Artists and Galleries

The lush rolling fields and flowing waters of Essex lit by constantly changing East Anglian skies have inspired generations of artists. Today you can enjoy their work in local galleries such as the Fry Art Gallery in Saffron Walden, Sir Alfred Munnings Museum in Dedham and the Beecroft Art Gallery in Southend-on-Sea, while for those with more contemporary interests galleries such as firstsite in Colchester and Focal Point in Southend-on-Sea provide a view of some of the best modern art around.

The Stour Valley, on the northern borders of Essex, is closely associated with England’s most famous landscape painter, John Constable. Widely known as ‘Constable Country’, the area around the pretty village of Dedham attracts many visitors all year round. Don't miss Bridge Cottage in Flatford. The 16th century thatched cottage owned by the National Trust houses a display about John Constable, much of whose work depicts this area. The Mill is located on the bank of the River Stour in Dedham Vale, North Essex, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Tel: 01206 298260 www.nationaltrust.org.uk

Like Constable, Sir Alfred Munnings was also the son of a miller. Born in Suffolk in 1878, he came to live in Dedham later in life. His home, Castle House, now has a superb collection of the equestrian paintings for which Sir Alfred is best known. Painted with great vigour, his works are full of life, colour and movement. Although his work spans a period when art was undergoing a revolution in philosophy and style, Sir Alfred kept strictly to traditionally realistic portrayals of his subjects. Castle House, the home, studios and grounds where Sir Alfred Munnings lived and painted for 40 years is now a visitor attractions housing a large collection representing his life's work, augmented by private collection loans of paintings not usually shown to the public. Tel: 01206 322127 www.siralfredmunnings.co.uk

From the 1930’s through to the 1950’s Essex was home to a famous colony of artists who lived in an around the village of Great Bardfield. Best known of them was Edward Bawden who had been born in Braintree in 1903 and trained as a book illustrator. He soon proved himself as an outstanding designer, skilled in many styles and able to bridge the gap between modern art and popular culture. While cycling around Essex, Bawden and his fellow artist Eric Ravilious discovered the charms of Great Bardfield and the unspoilt countryside around Thaxted. The friends decided to rent a house in the village and soon it became a magnet for other artists including John Aldridge, Michael Rothenstein and Bernard Cheese. Today you can see a large collection of their work at the Fry Art Gallery in Saffron Walden. Tel: 01799 513779 www.fryartgallery.org

Today many more artists find inspiration in the Essex countryside and those big wide open skies. One of them is Stephen Taylor.

Stephen studied Constable at Essex University and spent several years lecturing and painting at the same time. When one day he asked himself: "What mattered to me most as an artist? The answer was: To appreciate being here, as the poet TS Eliot says “…Now and in England.” For me this meant the beauty and unfamiliarity of ordinary landscape – the kind we can see within a few miles of every house in Essex."

Having found a field on a slight rise that gave a good prospect, he made a series of panoramas over the next four years showing just how amazingly different a single place can be. He then went on to produce a dramatic series of panoramic pictures which were displayed in Kings’ College,Cambridge. Stephen believes you do not have to travel to see richness. You just have to look.

Stephen uses oil colours painted on the spot because they are more real to him than photographic colour. But he uses photographs and computer software in the studio to find the distribution of colours and textures. He describes his work as contemporary super realism.

The last show he had was of a single oak tree, in the same field, observed over three years. Stephen says: "The places I paint can be found within a mile or two of almost everyone’s home in the county. They are ordinary places, but if you open your eyes, you can go back again and again to such spots and nature will always have something new to show you. The artists I admire, writers, film makers or painters all bother to use their art to make familiar things more valuable – so at least they can say they looked while they were passing through."

To find out more about Stephen's work please visit www.stephentaylorpaintings.com