Orcadia

Jane Harforth 

‘The Orcadian archipelago is a museum of archaeological wonders’ Mark Edmonds

Orkney was settled by farming communities in 4th millennium BCE because of the bedrock - set down 400 million years ago - being easily extracted for dwellings and monuments.

Today, scattered farmhouses cover the land between excavated Neolithic sites. The music of Erland Cooper compelled me to visit. These new paintings, along with a yearning for solitude, are what the artist saw. The exhibition also includes a range of other paintings made in the last few years, including those inspired by local landscapes.

During lockdown Jane Harforth began to learn to paint. Artistically, she comes from a background in fashion - having designed her own collections made in Argentina - as well as interior design, where she was lucky enough to decorate some beautiful houses. 

She has been taught by artists at the Newlyn School of Art, Royal West of England Academy in Bristol, Bullclough School of Art and online with Californian abstract artists. 

Putting on to paper what she sees on her travels, she uses colour, tone, shape and texture, and hope to make paintings to enhance any space. For this body of work the artist has used household paint and acrylics.