Deborah Westmancoat RWA

Collecting together recently found/received objects in the studio today, including a core of Ashburton marble (thanks @michaellfairfax ), fossil finds from the Clevedon coast, natural objects from Orkney (thanks Kate Fletcher) and sketchbook research. What has become a ritual beginning to a new series of ink and water/weather paintings. @rwabristol #ashburtonmarble #weatherpainting #inkandwaterpainting #inktober #inkdrawing #clevedon #painting #paintingwithweather #recording #artistsoninstagram #artcontemporary #artmakingprocess #studiolife #studiorituals ... See more

Minehead beach. Biting cold but blissful and not a soul around. #collectingweather #mudlarking #fossilfinding #researchforpainting #mineheadbeach #southwestartist

Four recent paintings due to be delivered to Bristol next week for the RWA 168th Open. Show runs from 21 November 2020 - 7 March 2021 and tickets will be available from the RWA website soon.
List of works:
Valency Star Path (2020)
Hoard (2020)
Bell House Pines (2017)
Hoy (2020). @rwabristol #rwaacademicians #kunstwerke #contemporarypainting #contemporaryart #contemporarylandscapepainting #paintingwithwater #paintingwithweather #weatherart #hoy #orkneyislands #orkneylandscape #valencyriver #boscastle #boscastleharbour #clonmacnoise #clonmacnoisemonastery ... See more

Four recent paintings due to be delivered to Bristol next week for the RWA 168th Open. Show runs from 21 November 2020 - 7 March 2021 and tickets will be available from their website soon.
List of works:
Valency Star Path (2020) shown here
Hoard (2020)
Bell House Pines (2017)
Hoy (2020) ... See more

Fossil finds from the coastline south of Clevedon, Somerset. Research for new paintings. #somersetcoast #researchforpainting #studiofinds #fossilfinds #makingnotes #journalresearch #studiocollection #walkingthecoast ... See more

Taking no chances. Heavy duty wrapping.....off up to the John Moore’s Painting Prize courier in Bristol first thing tomorrow. Travel well... @jmpaintingprize @rwabristol #johnmoorespaintingprize #inkpainting #weatherpainting #inkandwaves #wavepainting #alchemicalart #contemporaryartcollectors #contemporaryartist #bathschoolofartanddesign ... See more

New work currently on the way to the Kanu Nayak Foundation, Mumbai, India for their permanent collection.

Watching For Signs (2020)
Ink, charcoal, pastel, chalk and rainwater collected from a summer storm during Covid lockdown, on paper. 297 x 420mm. #drawingbox @rwabristol #raindrawing #lockdownpainting #lockdowndrawing #weatherdrawing #weatherpainting #weatherartist #inkandrain #watchingforsigns ... See more

New work. Hoy (2020)
Ink, acrylic, shellac, enamel, seawater collected from Rackwick Bay and rainwater collected from peatland surrounding the Dwarfie Stane, Hoy, Orkney, on board.

If you have ever had the good fortune to make your way to Hoy then I hope you recognise something of that otherworldly island in this image. The Dwarfie Stane is a hollowed out glacial erratic that dates roughly to 5000 BCE - you can climb inside and hear the sounds of the earth and wind booming within. As we stood next to it we could see a young White Tailed Sea Eagle on the nest through binoculars. Rackwick Bay defies description. It is haunting and empty and beautiful and full of sorrow all at the same time. ... See more

New work. Hoard (2020). Ink, acrylic, shellac, enamel and rainwater collected from Skara Brae, Bay of Skaill, Orkney, on board.

New work. Valency Star Path (2020). Ink and a jar of water reflecting the night sky collected from the Valency River as it flowed past the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic, Boscastle, Cornwall, on board. 41 x 41 cm. Drawn elements reflect the complexity of star formations, clusters and trails being incrementally revealed as the world slowly turned. @rwabristol @museum_of_witchcraft_and_magic #rwa #boscastleharbour #boscastlewitchcraftmuseum #boscastlecornwall #boscastle #startrails #starpath #valencyvalley #inkpainting #inkandwaterpainting #riverpainting #cornishnightsky ... See more

On show as part of the Hinterland online exhibition, Broadway Arts Festival. Sea Caves 2 (2019). Ink and incoming waves collected from Porthleven beach. Joint winner of the New Entrant Prize. The Festival will arrange delivery upon sale of work. Have a look at their website. @broadwayartsfestival #broadwayartsfestival #waveart #weatherart #porthlevenbeach #porthlevenbeachcornwall #porthleven #seacaves #cornishcoastline #cornishcoast #artistsofinstagram #porthlevenprize ... See more

Six Weathers (2020). Currently on show in Yeonmisan Nature Art Park, Republic of Korea until 9/8/20. Ink and snowmelt, hailstones, floodwater, frozen puddles, Spring rain and dew, on papers supported by wooden framework. 12 x 12 x 12 cm. Created for Geoumgang Nature Art Biennial 2020 as part of a long term project looking at stages of transformation in classical alchemy in relation to the presence and movement of water within the natural and built environment. @rwabristol #rwa #royalwestofenglandacademy #geumgangnatureartbiennale #yeonmisannatureartpark #natureartcube #weatherpainter #alchemyart #exhibitioninkorea #artistsofinstagram #inkpainting #weatherpainting #lockdownart #contemporaryartist #sharingweather ... See more

The @rwabristol postcard auction is now live. I’ve got one in the mix again this year along with another 390 contributors including the wonderful Timothy Spall, @stewart.geddes David Inshaw, Susan Derges, Gilbert & George, Norman Ackroyd, Richard Long, Emma Stibbon, Harry Hill and, extraordinarily, Dame Joan Collins! Bidding starts at £40 and is on until 25 June. Have a look at the RWA website for more info and whilst you are there make a few bids and support our regional Royal Academy. @rwabristol #royalwestofenglandacademy #royalwestofenglandacademyofart #rwaacademicians #rwasecretpostcard #somersetartist #somersetartists ... See more

Many thanks to the @broadwayartsfestival judges and @little_buckland_gallery for selecting a painting by myself and a fabulous print by Bina Shah for the New Entrants Prize. Congratulations to everyone exhibiting - it’s great to see your work. You can view (and buy through) the online gallery here until 31 December 2020: https://broadwayartsfestival.com/art-competition/ ... See more

And here is the third of the three paintings selected for the excellent 2020 @broadwayartsfestival Hinterland exhibition (this year now happening online). Somewhere Birds Were Calling (2016), ink and water collected from Liddesdale Burn in spate (Ardnamurchan Peninsula, Western Highlands of Scotland). All selected works can be viewed and bought online from 29 May - 31 Dec with the festival covering cost of delivery within the UK. Have a look. ... See more

Just heard that I’ve been selected for the Broadway Arts Festival exhibition which this year will have to happen online due to You Know What. The theme of the exhibition is Hinterland and I have three paintings selected. Sea Caves 2, Bell House Pines and Somewhere Birds Were Calling. The festival will have an online gallery running from 29 May - 31 Dec 2020 and anyone can view and buy through the site and they will arrange delivery within the UK. It’s great that things like this are still going ahead, albeit in a very different format, and I’m really pleased to be part of it. Image: Sea Caves 2. @broadwayartsfestival ... See more

Bell House Pines (2017). Ink, with shellac and water steeped with earth and pine needles collected from the foot of Turloch’s Tower in Clonmacnoise, Ireland, on heavyweight paper. Turloch’s Tower was built around 1124 as part of the Clonmacnoise monastic settlement founded in 544. It was originally named ‘Cloig Teacht’ - The Bell House - and would have sounded for miles across the waters of the Shannon and the flat lands surrounding the site. There is no bell in the tower today. Several rooks use it and the adjacent Pines as a nesting site and minaret. Their loud calls echo around the ruins of the monastery and the ground is littered with sticks and bones thrown down to ward off trespassers. Selected for the 2020 @broadwayartsfestival which this year is being held online. The title of the exhibition is Hinterland and an online gallery is being set up for public to view and buy works from 29 May - 31 Dec (with the festival arranging delivery). Really delighted to be a part of this. @broadwayartsfestival ... See more

All ready with tags on waiting for delivery to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition team for final judgement..

Solar Horses (2017)
Ink, shellac and water collected from Loch Lough in Uisneach, Ireland. Uisneach is a beautiful and mysterious place at the heart of Ireland known for its huge Bealtaine fires which can be seen for miles and usher in the first days of summer. Dagda, mythological Sun God and leader of the Tuatha de Danaan, is said to have stabled his solar horses at Uisneach. Archaeological remains of a stable enclosure have been found within two souterrains to the north flank of the hill paved with carved slabs similar in form to the famous Uffington White Horse in Berkshire, England.
63 x 74 x 4.5 cm. ... See more

An unexpected studio sale this afternoon, purchased by a collector as a surprise for their partner's birthday. They already have three of my paintings so part of the fun was working out what would hang well with their existing collection.

Moonfall (2019). Ink, acrylic and incoming waves collected on Porthleven beach, on board. 64 x 71 x 4.5 cm. ... See more

Universal Indicator (2019). A new painting selected for the 167th RWA Open but not hung. It is however available through the RWA website: https://shop.rwa.org.uk/…/…/products/buy-art-annual-open-752
Ink, dammar gum and incoming storm waves collected from Porthleven beach, on board. Box framed in white wood and non-reflective glazing. Signed on reverse. 71 x 71 x 4.5 cm. ... See more

Moon Wight (2019). A new painting which can be viewed hanging in the lower stairwell in the 167th RWA Open until 1 December 2019. Ink, acrylic and incoming waves collected at midnight from Porthleven beach, on board. Box framed in white wood and non-reflective glazing. Signed on reverse. 71 x 71 x 4.5 cm. https://shop.rwa.org.uk/…/pr…/buy-art-online-annual-open-001 ... See more

Sea Caves 2 (2019). A new painting which can be viewed in the Methuen Gallery in the 167th RWA Open until 1 December 2019. Ink and incoming waves collected from Porthleven beach, on board. Box framed in white wood and non-reflective glazing. Signed on reverse. 54 x 61 x 4.5 cm.
https://shop.rwa.org.uk/…/…/products/buy-art-annual-open-484 ... See more

Sea Caves 1 (2019). A new painting which can be viewed in the Methuen Gallery in the 167th RWA Open until 1 December 2019. Ink and incoming waves collected from Porthleven beach, on board. Box framed in white wood and non-reflective glazing. Signed on reverse. 54 x 61 x 4.5 cm.https://shop.rwa.org.uk/collections/shop/products/buy-art-annual-open-485 ... See more

Have just been looking back through some sketchbook pages and collections of water and natural objects from my time on the Endelienta Residency in North Cornwall completed last week. This research will feed into a new series of paintings over the coming months. These simple notes and sketches take me straight back to the landscape I have been working with over the last 9 days, and to important conversations held with fellow Residency artists, composer Alex Groves and poet Genevieve Carver. Huge thanks to Peter Ursem, Ian Sandbrook, Helen Wood, Esther Dudley and all the Endelienta committee for such a valuable experience. ... See more

Have just sent off my annual contribution to this brilliant event which I’ve been supporting for several years now. The £11K raised from the sale of £50 works goes to local arts charities/organisations & other causes supported by Rotary such as Shelterbox and the campaign to eradicate polio. If you are near St Ives from 20-22 September drop in to Porthmeor Studios and have a look. ... See more

Over the moon to find out that I have been selected for the Endelienta funded residency in September down in beautiful St Endellion, North Cornwall. I will be staying and working there for a week with a selected Musician and Poet. I can’t wait to find out more about my new colleagues and immerse myself in that magical landscape (this tree in the churchyard up the road was bursting with rooks when I arrived for my interview). Huge thanks to all at the Endelienta Trust and see you in the Autumn. ... See more

Perigee-Syzygy of the Earth-Sun-Moon System (2017) Deborah Westmancoat RWA. Another recent painting selected for the Millfield Summer Show 2019 at Atkinson Gallery, Street, Somerset. PV 24 June, show then runs until 2 August. Ink and dew collected during the night of a winter ‘supermoon’ on paper. Box framed in white wood and non-reflective glass. Signed on reverse. 51x61x4.5cm. ... See more

A new residency project continuing a practical investigation of the surrealist art techniques of Ithell Colquhoun and aspects of the Cornish landscape is underway with Penny MacBeth and Lally Francesca Ronchetti MacBeth...watch this space.... ... See more