The Welbeck Abbey Brewery Prize At The Harley Gallery Open Exhibition 2022

“Redhill Lodge Gardens With Mound And Sculpture” 90cm x 120cm oil on board 2022

It all started with an oil painting in a contemporary art exhibition…

I was thrilled to have my painting included in the Harley Open Exhibition this July which is a biennial show at the Harley Gallery at the Welbeck Estate near Worksop UK. The exhibition of contemporary art is packed with high quality wall based artwork from artists within a 100 mile radius of the gallery. This year 125 pieces were selected from 750 entries.

To be awarded the Welbeck Abbey Brewery Prize for my painting was an even more amazing surprise! It is a really unique and fun prize and a wonderful opportunity!

Claire Monk , director at the Welbeck Abbey Brewery selected my painting “Redhill Lodge Gardens With Mound And Sculpture” to be made into a bottle label for a limited edition, seasonal bottled beer made by their brewery based onsite.

My painting depicts the glorious gardens of Redhill Lodge in Rutland in the height of summer, Claire was drawn to the vibrant colour and the connection of the subject matter with the use of plants and natural botanicals in the brewing process.

The label for the “Redhill” limited edition beer.

The painting is a large 90cm x 120cm oil painting on board, when reduced in size, it translated very well into an eye catching and appropriate label for a summer seasonal beer; 3.9% English copper red coloured ale, brewed with English grown malt and hops.

Welbeck Abbey Brewery is a traditional microbrewery and produces up to 17000 pints of beer a week, distributing mainly cask beer to a 35 mile radius of the brewery, including pubs in Lincoln and Newark. Approximately 15% of their output is bottled and sold exclusively at the Welbeck Abbey Farm Shop.

Presentation of “Redhill” limited edition beer by Claire Monk, Director of the Welbeck Abbey Brewery. Photo - Harley Gallery

I went to the Harley Gallery to meet Claire and was presented with a crate of 12 beautifully labelled bottles of “Redhill” beer, named after the garden which is the subject of my painting.

I was interested to know to what extent plants are used to flavour and add character to various beers and following a delicious tasting of the menu at the Harley Cafe, Claire gave me a tour of the brewery and told me more about the brewing process.

Traditionally plants and herbs were gathered from the hedgerow to flavour beer and I was surprised to hear that the use of hops was not introduced until 16th Century. Hops add not only flavour and aroma and bitter the beer nicely but also have natural antimicrobial qualities that preserved beer for longer.

Every year the Welbeck Abbey Brewery produces a range of “foraged and found “beers, these creative recipes use ingredients such as pumpkin, coffee grounds, nettles, orange peel or chocolate in a sustainable seasonal brew which re uses surplus or leftovers from the farm shop, cafe or local producers. Look out for “Smashing Pumpkin”, “Coffee Porter”, “Cocoa Noel” and many others!

A freshly labelled bottle of Redhill beer

The family of businesses at the Welbeck Estate are wonderfully friendly and a welcoming community. I’m very grateful to Lisa Gee and the team at the Harley Gallery and guest curator Jason Wilsher- Mills for including my painting in this exhibition and Claire Monk at the Welbeck Abbey Brewery for selecting my painting for the prize.

Another lovely outcome of being awarded this opportunity was that I was invited to talk to William Wright on BBC Radio Lincolnshire about my painting, the exhibition and “Redhill” beer!

Listen to my BBC Radio Lincolnshire interview HERE! (Skip to 30 mins into the show to find me.)

I highly recommend visiting the Harley Gallery to see the Harley Open exhibition which closes on 23rd October. Open Tues - Sat 10-5pm Sun 10 - 4pm at the Harley Gallery, Welbeck Estate, Worksop S80 3LW .

Bottles of “Redhill“ beer are exclusively available from the Welbeck Abbey Farm shop at the same location.

More paintings in the Redhill Lodge Gardens Collection can be seen HERE!