I’ve just returned from Ipswich, Suffolk, where I submitted two works to the 147th Annual Open Exhibition of the Ipswich Art Society at St Clements Arts Centre, Star Lane, Ipswich. The exhibition runs from Saturday 16th May to Saturday 6th June, and is open daily from 10.00am to 4.30pm.
My watercolour, Red Hot Chili Peppers, is a full-colour observational study of one of last year’s chilli plants — a truly spectacular specimen, bursting with peppers and full of character.
The second work is a multicoloured linocut of the much-loved Woodbridge Tide Mill. The print is made by hand in the traditional way, with the block carefully carved and then divided into separate pieces like a jigsaw. Each section is inked in a different colour before being reassembled, ready for a sheet of dampened Snowden Cartridge paper to be placed over the image and passed through the press.
The press itself is a piece of history: an 1892 Albion Press, operated by hand with a handle and lever to bring the weight down onto the paper and image below. Fine art printmaking is always a slow process, requiring patience, precision and a fair amount of problem-solving. Even with this jigsaw approach, it remains a real labour of love, and assembling the separate inked elements can be wonderfully fiddly.
Living on the south coast means I’ll miss the private view on 16th May, 1.30pm to 4pm, when the Mayor will open the exhibition and present an award. Geography also means my next visit to Ipswich will be at the end of the show, when I return to collect any unsold work.
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SOLO SHOWS
1993 Ashcroft Arts Centre, Fareham, Hampshire
1994 – 95 Fareham Central Library
1995 Ashcroft Arts Centre, Fareham
1995 – 96 St Vincent College, Gosport
SELECTED GROUP SHOWS
1982 – 84 Greenwich Printmakers Association Gallery,
1994 Royal Albert & Royal Naval Yacht Club, Old Portsmouth
1995 Goldfield Gallery, Portsmouth, Hampshire
1995 – 2010 Open Studios, Art Space, Portsmouth
1996 Artspace : Square Tower, Old Portsmouth
1996 Portsmouth City Girls School
1997 Miniatures, Havant Arts Centre, Hampshire
1997 Hampshire Sculpture Trust – Winchester
1997 Blink Square Tower, Old Portsmouth
1997 Extending the Line Aspex Gallery, Portsmouth
1997 Spirit Level, Winchester
1998 Portsmouth City Girls School,
1998 See Red : Square Tower, Old Portsmouth
1999 Red Gallery, Southsea
1999 – 2000 Hampshire Sculpture Trust Annual Show, Winchester
2000 Bassett Wood, Southampton
2001 Key Works, Portsmouth City Museum & Art Gallery
2002 Latitude, Portsmouth Royal Naval Dockyard
2003 Open Studios – Figurative drawing and sculpture
2003 Reaction – Cha Cha, Southsea, Group Exhibition with poet Gareth Toms
2004 In Tandem – Two man show (with Chris May) John Rank Gallery, Oxmarket Arts Centre Chichester
2004 Open Studios – ArtSpace Portsmouth : Figurative drawing and sculpture
2004 Greater Impact 2 – Artists Harbour Gallery Portsmouth Historic Dockyard
2005 Words & Journeys – St Vincent College Gosport : Sculpture
2005 England Expects – Portsmouth Museum : Drawing Installation / DVD Animation
2005 Open Studios – ArtSpace Portsmouth : Figurative drawing and sculpture
2005 As It Is 28 Cork Street London Drawing Painting & Sculpture
2006 Under Sail Artists Harbour Gallery Portsmouth Historic Dockyard
2006 Shorelines Artists Harbour Gallery Portsmouth Historic Dockyard
2007 Atlantic Reflections Artists Harbour Gallery Portsmouth Historic Dockyard
2007 Off the Wall Artists Harbour Gallery Portsmouth Historic Dockyard
2008 Lakeside 1000 Cosham Portsmouth May
2008/9 Lakeside 1000 Cosham Portsmouth August – ongoing
2008/9 “800 Feet” Space Gallery Portsmouth College of Art, Design & Media
2010 Lost & Found GASP Gallery Portsmouth
2010 6 by 4 GASP Gallery Portsmouth
2011 STUFFED GASP Gallery Portsmouth
2012 (May) Open Studios : Art Space Portsmouth
2012 (July) A Body of Work : a Medley of Contemporary Life Drawing : gASP Gallery Portsmouth
2012 (July) Omega Print-makers Annual Show : St Thomas’ Cathedral Old Portsmouth
2012 (October) 20:20 Artist in Residence : Portsmouth Grammar School : St Thomas’ Cathedral Old Portsmouth
2012 (December) SOLO SHOW : 60:SIXTY gASP Gallery Portsmouth
2012 (December) Group Show : Portsmouth Grammar School
2013 (July) Omega Print-makers Annual Show : St Thomas’ Cathedral Old Portsmouth
2013 (June) Open Studios : Art Space Portsmouth [Oil Painting, Print-making and Sculpture]
2013 (July) Drawn & Quartered gASP Gallery ARTSPACE Portsmouth : group show with 3 friends
2013 (Oct) “Rock, Paper, Scissors” gASP Gallery Portsmouth : mixed media group show : (3 paintings)
2014 (March/April) “About Time” gASP Gallery Artspace Portsmouth : Wood Engraving
2014 (May) “MAYFLY” Square Tower Portsmouth : Wood Engravings, Linocuts, Etchings and Giclee prints
2014 (June) SPICE ISLAND ART TRAIL Painting and Prints Royal Naval Club & Royal Albert Yacht Club, Old Portsmouth
2014 (June) OPEN STUDIOS oil paintings, wood engravings, lino cuts and sculpture
2015 (February) “Loveheart” Group Show at gASP. Wood Engraving
2015 (February – September) ARTSPACE Group Show (Prints and Paintings) 1000Lakeside, Cosham, Portsmouth
2015 (May) “imPRESSion” Group Show (Prints and Painting) Chris N Wood Amanda Morris, Susan Harvey Joan Newitt
2015 (June) SPICE ISLAND ART TRAIL Paintings and Prints of Admirals Cup 2015 Royal Naval Club & Royal Albert Yacht Club, Portsmouth
2015 (June 24-Jul6) Guildhall Gallery Portsmouth : The Best of the Spice Island Art Trail
2015 (june27/28th) ARTSPACE OPEN STUDIOS
2015/16 June Lino Cuts in browsers (July 2015 – ) Summer Show, Jack House Gallery, The High St, Old Portsmouth
2015 (July) Omega Print-makers Annual Show : St Thomas’ Cathedral Old Portsmouth : Series of AC45 America Cup Lino cuts.
2016 MAYFLY Square Tower Old Portsmouth : Prints drawings etc
2016 Spice Island Art Trail 19.6.16 Royal Naval Club & Royal Albert Yacht Club, Portsmouth : Drawings & Prints
2016 “Le Reve” ATELIER GALLERY SOUTHSEA.
2016 “La Mer” ATELIER GALLERY SOUTHSEA
2016 “L’Amour” ATELIER GALLERY SOUTHSEA
2016 “Poeme” ATELIER GALLERY SOUTHSEA
2016 “Portsmouth in Paint and Print” with Sadie Tierney and EDWARD BEALE at JACK HOUSE GALLERY OLD PORTSMOUTH
2016 Mottisfont Abbey Open Exhibition
2017 Southampton Solent ShowCase Gallery “Small Faces”
2017 April – June “City Life” New ASHGATE Gallery Farnham, Surrey
2017 April – May “Endangered” STUDIO1. HOTWALLS Old Portsmouth
2017 July Look at Your City Aspex Gallery Portsmouth
2017 Boathouse 4 Portsmouth Historic Naval Dockyard
2017 August Biennial Omega Printmakers Show St Thomas’ Cathedral Old Portsmouth
2018 June Open Studios ARTSPACE PORTSMOUTH
2018 HOUNDS Group show Southsea Portsmouth
2019 ArtSpace GUILDHALL PORTSMOUTH 5.1.19 – 24.1.19
2019 8@ the EDGE YELLOW EDGE GALLERY GOSPORT 15.5.19-25.5.19
2019 10th Omega Printmakers Exhibition St Thomas Cathedral Portsmouth July 2019
27.8.19-31.8.19 IMPRESSION CHRIS WOOD AND FRIENDS AT THE EDGE GOSPORT
18.9.19-29.9.19 NATIONAL ORIGINAL PRINT EXHIBITION BANKSIDE GALLERY LONDON UK
2020/21 & 2022/23 2024/2025 JACK HOUSE GALLERY Xmas Advent Calendar show
2022 6 @ THE WAREHOUSE TREADGOLDS 2022 curated by Gavin Hodson
2022 ARTSPACE 6 x 6” Anonymous Show (02 ARENA painting)
2022 ART-SPACE OPEN STUDIOS
2022 PAINT & CLAY : SOUTHERN CERAMICS / ART SPACE JACK HOUSE GALLERY 15-27 NOV 2022
2023 NEW SHOOTS ART SPACE APRIL 2023 (BAFFINS ISLAND PAINTING)
2023 TREADGOLDS Portsmouth Arts
2024 PERSPECTIVES ON DRAWING Ipswich Art Society Frame Workshop Gallery
2024 PRESS PRINT FIRE GLAZE Oxmarket Contemporary 26.11.24-08.12.24 Chichester W Sussex
2024 ADVENT CALENDAR JACK HOUSE GALLERY Old Portsmouth December 2024
2025 “REMEMBERING MR BOSHIER”JACK HOUSE GALLERY Old Portsmouth
2025 POSE ARTSPACE GROUP SHOW 24th,25th,26th October
2026 PERSPECTIVES ON DRAWING FLORA
The Greenhouse Gallery Ipswich Suffolk Feb 2026
2026 St Clements Arts Centre Ipswich Art Society 147th Annual Open 16th May – 6th June
2026 ArtSpace Open Studios 20th/21st June – make sure you visit studio 3 (Chris Wood)
2026
RESIDENCIES
2006 (Oct) Big Draw 2006 Spinnaker Tower Portsmouth Collaborative Project with Aspex Gallery, Anna Lucas, Gary Whitehead & students from St Vincent College Gosport & Portsmouth Grammar School
2008 Big Draw “1000 Birds, 1000 Words, 1000 Lakeside” 100 metre mixed media panoramic drawing with students from St Vincent College, Park Community School, etc Collaborative Workshop with Jane Kilford & Rachel Johnston of Artspace Portsmouth.
2012 September : Artist In Residence : Portsmouth Grammar School2006 (June) Artists Harbour Gallery / Portsmouth Naval Dockyard
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