Personally, there’s nothing I love to see more than people supporting local talents and achievements. The Storey gallery in the heart of Lancaster has done that in its support for local artists such as Fay Collins. Living near the Trough of Bowland (and no, that’s not one of our very own college bars, that is the beautiful countryside situated just outside of Lancaster), Collins focuses on natural landscapes and wildlife habitats. She predominantly uses oil and acrylic paint, playing with texture and underlining colours of purple and pink to create a visually aesthetic appearance.
Although there is a gallery space at The Storey, it was refreshing to see Collins’ work emerged in the NICE bar on the Ground Floor of the building. Usually, when you attend an exhibition, you look at one piece then move on. Due to this exhibition being in a seating area, I was able to sit down with a drink and fully immerse myself in the work. It gave me an opportunity to look at the detail and admire her work collectively. Every piece complemented the others so well; a landscape would be shown next to a study of clouds, giving the viewer an opportunity to share her creative process.
The artwork varied in size but my eyes were drawn equally to each one. By looking closely you could see the paint thickly applied and the attention to detail – removing some of the paint to create more texture or adding highlights in certain areas for more depth. It was evident Collins had thought about every last inch of her work – the exhibition was coherent and exquisite.
