Helen Clapcott can’t identify with the word ‘artist’. Mary Mabbutt has said more than once (in jest) that “Rembrandt didn’t have to put up with this”. Sarah Carvell sees the arrival of the occasional cup of tea to her studio as a significant achievement. Sue Howells describes herself as a housewife who picks up a brush every day. 

Painters all, they are four of ten taking part in a new group show, I Also Paint, at Hale’s Gateway Gallery exploring what it is to be a woman in art. The show’s name refers to the fact that women’s lives are often complex and multi-faceted, balancing their own needs and desires with those of others. Even for women without children, there can be many time-consuming ties and commitments that leave them feeling their work is a postscript rather than the main event.

The exhibition not only showcases a huge diversity of themes, styles and techniques but in presenting these artists’ work together it brings to light a shared groundedness that emanates from all of the work.

(Main Image: Ghislaine Howard, Women Walking) 

Gateway Gallery specialises in paintings by Modern British Artists, particularly those who are grouped together under the label ‘The Northern School’.