‘A Quartet of Colour’ (Saturday 12th February - Saturday 2nd April 2022)

'A Quartet of Colour' features original artwork by four women abstract artists from West Yorkshire.

Sandra Cowper, Catherine Morris, Ann Raby and Lesley Smithers met about 10 years ago at Tom Wood's Redbrick Mill Art Academy, Batley, where they painted together and occasionally exhibited. Although the Academy has recently closed, they continue to paint together in new premises in Dewsbury, as well as in their own individual studios. This exhibition is a vibrant collection of abstract work by the artists primarily painted in oils.

For further information, please read on or contact Gallery Forty-Nine.

Exhibition Catalogue

A catalogue has been produced for this exhibition which details each of the artworks available for sale. Please click on the button below to download the catalogue in PDF format.

All artworks in this exhibition are framed. The dimensions listed in this catalogue refer to the size of the artwork before framing.

Sandra Cowper

Creating art has always been part of Sandra Cowper's life. After a foundation course at Wakefield Art College, she went on to graduate from Bretton Hall College in 1990 with a BA (Hons) in Art and Design. Sculpture and painting were her main subjects, and media studies/performance gained her the honours side of the degree.

Since then Sandra become more interested in life drawing as well as figurative or conceptual pieces.

"I am currently making abstract paintings in oils using various methods, processes and tools," says Sandra. "Solid forms of colour are overlaid with transparent veils of paint, evoking nebulous images open to the viewer to converse with."

Catherine Morris

Catherine remembers painting outdoors with her father from a very young age. However, when it came to schooling, art was not considered a suitably serious subject, and Catherine was guided towards more traditional subjects. She started her working life as a librarian and finished up as Assistant Head of Culture and Leisure Services for Kirklees Council in West Yorkshire.

Despite taking the academic path, Catherine’s creative streak never left her, and throughout her working life she continued to explore a variety of crafts, initially textile based: weaving, spinning, knitting and embroidery. Eventually, in a desire to push her artistic journey further she turned to paint and has never looked back since.

Her adventures with paint took a leap forward 12 years ago when she left the world of work and a short while later she joined the (now lamented) Redbrick Art Academy in Batley, West Yorkshire, run by renowned artist Tom Wood. At that point Catherine was introduced to a wide range of materials and techniques which she now deploys to build up the surfaces of her paintings. Above all, colour is the thing that excites her most in her art and is the reason that she paints.

Since then she has had her work featured in a variety of galleries in the north of the UK, including Harrison Lord (Brighouse), Masham Gallery, Millyard Gallery (Uppermill); Hope Gallery (Batley) and Ferens Art Gallery (Hull).

Ann Raby

Ann Raby is an abstract artist reinterpreting the landscape through use of colour and texture. Through the University of Leeds, she obtained a BA (Hons) in Sculpture in 1993, and a Higher Education MA (Fine Art) in Painting and Cultural Studies in 2003.

"Through the medium of paint, and the exploration of colour and texture, I wish to convey my observations and responses to the changing landscape," says Ann. "Despite the somewhat melancholic atmosphere portrayed within the paintings, I am to show that a brighter future is just on the horizon."

Ann has participated in various group exhibitions. She had a solo exhibition, ‘Insular Spaces’, at Dean Clough Galleries in 2004. More recently, she has continued to explore and develop new skills through Redbrick Art Academy.

Lesley Smithers

Lesley Smithers was formally an engineering technician in the design of highways and bridges, working on the M1and M62 in the early stages of their planning/

Having always wanted to paint, she enrolled in evening classes and acquired A Level and Foundation qualifications in art. More recently, she attended the Redbrick Art Academy in Batley.

Over the years Lesley has entered many art exhibitions. Her work is mostly abstract, using the intervention of shapes, small and large, placed in colourful spaces of varying intensity to create balance or imbalance.