Westbury Festival begins with art exhibition

AN ARTISTS Alliance has been set up in Westbury, by Lesley Longworth, to come together and showcase professional artwork from artists in and around the area as an opening event for Westbury’s Music and Arts Festival.

The ‘White Horse Artists and Artisans’ group held their first exhibition at The Laverton Hall, with a preview evening for invited guests on Friday 20th April and an exhibition for the public on Saturday 21st April.

The exhibition was held as the first event for Westbury’s Music and Arts Festival, which will continue with a variety of events across the year.

Artists involved in the showcase were all professionals, many of those studying art in various colleges and universities across the country. They included: • Jen Barnett who paints countryside scenes using acrylics. • Helen Chester who showcased her series of commemorative First World War portraits. • Andrew Cottrell who painted landscapes inspired by his recent travels. • Don Hinton who takes his career on the railway as his subject matter. • Darlas Hunter who takes various subject matters using a variety of mediums. • Lynn Keddie who paints landscapes in oil on canvas. • Lesley Longworth who focuses her work on oil paintings of animals and people. •  Shirley Paget whose interest in watercolour paintings encouraged her to self teach herself the skill. • Alex Prowse whose work can be found in a large number of collections across the country. • Mick Toole, with a career of graphic design, who creates wood engravings working from a small press in his home. • Trevor Waugh uses the countryside as inspiration for his watercolours with a studio/ gallery nearby in The Old Church, Heywood where he is currently exhibiting his work, and • Bernard Willington whose life has always been filled with painting and now has an extensive portfolio of artwork around themes of human interaction with landscape.

Lesley Longworth, who moved to Westbury in 2014, has been calling on artists in the area to help her start a local art group, and says she is amazed with the outcome.

“It’s fantastic, it is the first art exhibition of this standard in Westbury for a very long time,” Lesley said, “ It is great to bring together both superb and emerging artists, as well as creating a community of people that would never have met each other otherwise.

“The germ of the idea came when I approached the White Horse News about creating a local art group and after, then getting in contact with the organisers of Westbury Festival, this exhibition happened.

“We are hoping to hold open studios during the festival itself and will definitely hope to repeat this event next year.”

Jane Russ, a member of the Westbury Festival committee said, “We are thrilled to have this as our first event and hope to have them throughout the year outside of the festival dates, but still under the festival umbrella. We hope it will help keep the festival in people’s minds. We are absolutely thrilled with the turn out and the event was a great success.”

If you are an artist interested in exhibiting in future events, or would like more information about the artists on display please contact Lesley on lesleylongworth@hotmail .com.

For more information about Westbury Music and Arts Festival visit www.westbury festival.org.uk for the latest updates.