‘From Brackish Thames (Water) to Freshwater’ is the latest exhibition at Dimbola Museum and Galleries by Island-born artist Anna Keen.
The collection is a series of artworks that follow the tidal River Thames as it makes its way toward the estuary and back up to central London. Anna travelled up and down the River Thames by boat, sketching as she went, and visited both the South and North banks of the river.
Anna’s method of capturing the watery scenes involves her speciality of using ink on paper before transferring to oil on canvas in the studio. Scenes depicted in her ink-on-paper style include St. Paul’s Cathedral, Big Ben in scaffolding, The Thames Barrier, Purfleet Marshes and the Dome/Blackwell Tunnel.
In launching the new exhibition Dr Brian Hinton, MBE:
“Chairman of trustees at Dimbola, referred to Anna’s period at Dimbola House as their painter in residence. Remembering her tenure there Brian recalled the time when she helped clear and clean the floor of Julia Margaret Cameron’s own studios, which now houses this collection. Brian likened Anna’s seascapes to ‘Turner with soul”.
Anna Keen left the Island, age 7, following the death of her father to live on The Isle of Arran and eventually studied and painted for many years in Paris, Rome, Venice, London and Amsterdam before finally returning home to the island in 2016. Back on the Island, she considered Dimbola a safe haven and recalled how Brian enabled her to feel at home.
A number of the artworks on display feature in her book.’ London, The Metamorphosis’ published in 2020. Anna has mounted solo exhibitions in Paris, Rome. Milan, London, Amsterdam and Trieste. On the Island she had a previous show at Dimbola in 2018 plus one at Kendall’s Fine Art in Cowes in 2017.
From the 17th of December to the 14th of January 2023 Anna will be exhibiting her work in the Clayden Gallery at Quay Arts, Newport. This will feature oil and ink landscapes alongside a project focusing on the historical architecture in Newport.
