The calendar ticks round and a new exhibition is on at the Tea Amantes gallery. With pizza inside I take the usual service 3 bus down to Albert Road where there’s a substantial and lively crowd viewing the pieces. I am just through the door and Anna introduces me to Sandra.
Openshaw describes herself as a self-taught artist from Doncaster, South Yorkshire who used her art as therapy during the lockdown periods. She prefers a realistic view rather than an abstract opinion. Together with her animal drawings, she now also draws people in black and white, giving a timeless feel to each piece.
“I started off with pencils, which is why there’s so many black and white images,” said Openshaw, when asked about the choice of materials and her working technique. “I wanted to draw pictures without their backgrounds, without distracting noise.
“Pastels are the only thing I use in colour,” she said. “I don’t like to do portraits in colour because I think they look a bit cartoony. With animals, there are the colours and textures in there, which need doing justice to with some colour. In addition to my pastel pencils, I have some big chunky pastels, like jumbo chalks. If i want detail, I’ll use a pencil as sharp as I can get it.
“The lion picture was one I wanted to get as much detail into as possible, a picture I could keep going to and going to. I think it took me 40 hours over six months to finish. On the other hand, sometimes there are quick pieces that I just want to get done.
“I do try for realism, but I don’t think I always achieve it.”
In fact Openshaw’s’s pieces are enviably realistic, almost to a photographic level. The composition and contrast are just right and they all show superb technique with creative thinking.
