Review: Best exhibition yet by artist Brummell Smith

Enduringly popular Harrogate artist Tony Brummell Smith is unveiling his most recent work in a new exhibition this weekend.
Popular Harrogate artist Tony Brummell Smith.Popular Harrogate artist Tony Brummell Smith.
Popular Harrogate artist Tony Brummell Smith.

Italy remains his passion and it’s the vibrant, sometimes shimmering colours of that country’s squares and streets, canals and seas which dominates this stunning new show which runs from this Saturday, November 11 to November 26 at The Gallery on Granby Road in Harrogate.After exhibiting for more than 40 years now, Tony is still inspired by his regular travels to far-flung shores, usually to beautiful settings in sunny skies, as visitors to his Harrogate gallery will discover when the new exhibition opens to the public from this Saturday.After decades of success, the artist’s devotion to his craft is, if anything, even deeper and Tony now tends to paint every day.The difference now is those dazzling pastels of somewhere warm which have made his work so popular are utilised only where the local environment dictates such as in Havana and Majorca which figure prominently in the more than 50 new paintings completed in a flurry of creativity.The artist himself never thinks in terms of "the best exhibition yet" but if, he has produced a better collection of pictures, I never saw it.Brummel Smith’s subtle and sensitive side is growing more pronounced, particularly in his street scenes of Venice in twilight and nighttime and also his seascapes of the Amalfi coast in Italy where realism takes over from the sheer joy of colour.Long-term fans need not worry, however. Venice still dominates Tony Brummell Smith’s new pieces, some of which at nearly 6ft are among the biggest canvasses he’s ever attempted.People are still almost entirely absent from these lovely settings. As always, its the architecture and the light, the atmosphere and the environment, which are his perennial themes. All that remains is the dappled light, rippling reflections and rain-covered squares.And what’s wrong with that?Tony Brummell Smith: Exhibition of Recent Works, runs at 9 Granby Road, Harrogate from November 11-26.

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