A Westcountry artist has been appointed to the position of 'Artist in Residence' at
one of the region's largest nature reserves.
Peter Baker moved to the north Devon village of Meeth just two years ago. As a
life-long artist, Peter soon found himself searching for a new local muse - to act
as a focus for his painting and artistic expression. So when Devon Wildlife Trust
bought the 150 hectares of Meeth Quarry in 2012, opening the site as a nature
reserve in May 2013, he was delighted to find that this inspiration actually existed
right at the bottom of his garden.
Devon Wildlife Trust's work over the past year improving the former clay quarry
(production ended in 2004) as a place for people and wildlife has provided Peter
with a focus for his art. The tracks, paths, woodlands and lakes of the new nature
reserve have given Peter a huge new outdoor studio. The nature reserve is now
providing the stimulus for a series of works in pen and ink and some watercolour
studies.
Peter's approach means he often spends hours each day exploring and sketching the
reserve. He spoke of his fascination for Meeth Quarry: "'When I moved to the lovely
village of Meeth I had no idea that my wife and I were going to be living next to
the Tarka Trail and the new Meeth Quarry nature reserve.
Peter continued: "The 'mood' of the reserve changes with the weather and the season
giving endless inspiration to any painter. Being a marine artist I have had to
change my style and method of working, you don't find many trees growing on beaches,
but I find this unique challenge exciting and I am looking at nature with young
eyes. I hope that my recent artwork will illustrate my curiosity and pure pleasure
in depicting my new surroundings."
Meeth Quarry is one of 48 nature reserves owned by the charity
Devon Wildlife Trust.
Tamasine Addie, Community Outreach Officer for the Trust's Northern Devon Nature
Improvement Area project, said: "Peter's work is wonderful. It beautifully captures
the spirit and wild atmosphere of Meeth Quarry nature reserve. It's just the kind of
connection we hoped people in the local community would make with this place.
Peter's art may be one man's vision of the reserve, however it's a vision that he
very much wants to share. We think his work will really help people see the
landscape at Meeth Quarry and appreciate it in a different way. It may even
encourage people's own artistic responses to this wonderful place."
Tamasine continued: "Peter is working on the first of what we hope will be a series
of paintings and studies that showcase elements of the nature reserve in a new
light. When complete, we plan to make these accessible with, perhaps, a local show
of work or may be even on the nature reserve itself."
At the moment you can see a selection of Peter Baker's pen and wash depictions of
Meeth nature reserve at the Society of Graphic Fine Art's website
www.sgfa.org.uk or
see them at the Northern Devon Nature Improvement Area website,
www.northerndevonnia.org where you can also find out more about the NIA project and
its links with local communities.
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