From 11:00am on Sat 3rd July 2021 until Sun 15th August 2021
On Saturday 3rd July an exhibition of artwork by renown local photographer Hilary Roberts, will open at the ArtsTrail Gallery, Royal Priors Shopping Centre, Leamington Spa. One can expect refined poetic pictures, comparable to paintings, describing windows of the soul overlooking an ideal world, filled with nostalgia and dreams of hope.
Even if you are familiar with her work, the exhibition presents an opportunity for you to gain an experience from a different perspective. “Wish You Were Here?” allows us to reminisce about carefree holidays by the beach, cool sea breeze, the rumble of distant waves, children at play with bucket and spade topped with ice-cream and nostalgic seaside rock and a hint of Punch and Judy. “Wish You Were Here?” Travel afar to other locations and experience Scotland, France, Greece, Turkey, Cuba and much, much more.
For Hilary, Cuba has become a much coveted place with special ties of selfless love and charity where proceeds of her artwork sales are donated to a disabled child who lives in the historic town Trinidad, in Cuba. The artist presents a unique collection capturing the subtle atmosphere of the country.
Hilary also has special warmth, gratitude and love for Leamington Spa which is reflected in her local collection of Leamington Spa and Warwickshire.
You can meet the artist on Saturday 3rd, 10th, 17th and 31st July. Once experiencing Hilary’s dreamscapes, children and adults are welcome to participate in an exhibition prize draw by sharing their ideal holiday destinations on a postcard. Winners will receive a professionally printed and framed picture to take home as your personal window of your ideal holiday destination, courtesy of ArtsTrail Framing. Children can creatively share their thoughts of seaside nostalgia by bringing in a painted seashell to our gallery. They will be displayed on our beach and the best painted shell will win an arts set courtesy of ArtsTrail.
The exhibition now has an extended run until Sunday 15th August. So get packed and prepared for your visit. You’ll wish you were here too!
Artist’s Profile:
“I have been involved in photography for about thirty years. I am a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society and share the distinction of Master of the International Federation of Photographic Art with less than two hundred people worldwide.
These days I see myself as an image maker rather than a photographer because there is often a lot of manipulation involved – or, as I call it, fiddling.
My main objective is that people looking at my images feel good – about themselves, about the world, about life. I sell my pictures to enable me to support a severely disabled little boy in Cuba and all proceeds are used to fund this project.
My work is very diverse and amongst other subjects I enjoy flowers, people, nature, architecture and landscape – and I particularly like to produce unusual and amusing images.
My pictures come from this country and all over the world – and from my home studio. I look for beauty, strangeness, striking colour, amazing texture or the perfect light.
I spend days, sometimes weeks, removing unwanted elements, adding others and applying different, often ‘painterly’ effects to enhance the finished image.
The main reason I sell my pictures is to support a little Cuban boy called Eddy, now nine years old. Eddy contracted meningitis as a baby. Although he recovered, he was left very severely disabled. I visit Cuba every year to take vital medical equipment for Eddy which is not available in Cuba. I travel with a friend, who takes more medical essentials for children in hospital. The money I raise from selling my pictures funds my part of this enterprise.”