Beth Sykes Art

01/03/2024

05/12/2023

Merveille du Jour, Griposia aprilina.
On a crisp morning with a local amateur moth-trapper a few weeks ago, this was one of our visitors. I couldn’t resist painting it, so incredibly beautiful and fascinating to know the huge range of moths that visit our gardens here in the UK

23/11/2023

Close-ups of my painting The Cairngorm Range from Loch Morlich

23/11/2023

The Cairngorm Range from Loch Morlich.
Watercolour and pen on paper.
30 x 80cm
November 2023.
It is complete! My comission for my lovely friends in the Cairngorms. I had so much fun doing this, reminiscing on a fantastic six months working in these mountains and forests with wonderful people. I can’t wait to be back 🏔️🌳🤎

16/06/2022

FOR SALE!
£75 + postage.
Please message me or leave a comment so I can message you privately for more information if you’re interested! Each of these Mud Dippings that were exhibited in my end of degree exhibition are for sale, each for £75. Due to the fact these were exhibited, these mud dippings come mounted on foamboard (which is recessed behind the artwork and attached using a spray glue) I do have other Mud Dippings which are unmounted and the possibility to make Mud Dippings to order (bear in mind that it is impossible to create a particular pattern due to the organic nature of the process!).
Size: 30 x 42cm.
Mud on 300gsm watercolour paper mounted on foamboard.

18/05/2022

‘Mud Dippings, Oxfordshire’.
January - April 2022. Exhibit.
Mud on watercolour paper.
30 x 42cm.
This is the other half of my exhibition as part of the degree show cohort. This part of my exhibition consists of 10 mud dippings (swipe to see close ups) made using mud and water from the River Cherwell. Each mud dipping has a different reaction to the paper and the process. Watercolour paper has been used as the paper has to withstand exposure to water without ripping. The mud dippings are a visualisation of the movements that go unseen beneath the surface of the water.

17/05/2022

‘Underwater and Overland, Reflections of the River Cherwell’.
January - April 2022. Exhibit.
Steel plates x3.
40 x 40cm.
Three prints taken from the steel metal plates.
And
‘Tributaries of the River Cherwell’.
January - April 2022. Exhibit.
20 x 20cm.
This is half of my exhibition as part of the degree show cohort. This part of my exhibition consists of three metal plates which were submerged in the River Cherwell for approximately two months. The plates were then taken into an artistic process of printmaking and etching. Prints (exhibited alongside the plates) were taken from the plates at each stage of the process. The smaller 20 x 20cm plates were also submerged in tributaries of the River Cherwell for approximately three months. These plates are exhibited to show the raw, natural beauty of natures touch on artistic materials.

20/04/2022

‘River Cherwell Etching’.
January 2022.
Print taken from an etched steel metal plate.
40 x 40cm.
To begin this semester of my final year of Fine Art at Oxford Brookes I created a print from a plate of metal that I had etched the course of the River Cherwell onto. My practice combines natural processes with artistic processes. Exploring the environment through mark making, mapping, drawing, walking and other means to gain an understanding of unseen processes happening, like the movements of water beneath the surface. To focus my practice, I’ve chosen the River Cherwell, close to home, to introduce my materials to nature. This print is just the beginning of an experimentation into rust, the topography of the land, and combining my marks with the marks of nature.

15/04/2022

‘Steel marked by nature’.
September - December 2021.
Natural marks made on steel in water and underground.
Metal sheets after being removed from the water for a few weeks. One of my favourite things about this project and working with nature is that there is a process of continual change which can be seen by these pics taken a few weeks after the metal was removed from the water.

14/04/2022

‘Steel marked by nature’.
September - December 2021.
Natural marks made on steel in water and underground.
This is the main part of my project last semester and this semester. I have been working with metal, steel as it is fast-reacting, to obtain marks made by nature. My aim is to facilitate nature to visualise its own beauty on artistic materials.

13/04/2022

‘Original Mud Dippings’.
October 2021.
Mud on watercolour paper.
My original mud dippings were made in a puddle. I quickly found that the marks made were unsatisfactory. I’ve recently made more mud dippings with a new techinque (you’ll see these soon!).