A new exhibition of paintings by Adrian Wheeler, Winchelsea and Pett Level Paintings is open from March 7 to March 30 at Cake Room in Hastings.
Adrian has a close connection to the beaches he knows so well having grown up in Hastings and recently returned to live in Fairlight, and his love of them can be seen in his paintings. They capture the atmosphere and character of the beaches, that change constantly through the movement of the tides, the clouds and the shifting light.
In the large painting seen in the feature image, September Winchelsea Beach, the sheen of the retreating water on the sand, the sunlight tinting the clouds and lighting the water, perfectly captures a particular moment, and takes the viewer there. The eroded groynes, like carved wooden statues sculpted by the action of the sea, that dot the beaches are a recurring element in Adrian’s paintings.
Adrian uses colour and broad brush strokes as in Groynes and Afterglow Winchelsea Beach, to show the movement of the sea and broken reflections of the upright groynes in the water using deep greens, shades of blue, and hints of purple, yellow and white.
Several large and wide paintings give the sense of scale of the big skies, open shingle beach and one with the wide expanse of the nature reserve, with views across to the Mary Stanford lifeboat house and Fairlight hills. “My paintings are about observing and understanding landscape and painting to give a sense of place,” Adrian explains. He admires the work David Hockney and John Bellany for their vibrant colour and also of Georgia O’Keefe whose words, “Try to paint how you feel about what you see,” resonates with Adrian and throughout his art.
This exhibition is Wheeler’s first and he is understandably a little nervous about it. “I am still learning. I think you have to put yourself into situations to make yourself uncomfortable, to move on and learn.”
After studying art at Hastings College of Art, Adrian went on to work in graphic design, setting up one of the forefront digital design agencies in London, working with various corporate clients. He has a masters in coaching and behaviour change and, through a community theatre project at the Rose Theatre in Kingston, has since become an actor, appearing in several dramas including Inspector Lynley and The Reckoning (about Jimmy Saville) for the BBC.
And never one to resist a challenge, Adrian is studying at the Royal Drawing School, which is pushing him to try new things. “I am used to making observational art, in the course we are doing more abstract and non-representational work, using imagination and memory, letting go of the rules and playing.”
The Winchelsea Beach and Pett Level paintings are on at Cake Room, 30 Robertson Street, Hastings from March 7 – 30. The Cake Room is a café and gallery and is open on Thursday to Sunday 10am – 4pm.
Private view is on March 7 from 6pm-9pm.
Contact: @adrianwheeler_art
Image Credits: Juliet Duff , Adrian Wheeler .