“Views from the Footpath” Art Exhibition

Gum and ink original paintings by Allison Marshall, inspired by coastal landscapes around Falmouth.

Allison Marshall studied ceramics at Falmouth School of Art in the late 1980’s. She has worked as an additional needs teacher for the last 20 years but has always spent time painting whenever she can.

Having used watercolour as a medium for many years to produce still-life paintings, she has recently become inspired by the landscapes she has found during her travels. Early in 2020, she participated in a workshop at the Terrace Gallery, Penryn with local artist Dave Pentin, who demonstrated a technique using gum arabic and permanent inks to produce a unique visual style. Combining this technique with a newfound interest in landscape photography Allison began to produce paintings that are quite different in terms of intensity of colour, and an abstract view of the landscape she has walked.

During the first lockdown, she began to embrace her subject matter – the local meadowland under threat from development – something which has influenced her technique under the banner of an environmental campaigner. After a very enlightening visit to the Isles of Scilly in August 2020, she began to incorporate more vibrant colours into the landscapes she paints, inspired by the unique colours of the thriving agapanthus found there. She now spends most of her time developing this newly discovered painting technique and enjoys the challenges and often surprising results it can produce.

The work produced for this exhibition has been inspired by her love for the Cornish coast in and around Falmouth. Inspiration is taken from the fauna, sea and skyscapes, combined with the unique Cornish sunlight and its’ ruggedness. Many of the landscapes in this exhibition are views only seen from very specific locations along the coastal footpath, and sometimes only visible at specific times of the year due to seasonal variations.