For the first time in its 44 years the Rye Arts Festival has had an Artist in Residence. Brighton-based Charlie Cobb arrived on September 8 and set up in a pop up studio/gallery in the High Street – number 89, “Sweet Memories” which used to be a sweetshop, and was generously loaned to the Festival by its owner Glenn Croucher of the Rye Bakery, writes Andy Stuart.
Charlie has given free master classes to the students at Rye Studio School. He introduced a special screening at the Kino cinema of the film “Mr Turner”, giving great insight as he was the artist who really painted all the Turner pictures in the movie – and not Timothy Spall, who played the artist.
Charlie has been in and around the town sketching from the Church Tower, the Gun Gardens and at Camber, for example, and also at many of the events – he is pictured here sketching at the English Cornett and Sackbutt Ensemble concert in St Mary’s Church on Sunday September 20.
On the final day of the Festival Sunday September 27, Charlie will be holding an exhibition of his drawings and paintings while he has been at the Festival from 12-6pm at the old “Sweet Memories of Rye” shop in the High Street.
Steve Pope