Yorkshire Artists - Judith Bromley

Judith Bromley - Yorkshire-based Painter

Profile

Judith has lived and worked in Askrigg since 1973. Her work varies from large landscapes to small flower studies, and from traditional to a more exploratory approach. Inspired by the contrasts of wild empty moorland and flower filled meadows, high rushing waterfalls and slow reflective rivers, walls encrusted with mosses and lichens, and quiet secretive woods, she uses a variety of media - oils, pastels, gouache and watercolour, to express her deep love of the Dales countryside and all its seasonal moods. Her studies of wild flowers are particularly well known.

Her first book, Step into the Meadow, published to celebrate the 50th birthday of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, was based on a collection of paintings of a traditional Dales haymeadow throughout the seasons. This was followed in November 2003 by Come Down to the Wood, based on a year in the life of a local woodland, and which has additional paintings by Robert Nicholls. They are now working on a third book - Climb up to the Moor.

Judith's work has been shown regularly in many one-man and joint exhibitions nationally, including the prestigious Painters of the Dales exhibition; and also features in the book produced by the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust - The Yorkshire Dales, a view from the Millennium; and in The Yorkshire Dales, a 50th anniversary celebration of the National Park.

She was a founder member of the Askrigg Group Exhibition, which was held for 25 years during August, first in Askrigg and later in Hawes.

"Increasingly for me the process of drawing and painting is a meditative experience.

"I paint in order to discover, explore, and express the relationship between my inner being and all that surrounds me - the environment, the world, the universe. For me the painting process becomes one which dissolves the differences between us.

"In more recent watercolours I express very simply the spirit of the moment - the colour, mood and shape of the landscape, or the occasion. For many years I have kept a written and visual journal of my life's journey. The paintings are small watercolours, some tending towards the representational, but most of them having a more symbolic use of line, form and colour. I am now beginning to develop these little watercolour images using oils on large canvases - coming round again to an exploratory approach, to expressing what 'makes my heart sing', layers and levels of experience - paintings from the soul.

"The paintings I am working on this year are the result of spending time up on the moorland around my home. Up on the moor I can expand into the space between earth and heaven, watch the clouds erase and reveal further horizons, see the subtleties of colour change with the movement of the sun and the seasons. Finding a tiny rare flower in a vast seemingly empty landscape can be an unexpected joy in this land of infinity and intimacy."

Judith has taught painting and drawing to adults for Craven College, the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and at Bainside Arts in Bainbridge, and is a visiting tutor at Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre in Birmingham. She has developed workshops and courses which explore the spiritual aspects of creativity - Contemplation & Creation, and during 2001–2 was given a Joseph Rowntree Quaker Fellowship, which enabled her to introduce her workshops to groups throughout Britain. In 2006 she will be leading courses at several centres around the country: drawing and painting, contemplation and creation, and (having recently completed a yoga teacher training course) movement and painting. See below for details

EXHIBITIONS during 2007

January - March

Yorkshire Dales National Park Centre at Bainbridge in Wensleydale
A collection of large paintings selected from old and new work ranging from traditional to contemporary.

May 19 & 20 and 26 & 27

North Yorkshire Open Studios event at Beech House, Askrigg, Wensleydale
Beech House, Askrigg: open most Wednesdays from April - ring first to check if making a special journey: 01969 650266.

COURSES & EVENTS led by Judith Bromley Nicholls

In 2006 I led courses in 'Painting, Drawing and Contemplation'; 'Walking & Drawing'; 'Contemplation & Creation - Finding a sense of place by responding creatively to the earth and the season'; and 'Releasing the Creative Spirit - painting and gentle body movement'.

These were in several venues all over the country: Swarthmoor Hall, Ulverston, Cumbria; Bainside Arts, Bainbridge, Wensleydale; Charney Manor, Oxfordshire; Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre, Birmingham; Scargill, Kettlewell, Wharfedale; and Glenthorne, Grasmere in the Lake District.

In 2007 I am hoping to concentrate more on writing and painting but look out for the following courses at Bainside Arts:

29 May - 1 June Wild Flower Week

Walks, talks and workshops - a special event with:

Annie Farrer botanical painter (Kew Gardens & RHS)
Judith Bromley, Dales painter & teacher
Deborah Milward, botanist (Botanical Society & YWT)

For further details and to book:
T: 0845 3305105 or 01969 650070
E: administrator@bainside-arts.org.uk
W: www.bainside-arts.org.uk

Sat 30 June & Sun 1 July WALKING AND DRAWING

Varied walking from a good stride to a slow meditative pace. Drawing can deepen your awareness as you explore this wonderful Dales landscape.