Mary Hite returns to Arundel for annual exhibition

She will be offering original paintings, limited edition prints and cards showing a diverse collection of affordable artwork at The Norfolk Centre, Mill Road, Arundel, BN18 9PA from Saturday, August 3 to Friday, August 9 from 9.30am to 5.30pm.

“I have had a lot of fun this year with a palette knife, producing a number of subjects and styles so I hope that there is something for everyone to appreciate and enjoy. My portfolio has grown quite a lot. My husband helps me with the exhibition and also does the framing. I think it must be about 30 years that I've been exhibiting in Arundel. I used to be in the old hut which is now the information centre. I started exhibiting my friend Jeanette who invited me to have an exhibition with her at her house in Felpham, going back years, and it went really well. We got more and more involved and we started this exhibition but circumstances have changed and I now do the exhibition of my own and I've done that for the last four or five years and I do manage to fill up the hall. This year my new thing is maybe some more modern pictures with a palette knife which is quite fun. I'm doing more canvas painting which I love the feeling of. With my racing pictures, doing racing at Goodwood and so on, I've done that with a palette knife which I think creates a lot of movement, and also when you're painting on canvas it makes it lighter for people to take home with them.”

As for subjects, Mary loves painting children and used to do a lot of her grandchildren – though they have mostly grown up now: “I've also done a lot of umbrella pictures that have gone down very well. I just find that people love bright colours. People seem to want those sorts of colours on their walls more so than the traditional landscapes that I used to do a lot more of. I think it's just that people like pictures these days that brighten up the room rather than a view but I do a lot of views as well. I've always done lots of Arundel pictures, Arundel Castle and views of Arundel Castle from the river and they always sell very well. I do also love painting animals. I love my safaris and I've done a lot of animals in black and white which has been very popular. For me the lockdown was the time to concentrate on doing something different and that's what I did but really what I try to do in every exhibition is lots of different types of subjects and lots of different ways of painting so that there is something for everybody to see at the exhibition. I have done lots of boats in Chichester Harbour and obviously Arundel but a lot of the new pictures are colourful views whether umbrellas or poppies or landscapes.

“I just love doing it. I used to belong to Felpham Art Group and the Downland Art Society but I've given that up because I didn't have time to go to the meetings. Now I do everything working towards this exhibition in Arundel.”

Admission to the exhibition is free