Devon artists stage exhibition in Germany

Artists from Devon have been invited to exhibit their works in Essen, once a centre of the German mining and steel industry.

They will be presenting paintings of the beautiful landscapes of Devon and Cornwall. The German people are particularly interested in this part of the United Kingdom since more than a hundred of Rosamunde Pilcher's novels have been adapted for television by a high ranking German TV station, earning the German producer and Rosamunde Pilcher the British Tourism Award in 2002.

The paintings will be interpreting the colours and structures of the picturesque bays of the West Country as well as the impressive moors which inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to his famous novel "The Hound of the Baskervilles".

The artists are members and friends of the Devon Art Society of Torquay which, as German visitors will learn, is known as part of the English Riviera due to its mild climate. The painters have portrayed their home counties in magnificent colours in oils, acrylics, and pastels on canvas, paper, or wood. They have managed to convey the perceptions and feelings which they experienced during the creative process, relating them to the visitor who will be able to understand their work quite intuitively.

The exhibition was organised and curated by Pat Harrison, a member of the Devon Art Society who lives in Germany with his wife and daughter. He went to collect the paintings, personally transporting them by ferry and car through France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Thirty years ago that would have meant stopping at eight customs posts to have papers signed and stamped. Thanks to the EU, none of that was necessary and the trip went smoothly.

Pat and his family are regular visitors to Torquay, the West Country, and other parts of England. He also teaches English at evening classes in three major cities near Essen, and he is a lecturer at night schools where he promotes British tourism by telling his audience about all the wonderful places he has visited in the UK.

The exhibition is set to tour other major cities in Germany to document the Anglo-German friendship which began as early as 1946 with the first youth exchange taking place between Dagenham in Greater London and Witten in Germany.
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