Wednesday 26 August 2015

Night-time Paintings of Convenience Stores By Great Yarmouth Artist Jane Hall

The lights in convenience shop window might seem like an unlikely subject for art, but not to Norfolk artist Jane Hall.

Postcards From Great Yarmouth by artist Jane Hall


Norfolk Art Exhibitions

Jane Hall's 'Postcards From Great Yarmouth' series of paintings take an unusual and highly individual look at the seaside town in which she lives and works. Rather than focusing on the colourful seafront sights for which the town is best known, they take as their subjects the back streets and side streets of Yarmouth. It is here Jane finds her artistic inspiration in the town's many convenience stores, kebab shops, Chinese takeaways and launderettes. And what makes these buildings stand out to her? It appears to be the hopeful glimmer of light.

Postcards from Great Yarmouth by artist Jane Hall


Great Yarmouth Gallery

That glimmer of light might be coming from the interior of a convenience store, or it might be the glowing signage illuminating an otherwise bleak-looking fish and chip shop doorway. But it always suffuses the painting with an ethereal glow and acts like a beacon in the murky darkness - a beacon designed to pull the punters in to buy a portion of chips, a can of lager or whatever is on special offer that day.

The 'Postcards From Great Yarmouth' series of original paintings provides an exciting contrast to Jane's more familiar pictures of ice cream cones and amusement arcades. They show the real side of Yarmouth - the one where the natives live and which the holidaymakers seldom see. It is a world of grit and darkness, but always with hopeful glimmers of intense light, which these paintings capture perfectly.

Jane Hall's 'Postcards From Great Yarmouth' are currently on show at Harvey Wilson's Secret Gallery, 33a Market Row, Great Yarmouth, as part of the 'Seaside Seductions' exhibition running till September 9th. They can also be viewed online at www.jane-hall.co.uk.

Monday 24 August 2015

Great Yarmouth Artist Jane Hall Unveils New Seaside Seductions Exhibition

Great Yarmouth's quirkiest art gallery plays host to Jane Hall's seaside-themed paintings...

Great Yarmouth artist Jane Hall


Great Yarmouth Art Gallery

This week sees the launch of a new exhibition of seaside-themed paintings by the Great Yarmouth artist Jane Hall. Taking place at Harvey Wilson's Secret Gallery over the coming three weeks, this exciting new art show sees the popular artist filling Norfolk's most bohemian gallery with her usual mixture of paintings based on the Yarmouth's seafront culture - so think ice creams, fruit machines, amusement arcades, hot dogs, fish and chips and all the traditional British seaside sights.

Painting of Bar-B-Que House on King Street in Great Yarmouth


Artist Jane Hall

Jane will also be exhibiting the latest pieces in her highly successful and collectible 'Postcards From Great Yarmouth' series. These smaller works - each the size of a traditional seaside postcard - take as their subjects some of the lesser known sights of Great Yarmouth. They focus on the back streets and side streets of this quintessential seaside holiday town, capturing the night-time lights in convenience stores doorways, kebab shop windows and takeaway restaurants.

Seaside Seductions runs from 25th of August to the 9th of September 2015 at Harvey Wilson's Secret Gallery, 33a Market Row, Great Yarmouth. The gallery is open Monday to Saturday from 9.30am to 3.30pm, with a special late night opening between 6pm and 9pm on Friday 28th of August.

Monday 2 February 2015

Jane Hall's 'Postcards from Norwich' Paintings Go On Show At The Mustard Cafe

This week sees the opening of a new art exhibition featuring postcard-sized paintings of Norwich by the artist Jane Hall.

Postcards from Norwich original painting by Jane Hall


Norwich Art Gallery

A hidden gem, The Mustard Cafe in Norwich's Bridewell Alley, is not just a must-go place for a coffee and a cake. Because this thriving Norwich eaterie is also gaining a reputation for displaying some of the best art by Norfolk's many talented artists, including Great Yarmouth painter Jane Hall. This month the cafe is showcasing some of Jane's popular postcard-sized paintings of Norwich scenes. They include the Out of Time record shop, Wensum Food & Wine and Retreat Vintage Store on St. Benedict's Street.


Jane Hall's 'Postcards from Norwich' paintings


Paintings of Norwich

Jane Hall's 'Postcards from Norwich' paintings build on the success of her 'Postcards from Great Yarmouth' series, which focus on the familiar seaside sights of Great Yarmouth, as well as back street scenes, kebab shops and convenience stores. They will be on display at the Mustard Cafe from the 4th to the 25th of February, so why not pop in for a coffee and a nice piece of cake... and view some fantastic artwork while you're at it?

The Mustard Cafe is located on Bridewell Alley, Norwich, NR2 1AQ.

Monday 5 January 2015

Jane Hall's Soho Sex Shop Paintings Act As A Reminder Of London's Disappearing History

The closure of numerous Soho sex shops adds extra value to Great Yarmouth artist's paintings.

Soho sex shop painting by artist Jane Hall


Great Yarmouth Artist Jane Hall

When Jane Hall started painting sex shops paintings for a solo show at the Reading Room in Soho's Frith Street in 2012, she had no idea how quickly London's changing landscape would trigger the closure of so many of the stores she chose to paint. Established sex shops and strip joints that had been a feature of Soho for years and years quickly began to close their doors. Cursed by crippling license fees, the boom in Internet sex toys and clean up campaigns, these colourful, vibrant and enticing stores were suddenly replaced by endless coffee shops, clothes boutiques and convenience stores.

Soho Sex Shop Painting by Jane Hall


Soho Sex Shop Paintings

"It's amazing how many of these shops have gone now," says Jane, just back from a trip to London. "Places like Janus, the Private Shop, Trashy Lingerie and Lovejoy's were thriving just a few years ago, but now they're gone forever - and have been placed with something much more bland. In fact, it's bizarre that a place like London doesn't have a booming sex shop industry, because everywhere else I go to in Europe really celebrates that kind of thing. But then we've always been a very prudish nation, so I guess I shouldn't really be surprised."

"It's a shame for me, though," Jane adds, "because sex shops are such exciting things to paint. I love all the neon signage and the seedily erotic window displays, plus the general air of mystery behind the boarded up frontages and rainbow-strip curtains. I guess it's lucky that I painted so many of them when I did, because they appear to be lost forever now. But at least the sex shop paintings still remain as a record of what Soho used to be like."

For more information on Jane Hall's sex shop paintings, visit www.jane-hall.co.uk.