Myth & Legend at the Waterfront Arts Project

John Zehentner - Heaven is Waiting
John Zehentner – Heaven is Waiting

If you are planning on being close to Southport in Merseyside, UK, say, something like within a thousand miles then make sure you pop in to see the latest show by the Southport art group The Waterfront Arts Project.  The original of this amazing piece of art by John Zehentner shown above is more impressive than any little jpeg image can do justice to as is a great deal of the other art on show from other great artists like Joan Walmsley with her large 3D works using fabrics or metalworker Rob Art with his incredible dragon that so impressed the group they had to give it a room on its own!  The WAP has been running for many years showcasing a diverse range of local talent that is on a par with much of what you’d find elsewhere in major galleries.  This is not a gallery of hobbiest watercolour doodles, this is cutting edge stuff in a variety of postmodern styles ranging from highly emotionally charged humanistic work to overt political statements regarding our modern world and the rife inequalities that still exist in our supposedly civilised environment.  Much of the work is challenging and often far deeper than the first deceptive appearances of something ordinary.  You might not like everything but I doubt you will find it boring.  And those you don’t like have probably touched a nerve and later on you might find yourself thinking back to those art pieces and learning something about yourself and the world you live in.  This is a non-profit group and nothing is sold at the exhibitions.  The exhibition relies on the support of local businesspeople and councillors and has grown in popularity purely by word of mouth.  Once you’ve been you’ll probably be enthusing to all your friends about this sparkling gem of an art exhibition in the north-west of England.  If you want to know more you can visit their Facebook page here.

Beowulf from John Howe

This latest just in from fantasy artist John Howe (of Tolkien films fame):-

BEOWULF AND THE DRAGON

Beowulf by artist John Howe

This illustration was done primarily for the FANTASY ART WORKSHOP,
though as usual with me, the circumstances leading up to it are a
little more involved. The original idea emerged for the Beowulf
Boardgame, but there was no room on the board for a full-size
illustration, so it changed and became a small vignette. After, with
the deadline running out for the Beowulf book, I decided to do it
anyway and include it in the Workshop book. (As it turns out, by a
miracle of deadline-bending, it also made it into Beowulf.)

Start the tour here