Emma Thompson & Dustin Hoffman

Kate Pellegrini was hushed and directed along the Southbank yesterday on her way to Skylark Gallery, as filming 'Last Chance Harvey' was in progress. The area along from the National Theatre became a huge windswept film set, with the director waiting for the frequent but intermittent sun to break through the racing cumulus clouds. Dustin Hoffman was last seen running towards the London Eye, in a well cut suit, long coat and white trainers, presumably to film a panning shot towards Emma Thompson looking emotional near the river. It was a long day, as they were there from at least 10am to 7pm.

Late Last Thursday - THIS Thursday!

Late Last Thursdays are a monthly event at Skylark 2 Gallery where visitors can come in the evening to meet an artist. We stay open late and often there's an artist talk or presentation along with a bit of wine.

THIS Thursday:
KATE PELLEGRINI

(From the Killing Time series, detail and 6 large canvases )

Kate is the Featured Artist at Skylark 2 Gallery
From April 15th - May 5th : 11am - 6pm : Tuesday - Sunday
Unit 1.09 - Oxo Tower Wharf - London - SE1 9PH - Tel: 44 020 7401 9666

Artist talk: Late Last Thursday on April 24th : 7pm 'Painting Space' All my paintings, whether abstract or representational, are primarily concerned with representing the illusion of three dimensions on a two dimensional surface. The canvas is daubed with colour and marks, the result of many small decisions to effectively bring something forward or knock something else back. Material is drawn from either observation, making visual notes and sketches, and taking photographs at the scene, or from poetry or other literary works that affect me, which then provide the imagery for my paintings.

The 'Killing Time' series, pictured here, is based on Simon Armitage's brilliant poem of the same title, commissioned by the Millennium Committee. The thousand line poem is divided into sections, which explore different aspects of man's relationship with his fellow man, and the state of civilisation at the beginning of the 21st Century. Each section of the poem revolves around a specific theme, like ballooning pitted against nationalism (‘Weightless’), the darkness of northern winter days (‘Midwinter Spin’), a Westerner's view of Christmas in Oxford Street contrasting with modern warfare (‘Distracted’), bullets of the Colombine School massacre transferred to flowers (‘Suburban Idyll’), the lunar eclipse of the sun (‘Any Minute Now’), etc.

The poem provided the springboard for my painterly investigations. The paintings are door sized stretched canvases, unframed, featuring impasto oil paint on a thin acrylic base. The preliminary acrylic painting lays down accidental marks to contribute to the surface richness, and is overlaid with a gradual build up of oil paint. The colour themes and mark making seek to reflect a sense of space, rhythm and an emotional charge in the individual works.