F . J O H N O W E N
& F I O N A O W E N
F i n e A r t i s t s
T H E O L D C H A P E L
C H A L F O R D
G L O S
FIONA OWEN'S NEW FILM ABOUT HER WORK , HERBALISM, GARDENING AND OUR LIFE AT THE CHAPEL IS NOW OUT ON YOUTUBE
PRESS link: www.youtube.com/channel/UC2-nLdFwmbD905AVgitnozQ
OR Search for :
fiona owen - ' Drawing out the dreaming '
A B O U T T H E C H A P E L :
2 0 2 1 E X H I B I T I O N
WE ARE INTENDING TO HOLD OUR ANNUAL EXHIBITION IN THE AUTUMN INSTEAD OF IN THE SUMMER THIS YEAR
2 0 2 0 E X H I B I T I O N W A S C L O S E D E A R L Y B Y
N A T I O N A L L O C K D O W N
SOME PAINTINGS ARE NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE...
See 'paintings for sale' tag
Top left corner of this site
EMAIL: oldchapelowen@gmail.com
PHONE: 07985 516833
F I O N A O W E N
A B O U T T H E A R T I S T :
I L L U M I N A T I O N S
Fiona paints in oil on fine gessoed panels and gilds her work with 24ct. English gold leaf in the tradition of the Medieval manuscripts. Inspiration for her extraordinarily intricate, lyrical paintings is drawn from her native landscape - the flora and fauna, the changing seasons, and her Celtic inheritance. She endeavours to capture the elusive Wild Magic that is the genius loci - the spirit unique to each place. Her paintings are a celebration of and a homage to Nature. She works in the tradition of the Mystic Visionaries, from William Blake, Samuel Palmer, Richard Jeffries, through to Cedric Morris, Kathleen Raine and Robin Tanner, and believes this pattern in painting and writing to be a thread through time, existing metaphysically as a united body of consciousness.
For information about the 'Five Valleys Herbal' go to: www.weedsintheheart.org.uk
Also to see more about Fiona's Herbal Apprentice path go to: www.insightherbalism.org.uk
F J O H N O W E N
A B O U T T H E A R T I S T :
C H A S I N G T H E L I G H T
Light, air and transience infuse John's paintings. The challenge is to create a sense of space, depth and atmosphere from paint, transforming an ordinary, everyday scene into an extraordinary moment of vision. John paints in both oils and water-colours, making detailed sketches from life, wherever his travels take him, then working up his paintings in the studio. The paint is often worked into or scratched, creating a textured finish and another dimension. Igniting light in a two dimensional painting by manipulating base pigment is an alchemy that has engaged artists through the centuries and is still an aim of painters whether figurative or abstract in style Portraying the landscape figuratively is a tradition that has a rich heritage and still resonates.
Paintings of our contemporary landscape can be capable of divining something deeper than
mere representation, to stir the emotions, to create a modern vision of landscape which is still a
potent part of today's contemporary painting.
Below is a slide show of some of the paintings in the 2020 exhibition
2 0 2 0 E X H I B I T I O N :
2 0 2 0 E x h i b i t i o n
T h e m e s a n d i d e a s :
F I O N A O W E N
P L A N T - S P I R I T - M E D I C I N E
The inspiration for the Amanita Muscaria Plant-Spirit-Medicine cabinet (above) has evolved over many years, initially ignited by studying the behind-the-scenes specimen drawers of the Natural History Museum, whilst a student, then deepened by more than forty years of growing, studying and journeying with plants in my process of Drawing Out the Dreaming. My chosen path as an Awenddion (the Welsh Druid caste who gained insight and inspiration through dreams and visions) focuses my fascination with plant-alchemy, symbolism, plant folk-lore, seer-ship and Magical Herbalism. By portraying the subject, its medicine and the interconnected web of wild-life associated with it, weaving in myriad layers of potent symbolism, the specific intention of my work is to capture the essence and spirit of the chosen plant/tree/mushroom, in order to honour the deep healing ability of Nature and summon a living invocation of the ancient Green Magic of The Land. I hope to develop this project into an on-going series of Invocation cabinets, each one focusing on a different plant/tree/mushroom.
2 0 2 0 e x h i b i t i o n
t h e m e s a n d i d e a s :
F . J O H N O W E N
S M A L L W O R L D S
I have always had a passion for miniature environments; model making was one of my greatest pleasures when I was young - especially the creation of landscapes in which to place the models. These imaginary environments would always be as close to a scaled down reality as I could achieve. Now, exploring this representation of a figurative world in paint is my challenge; how to convey a particular atmosphere in two dimensions in order to create another reality, whilst also sometimes pushing the boundaries of abstraction. This transience is elusive, trying to capture a certain feeling, emotion or memory, but in its exploration it is possible to achieve spontaneity and, within the confines of a frame, create a Small World.
TO SEE EXAMPLES OF PAST PAINTINGS
HOME TAB - TOP LEFT OF SITE
Having opened the garden for thirty-one years for charity John and Fiona have decided it's time for the garden to retire! It is no longer open to the public; they are looking forward to enjoying it with friends and family.
'WEEDS IN THE HEART'
The second hardback edition of Fiona's new book 'A FIVE VALLEYS HERBAL', written by Nathaniel Hughes, a limited edition, signed cloth-bound edition is also available. . For more information about the book visit THE BOOK CAN BE BOUGHT AT: www.weedsintheheart.org.uk 
F JOHN OWEN AND FIONA OWEN'S WORK CAN NOW BE SEEN ALL THROUGH THE YEAR AT : 'THE LION HOUSE GALLERY' 12 HIGH ST, LAVENHAM , SUFFOLK , CO10 9PR TEL; 01787 249616 Open 11 - 5 (closed Wed & Thurs) http://www.lionhousegallery.co.uk email: lionhousegallery@btinternet.com F I O N A ' S P A I N T E D G L O B E
EXHIBITED AT THE THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY, LONDON EXHIBITION OF GLOBES Fiona completed her globe, she had been working on for fifteen months and it is titled 'Terra Incognita'. This is a development from an exhibition in which she had explored alternative reality of Dream Time. The migrating spiral of flying creatures represents a vivid dream in which she saw all the birds of the air migrating in a southerly direction. The gilded lines that criss-cross the globe emanate from the fingertips of the bird-headed Shaman at the equator and represent the Anglo Saxon concept of the web of Wyrd which they believed connects every living thing.
FEATURES, ARTICLES & TELEVISION:TV: BBC 'COUNTRYFILE', BBC 'GARDENER'S WORLD', ITV 'ROOTS AND SHOOTS'
MAGAZINES & NEWSPAPERS: GARDEN'S ILLUSTRATED, SATURDAY TIMES SUPPLEMENT, COUNTRY LIVING (twice), HOMES AND GARDENS, HOUSE AND GARDENS, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, COTSWOLD LIFE (twice), LONDON EVENING STANDARD SUPPLEMENT USA COUNTRY LIVING, USA VICTORIA MAGAZINE,WOMAN AND HOME, SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE, THE ENGLISH GARDEN, PERIOD HOUSE, GLOUCESTERSHIRE TODAY, ETC BOOKS: GREAT COTSWOLD GARDENS David Hicks, DREAM GARDENS Andrew Lawson, CREATING A GARDEN Mary Keen ETC |
Previous Exhibitions
Medici Society Gallery, London, UK ( from 1981 to 1991)
Sagert Gallery, Berlin, GER
Nailsworth Gallery, Berlin, GER
Nevill Gallery, Bath, UK
Lane Gallery, Key West, USA
Diva Gallery, Palm Beach, Florida, USA
Diva Gallery, Long Island, NY, USA
Southshore Art Center, Boston, USA
John exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition for ten years from 1984.
SEE BOTTOM OF THIS WEBSITE FOR DETAILS OF FREDDIE OWEN - WRITER
|
|
F R E D D I E O W E N
' W H A T H O ! G I O T T O '
The long summer visits to Italy, its landscape, people and culture (and vino!) have inspired F. John Owen to start writing under the pen-name Freddie Owen.
"There suddenly seemed to be the time and energy to try a different kind of creative activity and I have found writing very enjoyable and engaging; it's the culmination of years of ideas and thoughts and 'getting it all down' has proved very cathartic."
There are two books: 'What Ho! Giotto' is an autobiographical tale of a lifetime of painting and gardens, and the fufillment of a dream by creating a studio and garden in Italy. It has a sketch at the start of each chapter taken from drawing books that were made during his family's travels in Italy. The paperback version now has 20 B/W illustrations going back thirty years to his early paintings. ( above is one of the pencil illustrations)
The second book; 'THE WOODSTOCK TALES' was inspired by a friend at art school who went to Woodstock Festival in the back of a dark truck; throughout the night they told each other stories and swore to stay together through the weekend event... however when the doors opened, they fell into the 500,000 strong crowd and disappeared. They only knew each other by voice and none of them ever met again. This story is a retelling of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, but now with a bunch of hippies, a Vietnam veteran, a black Reverend, soft-porn merchant, a woman's libber etc. in a van on the way to the Woodstock festival, 1969.
' What Ho! Giotto' is available as a paperback from www.Lulu.com and both books available from Amazon as both paperbacks and Kindle ebooks.
GO TO LINK : http://freddieowen.weebly.com
All text and images copyright © John and Fiona Owen 2009
