham and studied at Margaret Street, graduating with a BA Honours degree in Fine Art in 1997.    Colin and his wife Jane opened Purple Gallery in Bournville  in 2005 where Colin has been exhibiting and selling his own work alongside the work of other emerging artists.  For further information about the works in this exhibition please click on this link to the Online Catalogue>>> To view Colin's biography please click on this link>>> Colin says: "When I am not painting in my studio, I like to make trips to the countryside and coast. This is part of my practice as an artist in which I continue to draw inspiration from the changing environment.  For me, the experience of being outdoors is about emotionally connecting with the landscape and its surroundings.  Within that process, I gather resources for my work and quite often visit the same place at different times of the year to experience the changes in light, weather and flora.  These changes inspire me to draw and paint and experience the place afresh, as if visiting it for the first time. I have painted on location in the past.  Whilst I have benefited from this experience, I prefer to use my outdoor trips to draw and sketch which helps me to find a starting point for my paintings when I am back in the studio. I am moving away from being stimulated by what my eyes see, to moving towards what I emotionally feel in my memory of the place visited.  For that reason, I think I will always be a studio painter at heart. Over the past few years, I have been drawn to wildflowers observed on my travels and so they appear a lot more in more recent work.  I love the way nature arranges where flowers should grow and feel that they are brought alive by the colour and texture of the paint, in a way that can’t be expressed through a photograph or botanical illustration. I have heard many people say that they have gained a peace from viewing my paintings. I find this interesting as I am personally attracted to places that give me a sense of peace and well being.  People often value paintings of a place they have visited, because they feel a connection with it. Their memory of the sounds, the smells, the sensation of being healthy and alive.  My paintings endeavour to capture something about the essence of what it feels like to be there." There will be a wide range of Colin's latest paintings on show in the gallery until Sunday 4th March. Alongside his seascape and landscape paintings, there will also be some still life flower paintings and work from his last trip to Provence. Prices range from £150 - £2,950. You have received this mailing because you are subscribed to the Friends of Purple Gallery mailing list. If you no longer wish to receive mailings, please click here>> to unsubscribe Gust Oil on Canvas 50 cm x 50 cm Cornfield SOLD Oil on Canvas 70 cm x 50 cm