A winter's journey of art and fairy tales

Last week I finally embarked on a long-desired visit to the Obsidian Gallery in Stoke Mandeville, Buckinghamshire, lured by the promise of fairy tales and dragons at the two newest exhibitions.






Unphased by an inconveniently broken car (ok, maybe a little bit phased), I hopped on a train to my sister's house, from which her fully operational car would carry us both to this magical wonderland of art.

And we were not disappointed...

Within the walls of what looks like a farm shop on the outside, we entered a light, welcoming space where every wall, cabinet and shelf is filled with paintings, drawings, papercuts, sculpture, jewellery and other objects.

Our eyes instantly sought out the work of our favourite artists who are exhibiting there - Jesa Marshall (more on her jewellery soon!), Amanda Clark, Tamsin Abbott and Jackie Morris - before we began to make new discoveries.

Ed Org's drawings and paintings, such as The Green Man's Lament; Mel Chambers' ceramic tiles; Flora McLachlan's etchings and watercolours; and Heidi Vilkman's papercuts were among the hundreds of captivating creations.

But without doubt the pieces that had the most impact on me on this occasion were the tree paintings of Mark Duffin.

Using acrylic with gold and silver leaf and crystals he achieves such delicacy, such luminescence, such ethereal magic. The kind of paintings you can find yourself lost in for a moment, slightly mesmerised, but calm - and full of wonder at what lies outside the boundaries of the canvas.

I left the gallery with a beaming smile, and with Covenant carefully wrapped and tucked safely under my arm, with its firey reds, oranges and golds, crescent moon and sleeping dragon entwined in tree and earth.

The Winter Fairy Tales and 'Ere be Dragons exhibitions are on at the Obsidian Gallery until 31 December - so there's still time to share in the magic!

Featured artwork: Hidden Forest by Heidi Vilkman; Arch Dragonfly Tile - "Every New Day" by Mel Chambers; Winter, The Green Man's Lament by Ed Org; By Owl-light by Flora McLachlan; Journey by Heidi Vilkman; Regal by Mark Duffin; Snow Tree by Mark Duffin; Blessing by Mark Duffin; Covenant by Mark Duffin