Stef Mitchell Northern Flora
Through painting and within the historical tradition of nature print Stef documents place and space with a specifi c focus on the fl ora of a particular landscape.
Her practice develops from an ongoing relationship with the landscape. Short and long-distance walks, fi eld edges, woodlands, coastal paths and weather patterns are explored and documented working directly with plants. The ink, plant and paper having equal say in the process. Slow growth, chance and subtle nuances of difference all play their part. This way of working immerses Stef in the landscape. The picking of plants and laying them out on an inked-up plate, rolling, squashing and smelling has a slow rhythm that feeds into a connective thread from the space of the external landscape to the inside space of the studio.
More recently since lockdown Stef has further explored the relationship between external and internal spaces in paintings in which imagined wild fl ower arrangements are painted in vessels that contain the energy and light of a specifi c landscape, often combined with printed elements from a particular environment.
Trees, shrubs and the differing light throughout the seasons are also a common theme in paintings and drawings.
Gallery One
This exhibition has finished