Jenny Hirst English, b. 1954
‘Much of my work is landscape based – inspired by my travels in the UK and abroad. For this exhibition, I looked at the west coast of Cornwall and found inspiration in the ever-changing weather and its effect on the sea and the coastline – the magical light of west Cornwall.'
'I have tried to capture in these paintings, the dramatically different moods of the water, the coastline and the skies, the casting of light and shadows on the water and the sweeping sands disappearing and re-appearing with the ebb and flow of the tide.
‘I try to incorporate interesting textures into my work by the overlaying of paint and collage, the addition of an element of drawing and also the rubbing and scraping away of paint to reveal layers beneath. I aim to capture the essence of a place – an emotional response rather than an accurate representation. Thus my paintings – which begin from a photograph, sketch or a memory – often take on a life of their own led by the medium and the method of applying the paint. It is a process of experimentation, a balance between control and letting go and taking risks. With a spontaneous style it is impossible to predict the exact outcome – I like to let the painting evolve whilst always paying attention to composition and balance of colour and form.
Jenny Hirst was born in Cheshire in 1954. She completed a Foundation Diploma in Art & Design in 2002, after having run an interior design business for nine years.
Since then, her works have been exhibited in galleries in Manchester, Cheshire, Derbyshire, North and South Wales and the Lake District. She has also exhibited and sold work at the Manchester, Bristol, Cambridge, London and New York Art Fairs since 2007, and has worked on several commissions for homes and offices, including Colliers Cre property agents Manchester offices. The Langham Hotel, Regent Street, London has a painting in their new conference centre lobby.
Jenny lives in Alderley Edge Cheshire, where she works from her studio. She is represented exclusively in St Ives by the Porthminster Gallery.
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SEA BREEZES | SUMMER SHOW
20 Jun - 7 Sep 2024The bold strokes and sweeping colours of Andrew Bird’s captivating abstracted acrylic paintings work in a magical dialogue with the meditative and calming sea horizon vista paintings by Martyn Perryman,...Read more -
SUMMER SHOW: EDIT 1 | ANDREW BIRD & JENNY HIRST
27 May - 7 Oct 2023A dynamic new series of Cornwall coastal-inspired abstract paintings and monoprints by Andrew Bird is featured alongside the sublime new collection of paintings of the wild, windswept, rocky shorelines of...Read more -
SEA STORIES
Mixed exhibition of contemporary paintings, prints, and ceramics 1 May - 26 Jun 2021Porthminster Gallery’s new exhibition Sea Stories opened with a burst of Spring optimism on 1st May.Read more
Featuring uplifting contemporary paintings, prints and ceramics by seven gallery artists, and one invited guest artist, in a celebration of the seaside and rocky coast for which St Ives and West Cornwall is famous
craig underhill ceramics, anne barrell ceramics, sgraffito, earthenware, handmade, painted, alfred wallis, sailing boats, ships, trawlers, harbours, sea, coast, mike bernard mixed medai paintings, andrew bird abstract paintings, ian harrold paintings, jenny hirst paintings, martyn perryman paintings, trevor price prints and paintings, for sale, ceramicist, potter, slab-built, vessels, clay, painterly, exhibitions, shows, exhibiting, exhibited, landscape, semi-abstract, coastal -
RELOCATION
11 Sep - 24 Oct 2020The opening collection at our new premises at 22 Fore Street is a changing showcase of artworks by some of the many established and emerging British Artists whom we represent,...Read more -
COAST 2020
4 Jul - 5 Sep 2020A colourful and uplifting exhibition celebrating the unique beauty of the Cornish coast through the varied mediums and creative approaches of selected gallery artists: Andrew Bird, Sara Dudman RWA ,...Read more -
ST IVES SUMMER SHOW: 12
18 May - 24 Aug 2019Porthminster Gallery in St Ives hosts its summer exhibition of coastal landscape and sea inspired paintings and ceramics by gallery artists Nick Bodimeade, Jenny Hirst, Freya Horsley, Joanne Last, Martyn Perryman, Sarah Perry, Geoffrey Swindell and Jane Muende.Read more -
ST IVES SUMMER SHOW : NINE ARTISTS
MIXED SHOW 16 Jun - 1 Sep 2018Our eleventh annual summer exhibition is a richly diverse showcase of expressive and sometimes surprising works by nine artists, all of whom are inspired by St Ives and Cornwall: Painters:...Read more -
ST IVES SUMMER SHOW: 10
17 Jun - 3 Sep 2017Our tenth annual summer exhibition is a richly diverse showcase of expressive and sometimes surprising works by eight artists, all of whom are inspired by St Ives and Cornwall: Painters:...Read more -
St Ives Summer Show 2016
2 Jul - 3 Sep 2016Summer is finally here in sunny St Ives! Come along and join in the fun at our award-winning beachside gallery to celebrate our sizzling Summer Show. With nostalgia-evoking works about...Read more