Gallery

Liz Somerville's most recent exhibition at The Art Stable in February of 2020 was called 'The Land of Hodd'.  'Hodd' is an old English word for shelter, a place of comfort and calm. The sites chosen for this exhibition are ancient places of pilgrimage, work and habitation: people have, and always will be drawn to them. They include: Hod Hill, Golden Cap, Stairhole at Lulworth, Eggardon Hill Fort, Marshwood Vale, Warbarrow Bay and Tout, Durdle Door and Chesil Beach. These places are all in Dorset, a county that is still partly fable and a place of escape.

Inspired by artists such as Edward Bawden, Rena Gardiner and Nikolai Astrup, Liz works with various forms of handcoloured relief print, sometimes using the more traditional lino but more recently, plywood and mdf board. They are mostly large; she finds it hard to work small, particularly with such monumental subjects. Also included are the drawings that inform and instruct her prints. These are either pen and ink wash or sgrafitto, a technique more like carving than drawing – she uses the same tools used for the blocks.

This exhibition also included a small selection taken from a series of 48 linocuts made for the Spirit of Discovery, a new cruise liner launched last year. They are based on four ancient routes through southern England: the Fosse Way, Icknield Way, Ridgeway and Pilgrim’s Way.