Star date: 19th May 2013

SALFORD URBAN AND RURAL

Featuring a town and country theme, Salford Art Club's Annual Exhibition opened on Saturday, with artists inspired by everything from Buile Hill Park to Media City and most work up for sale at affordable prices.

There's also a guest painting by Salford Art Club's most famous member, LS Lowry, depicting Oldfield Road Dwelling. Gareth Lyons browsed through the collection and was well impressed.

Full details here…

Salford Art Club's Annual Exhibition, Salford Urban and Rural, opened on Saturday at the Salford Museum and Art Gallery, with the standard of work on show being as high as in previous years.
 
The Club's excellent exhibition is yet another example of the creative talent of Salford people, and it was opened by the Ceremonial Mayor of Salford, Councillor Alan Clague, who quipped that he "can't paint as it takes me all my time to draw breath".

The exhibition consists of around ninety works based on urban and rural themes, with many of them being available for sale at reasonable prices. As in previous years there were a number of awards to members of the club.

Ged Buckley, who won the award for best figure last year, went one better winning the prestigious Geoffrey Key award for his work entitled One Way Street, which shows the Bridgewater Mill and Motor World in Barton. Ged was extremely pleased at winning the top award, stating that his inspiration is to "take normal boring looking scenes and make art from them".

With Ged only being a member of the Salford Art Club for four years and already a multiple award winner, it would be no surprise if he picks up a hat-trick of awards next year.

Meanwhile it was Dorothy Pointon's first time on the podium. Her work, View From Cow Lane, is a stunning painting showing the impressive Manchester skyline through the weeds of the waste ground around Oldfield Road and Middlewood Locks. 

Dorothy stated that she was "very pleased" as she has "never won anything as auspicious as this". Ironically her painting would never have happened if Dorothy had not had to wait for someone to open the Cow Lane Studios. Whilst waiting she turned around and looked at the skyline and was hit with the idea that she "could do something with that!" Perhaps a message to us that inspiration is all around us.

The exhibition also has two `guest' paintings, the first by L.S. Lowry from 1929 entitled Oldfield Road Dwelling. It shows Oldfield Road, opposite the old Salford Royal Hospital, and is a time capsule of history given that the area doesn't exist today.

The second painting, Lily Pond, from 1976, is by the Club's President, the renowned local artist and sculptor Geoffrey Key. It's an interesting abstract composition and quite different in style and colour from his recent works. 

But in my opinion the real stars of the show are the works by the Club's members, which show what ordinary people can do. The winners were:

Ged Buckley (The Geoffrey Key Award – best painting in the exhibition)
Sally Rigby (The John Clare Award - for the best work involving a figure)
Dorothy Pointon (The Janet Bewick Award – best landscape)
Gordon Minton (The Betty Murray Award – best still life)
Wilf Ainsworth (The John Dumville Award for the best painting in last year's exhibition as voted for by the public) 

The Salford Art Club Exhibition runs until the 8th of September at the Salford Museum and Art Gallery. Admission is free.

If you are interested in trying your hand at art, the Salford Art Club meets at the Salford Museum and Art Gallery on Wednesdays between 6 and 8pm.
For further information: www.salfordartclub.co.uk

Words and photos by Gareth Lyons

Main photo shows a montage... Ken Shackman - Buile Hill (top left); Sue Vaughan - Media City From Buile Hill Park (mid left); Wilfred Ainsworth - Red Dusk (right); Dorothy Pointon - View From Cow Lane (bottom)