ART in the dale during October is something of a family affair.
This month’s exhibition at The Witham gallery, in Barnard Castle, features the paintings of Jo Pickering, while at Bowlees Visitor Centre, it is her uncle, Russell Wellard, whose work is in the spotlight.
Jo is a well known face at The Witham and is currently teaching a painting class at the centre.
Her exhibition, Bright and Bold: An Affordable Art Show features her acrylic paintings in bold and vibrant colours.
“I was head of art at a secondary school for 30 years. Now I paint professionally and teach a lot of adults,” said Jo, who has been painting live during the exhibition.
“This is a really nice space for showing pictures and it’s nice to come paint somewhere live.”
She also leads a sip and paint session at the Old Well, on The Bank, in Barnard Castle, on the third Monday of each month.
Meanwhile, at Bowlees Visitor centre uncle Russell is show his paintings which take inspiration from the landscape which surrounded him while he worked in forestry.
Field of vision is an expression of Russell’s career working in the cultivation, management, and study of individual trees, shrubs, vines, and other perennial woody plants in and around the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and UNESCO Global Geopark.
He said: “I would describe my paintings as a reflection of my working life, illustrating the vistas and quiet places that I have been fortunate to discover.”
A regular visitor to Bowlees Visitor Centre, he said he enjoys the history and serenity of the area.
“I hope my artwork being exhibited encourages visitors to seek out the quiet places and landmarks that I have captured, giving a sense of being with nature.”
Simon Wilson, programme manager at the North Pennines AONB Partnership, which runs the visitor centre, added: “We hope these artworks inspire visitors to make a deeper connection with their surroundings and with the natural world.”
Admission to both exhibitions is free during opening hours of The Witham and Bowlees Visitor Centre during October.
![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)
