Watercolour artist Jo Dowers will the share the fruits of her year-long residency at Denmans Garden in a new exhibition running until December 22.
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00:00 Good morning, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor for Sussex Newspapers, and it's
00:05 a big pleasure this morning to be speaking to Jo Dowers, who for the past year has been
00:10 artist in residence at Denman's Garden. Now, you're about to show the results of that residency
00:16 in a fabulous sounding exhibition. How have you enjoyed that year in residency?
00:21 It's been a wonderful year, I mean, a great opportunity to spend the year at Denman's
00:27 Garden, recording the garden, it's almost like having a sort of visual diary, and just
00:32 capturing in paint, watercolour especially, as it changes through the seasons.
00:38 You make it sound very easy, but the point is it's a very, very special place, isn't
00:42 it? What makes it so great to be there, do you think?
00:47 It's got such a lovely atmosphere, and the planting, the colours, there's so much going
00:56 on. I mean, the real challenge has been just to be selective about what I paint, rather
00:59 than trying to sort of capture the whole garden.
01:01 So tell me more about that approach, what were you setting out to do in that year?
01:08 Probably record and give an impression of how the garden appears to me, and my sort
01:14 of, the places that I really love to sit and sketch, and then I would take those sketches
01:20 home, and with the aim of sort of changing them into larger painting, larger pieces for
01:28 the exhibition. That's sort of my process, is to use the plein air sketches, and that's
01:31 what's been really, I've really enjoyed, is actually being out there painting with nature.
01:36 And you're going to miss that, aren't you?
01:40 I am, I am, but I am very lucky that I will be continuing to do my workshops there, so
01:46 there will always be the opportunity to pop in the garden with my watercolours and do
01:51 a little sketch.
01:52 And you were saying really interestingly that this whole experience has encouraged you to
01:58 perhaps to experiment a bit more.
02:01 Definitely, definitely.
02:02 Why is that?
02:03 I think as an artist, you sort of find a way of painting, it's easy to sort of just carry
02:11 on and sort of continue, but you always want to sort of grow and develop your artwork.
02:16 So I think this has really proved a challenge to look at different ways of painting more
02:23 abstract, more expressively.
02:24 And it's something I've really wanted to do.
02:28 I used to paint quite a long while ago, and it's something I really wanted to return to.
02:31 So it's been a great opportunity to do that.
02:33 So it's been a good way to push yourself then?
02:35 Definitely, definitely.
02:36 Fantastic. Well, lovely to speak to you.
02:38 Good luck with that exhibition and future workshops, and congratulations on that year
02:43 at Denman's Garden.
02:44 Thank you.
02:45 Thank you very much. Thank you.