I haven’t written for a while as I’ve been so busy painting, putting on an open studio and sending work to galleries. As Christmas approaches, I wanted to put down something about the pieces I’ve been working on during the latter half of the year.

I’ve been wanting to paint more views of Newark-on-Trent. Just five miles away, it is our local market town which we visit every week to shop and to use its cafes and occasionally its pubs. Newark is a beautiful townscape with a mixture of Medieval, Georgian and Victorian buildings together with a compelling ruined castle and an extraordinary market square. This year I have made a particular effort to focus my ideas on how to capture some of the essence of the town in my paintings.

Susan Isaac – Newark Castle from Trent Bridge

The castle dominates the western approach to Newark as you walk or drive over Trent Bridge. I made several views of this during the Summer. In the first of two shown here, I was struck by the pattern of light filtering through the railings of the bridge. The railings themselves seem to march across the river towards the stricken castle. I exhibited this in the Thoresby Open Exhibition in September – it was joint winner of the ‘Tony Wilkinson Prize’ and also the ‘Solo Exhibition Prize for 2012’ which means I will be  hold an exhibition at Thoresby sometime in 2012 (dates to be decided). The painting is now on display at the Newfield Galleries in Newark.

Susan Isaac – Newark Castle & Trent Bridge

In the second painting I enjoyed creating a composition that contrasts the monumental bridge parapets with the more distant blocks of the castle. The interplay of light and dark was also a strong element in this historic juxtaposition. This painting has been selected for the first Harley Open Exhibition which will be running from 7 Jan – 5 Feb, 2012.