AN exhibition of traditional oil painted landscapes with a contemporary twist is on show at the Bowlees Visitor Centre Gallery this month.
Artist Tonya Mitchell’s solo exhibition, The Great Outdoors, is a mix of realism and romanticism.
Alongside the paintings there will be information about their geological and historical context, reflecting on Ms Mitchell’s research into the traditions, folk songs, history, and geography connected to each of the places she paints.
Ms Mitchell, who lives in West Auckland, said: “I hope visitors will feel the romance of the area. I hope they will be captivated by its history as well as its beauty, by its wild force as well as its peace. And hopefully they will feel a connection to the land the paintings represent.
“In my work I aim for a mix of stripped back simplicity along with detail, hopefully capturing the spirit of a place as well as giving an accurate depiction. From the beginning of my artistic journey, I wanted to show on canvas the spirit and soul of our countryside.
Simon Wilson, programme manager at the North Pennines AONB Partnership, said: “This exhibition shows a variety of inspiring places in the area, but we’re particularly happy that Tonya has been able to bring the canvas of Summerhill Force to Bowlees.
“Hopefully visitors will be inspired to take the short walk from the visitor centre to see it live – although not quite as full of water at this time of year.”
Describing her art practice, Ms Mitchell said: “I work in oil because I love all it offers, but, as I started painting as a way of dealing with emotional pain, the slow process of an oil painting proved very therapeutic.
“The hours of work and days of drying time may not be visible to the beholder, but it gives me as an artist time to live with the painting that can typically be four to six months in the making.
“What many people do not realise is that oil paint is very environmentally friendly, using only natural oils such as linseed and turpentine there is no plutonium in either the paint or the mixers just natural products.”
![A COUNTY councillor is backing a campaign to get a pedestrian crossing in Staindrop. Frustrated parish councillors in the village summoned their county council representative Cllr George Richardson to their latest meeting to discuss several issues, including the call for a safe way to cross the A688. Earlier this year their request for a crossing was turned down by the county council’s highways officers. Parish council chairman Jonothan Raper described the reasons for the refusal as “spurious” and called on Cllr Richardson to support their campaign. He added: “One of the arguments they made was there is no clear line of desire when they studied the village – well this isn’t a clear line of desire because there isn’t a crossing, people cross whenever they can. “When the lollipop person was there, one of the things I noticed was people would walk all the way down to the lollipop person to cross the road to go to the shop or to go to the school.” He added a problem of parking at the primary school is exacerbated because people are too afraid to walk their children across the road. Cllr Richardson said he had supported previous attempts for a crossing point with the first being made about 15 years ago. He added: “We went fairly well down the road with that and they looked into it. The only recommended place was where the bus stop is and to get the visibility splays, people on the other side of the road would lose their parking. “That didn’t go down well so it just died a death.” Cllr Raper said he suspected the real reason for the officers’ refusal was the cost of installing a crossing. He added that much of the cost could be recovered from savings made on not having to employ a lollipop patrol. Cllr Raper said: “A lollipop person only provides a benefit of crossing for three hours of the day. You are getting 21 extra hours of crossing time [with a pedestrian crossing].” Cllr Richardson said he would raise the issue with the county council’s cabinet member for highways, Cllr John Shuttleworth.](https://teesdalemercury.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/georgeR-120x86.jpg)
