MARIA LAFFEY: A YEAR IN SOUTH WEST NORTHUMBERLAND
23rd July - 4th September 2021
The Spring Table, 2021, Oil on paper, 30 x 40.5cm
Mossy Rocks on the Burn, Oil on paper, 40.5 x 30.5cm
A Year in South West Northumberland presents a body of paintings by Maria Laffey which encompass her experience of a year spent close to home. Partly joyful and partly cathartic, the product is a series of paintings which reflect her wanderings in her local Northumbrian landscape.
Born in Hartlepool in 1967, Maria Laffey qualified as a barrister and worked as a marine insurance lawyer in London and then Newcastle. Maria took up painting during a career break when her son was young. She continued painting after her return to work but decided in 2016 to devote more time to painting and has since then painted full time. Maria paints in oils and watercolours, both outdoors and in her studio in rural Northumberland. Painting in the outdoors, ‘en plein air’ allows her to engage directly with the sights and sounds in the landscape, which enhances the experience of painting, engaging all the senses.
Free Range, 2021, Oil on paper, 40.5 x 30cm
New Leaves at the Tarn, 2021, Oil on canvas 56.5 x 46cm
This series of work reflects Maria’s life during 2020 and early 2021 in the countryside of the South Tyne. Maria’s routine revolved around long, often solitary, walks and painting. The visual details of the local natural environment became important to her; the emergence of a flower, the changing shape of a hedgerow, the colour of the sky – gin clear cerulean skies on some days and magnificently pink and orange on others. Farmyard animals, especially sheep, became familiar characters on her walks. Heavily pregnant ewes in snowy fields and the emergence in spring of the year’s new lambs were a source of delight.
Bluebells near Haydon Bridge, 2021, Oil on paper, 30.5 x 40.5cm
Limousin Bullock, 2021, Oil on board 30.5 x 40
Spending more time in the natural environment generated greater familiarity, appreciation and understanding of her surroundings. The changing seasons and sighting native creatures, like hares, geese, lapwings and skylarks became part of the daily routine and the calm, ancient Northumbrian landscape brought solace and reassurance.
Maria has exhibited alongside members of the Royal Society of British Artists at their annual exhibition at the Mall Galleries, London. She has exhibited twice at Woodhorn Museum, Northumberland and in Scarborough Art Gallery. She was shortlisted for the New Light Art Prize 2020/2021 and will exhibit in the New Light touring exhibition at The Biscuit Factory, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tullie House Museum, Carlisle and Bankside Gallery, London.
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