Anne Farmer . net

Welcome to my Gallery

Boats and barns, sheep and shoes, flowers and feathers...( plus artistry and alliteration, obviously)...you will see I paint what takes my fancy! I love the verve and light of watercolours and I try to show the variety of things you can do with them.

Email: mail@annefarmer.net

September 7th 2012

I truly did have good intentions to complete everything, including getting new material together for this website, in good time for Somerset Arts Weeks. Yet here we are with a week to go and nothing is finished, not even the painting, let alone the framing and hanging! I’ve had a slow but steady output since the last SAW event, thanks to our Spring Farm Arts activities, opening up our studios half-a-dozen times a year, though this hasn’t been reflected in my website entries, so this is more-or-less an annual report...

I took up my pens, pencils and paints after the 2011 Arts weeks to celebrate the glorious surroundings of my October Lake District holiday – mainly drawings in and around Troutbeck, a gorgeous little village east of Windermere where they notice when ’strangers’ appear and are happy to chat to foreign sketchers.

The winter brought on the usual reflex of turning to snow as a subject, frequently with added sheep. The early part of 2012 saw me inspired by bare-branched vistas on my doorstep, though the temperatures only permitted twenty minutes ‘en plein air’ at a time. The summer (what summer?) provided sketches, some paintings, and lots of photos in Greece and Scotland, although I haven’t managed to exploit most of my ideas yet.

Then came the treadmill of Calendar Scene production. I know that if I start now by doing September 2014 I could avoid the panic but since I’m already a month behind I guess there’s not much chance of that happening. Still I resolved not to look at another photo but to paint what was in front of me once the calendar was finished and I’ve pretty much stuck to that. So still life and pictures close to home represent the last few weeks work.

Soon be Christmas!

November 21st 2011

I've added a few new pictures to the site. Visit my recent work page to find all the new additions.

September 5th 2011

Yes, nearly Somerset Arts Weeks time again, and all the ensuing panic which occurs after the pictures are painted. Our group Spring Farm Arts, formed a couple of years ago, is well-represented: me plus Nancy Farmer, Jenny Graham, Susie Gradwell and Clio Graham. We are all tucked into various corners on the Spring Farm site.
I have about 30 new paintings. I’ve been rummaging again for some of my subjects – vintage shoes, dried flowers, old boots – and out and about near and far for others.
I’ve continued some experimentation with broadening my choice of water-based media, using crayons, pencils, ink and gesso, and I’ve also produced a wider size and shape range too.
For the third year running I’ve produced my Somerset Scenes Calendar although I’ve hardly yet begun to exploit sketches made in more exotic locations.
See recent work for a selection from my Somerset Art Weeks exhibition. The event runs from Saturday 17th September to Sundays 2nd October from 11am to 5pm. We are open on the ‘core’ days Thursday to Sunday (closed Monday to Wednesday).

May 10th 2011

I have added a few new paintigs to the site - to see more, have a look at my recent work page.

My output this year has consisted of catching up with work started after a couple of weeks in the Lake District last Autumn, and some early Spring observations locally. I have had a specially exciting time working at Quarry Batch Farm, in Street, thanks to the kindness of Emma Stacey and Paul Willis. I had exploited a lot of ‘farmyard’ sights – and sites- on the doorstep so it was great to find ‘pastures new’ (literally and metaphorically). Meanwhile I have been continuing to supply two local magazines with black-and-white drawings.

At the time of writing we have an exhibition here at Spring Farm, and I also have pictures just up the road as part of Moorlinch Art Group’s Easter Exhibition. It won’t be long before we’re off on the ocean wave and, I hope, collecting material for Mediterranean inspired work. Then it will be back to organise our Annual Bridgwater Art Challenge, trying to persuade anyone who feels so inclined to take their paints and easel out into the streets for a day.

September 4th 2010

Somerset Arts Weeks 2010 is fast approaching! Once again, I shall be exhibiting my artwork, and have new paingings to show you, plus a calendar for 2011. Somerset Arts Weeks runs from 18th Sept - 3rd Oct (closed Mondays) and I shall be on hand to answer questions and show you my artwork during this time. For more information please look at my Exhibitions page. The thumbnails on this page will lead you to a couple of my new paintings, and to see more, have a look at my recent work page.

April 7th 2010

Some new paintings for 2010 have been added to this site. Considering the winter that we've just had, it is unsurprising that many are weather-related! And then there are paintings inspired by my diaries of holidays in France, and a new almost-monochromatic technique I've been working on. To see them all, have a look at the recent work page.

August 6th '08

2009 Paintings: After a long pause in the updating of this website, though no pause in activity, a number of new paintings have been added here all at once. Here is a sample, but to see all the new pictures please visit my recent work page.

September 4th '08

Summer Paintings: Perhaps as a reaction to our wonderful English summer with its subtle muted tones of misty grey, leaden black and washed-out murk, I have been concentrating recently on re-creating scenes from time spent last year in Turkey and Greece. The pictures are based on sketches, photographs and diaries and there is of course a strong boating element. I never tire of painting them although I also never seem to get any better at sailing them! To see all the new pictures please visit my recent work page.

A little bit about my paintings

I can’t remember a time when I didn’t draw and paint but my ‘academic painting life’ (although that’s much too grand a phrase) began with O-level Art at school in Ottery St Mary, Devon, followed by A-level Art twenty-five years later in Guildford. In 2004, twenty years after that, I had my first exhibition as part of Somerset Arts Week.

At that stage I had to juggle paintbrushes with wine bottles while my husband and I were optimistic enough to be English Wine producers. When we ceased the wine-making business, we remained in the picturesque but still genuine Somerset countryside and painting then became my major activity. If nothing else this career change gave me the opportunity of saying that I gave up Vine Art for Fine Art!