Lake District Spa Resort Welcomes Artist For Gallery Exhibition

An award-winning North West artist has been invited back to a spa hotel resort on Windermere for a second display of his most prominent and recent works.

Norman Long has returned to feature in the latest Art in the Atrium gallery at Low Wood Bay Resort & Spa.  He is joined in the summer exhibition by North Wales based ceramicist Wendy Lawrence.

Renowned for his versatility, Norman excels in both still life and landscape subjects. He is particularly drawn to depicting people in public spaces, capturing their subtle interactions and relationships, and lending vitality, character and a narrative depth to his work.

Wendy has featured in a host of clay and ceramic exhibitions, events and symposiums, including the International Ceramic Festival in Aberystwyth, the Keramisto Ceramics Festival in the Netherlands, and Ceramic Art London.

The Art in the Atrium gallery displays are a regular feature at the spa resort thanks to an ongoing partnership between English Lakes Hotels Resorts & Venues and Lancaster-based Gavagan Art.

Executive chairman of English Lakes Hotels Simon Berry says:

“We’re thrilled to welcome Norman Long back to the Art in the Atrium gallery with his latest display called ‘Multitude’.  He is a popular artist with a love for the great outdoors and for painting from observational experiences of everyday life."

“Norman will be painting here in the atrium from the 3rd to the 7th of August as our first ‘artist in residence’.  And as part of that he will be available at various times throughout the day to chat with guests and visitors about his work and art in general.

“Our ceramics exhibitions continue to attract great interest from visitors and guests at Low Wood Bay too.  And Wendy’s creations in clay are inspired by her research and development of new forms, surfaces, glazes and oxides to make a fascinating display.”

Mary Gavagan from Gavagan Art adds:

“As well as being artist in residence at Low Wood Bay this summer, Norman is also a member of the New English Art Club and currently has work on display in the Mall Galleries in London."

“He says his range of subjects, whether portraits, figures or landscapes, allow him to always feel the freshness of a beginner. The discovery of new techniques is also fundamental to Norman’s interest in making paintings."

“Wendy’s ongoing delight in texture and surface is the key to her work. Her ideas develop from geological investigation into natural forms found in the landscape and man’s influence on that through the study of archaeological sites.”

Born in Preston, Norman Long studied at Newcastle University and was later awarded a scholarship for postgraduate study at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.  His work has been exhibited regularly with the New English Art Club and has also been shown at exhibitions of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters and the Royal Society of Portrait Painters.

Accolades including the de Laszlo Award from the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and Artist of the Year from Artist & Illustrators magazine helped establish his reputation as an accomplished portrait painter.  He also serves as a trustee of the Manchester Academy of Fine Arts.

Originally from Clitheroe, Wendy Lawrence moved to North Wales in 1999 where she has her own studio in Denbigh.  As a senior lecturer at Wrexham University, Wendy continues to divide her time between making and teaching, as well as helping to organise the annual Ceramic Wales event.  She has also featured in publications such as Ceramics Art and Perception, Crafts and Ceramic Review. 

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