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FESTIVAL OF WESSEX 2026 • 24 Prophecy: Living Life as Art For over 14 years, Hazel Golden has devoted herself to one central inquiry: what happens when life itself becomes the canvas for transformation? Not art as something outside of us, but as a path through heartbreak to love, and through loss to becoming who you were always meant to be. Until 4 July: Lighthouse, 21 Kingland Road, POOLE, BH15 1UG. Tuesday - Saturday 10am - 9pm. 01202 280000 / lighthousepoole.co.uk. ‘WEST BAY 327’ (Oil on canvas, 50 x 110 cm, 2026) Alex Lowery Alex Lowery’s stunning new paintings of Portland and West Bay return to familiar places with new eyes. Looking over rooftops towards the sweeping coastline of Lyme Bay and the sea, with Portland misty in the distance, our eyes are drawn to planes of colour and light. Unpeopled, but full of the evidence of people, these paintings hold our attention in play. They take the eye around and through the image, from foreground to background, from rough foliage and the angled surfaces of buildings to luminous seas and sky, from the contemporary to the timeless and from the concrete to the infinite. Moving back and forth in the space between naturalism and abstraction, Alex Lowery’s paintings seduce us with texture and light. Whether it is the cliffs of West Bay and the rooftops around Pier Terrace, the road that rides the ridge of Portland or indeed L’Estaque near Marseille, he finds the beauty in light on tarmac, in corrugated iron and chimney pots in these seaside places. His compositions lead us through a nexus of buildings whose details may be more or less abstracted. Ways through down to the beach are implied. Buildings may or may not look back at us through their windows. Unusual colours may be more accurate than we have noticed. Sometimes it takes looking at an Alex Lowery painting to realise how things really look. ‘BEYOND WORDS’ Until 4 July: Sladers Yard, WEST BAY, Bridport, DT6 4EL. Wednesday - Saturday 10am - 4.30pm. 01308 459511 / sladersyard.co.uk . Robert Greenhalf: Birds and Light This solo exhibition showcases leading wildlife artist Robert Greenhalf's stunning oil paintings and original prints. Radiating light, Robert’s beautifully composed and crafted paintings draw on years of experience both in the studio and in the field observing birds in their natural habitats. 26 June - 12 July: Trymwood Studios, Trym Road, WESTBURY ON TRYM, Bristol, BS9 3ET. Friday - Sunday 11am - 4pm. trymwoodstudios.co.uk . ‘NEW ARRIVALS - SANDWICH TERNS’ Between Colour and Form Four contemporary artists explore the dynamic relationship between colour, texture and structure through expressive painting and sculptural form. 1 - 29 August: Fisherton Mill, 108 Fisherton Street, SALISBURY, SP2 7QY. Monday - Saturday 9.30am - 5pm. 01722 500200 / fishertonmill.co.uk. CAROLINE TUCKER Devon Open Studios During Devon Open Studios, artists across the county will be inviting people to see their work in venues from galleries to garden sheds. Visitors can take a peek inside artists’ studios to learn about their techniques, inspirations and creative processes while seeing work in progress. Artists and makers will be demonstrating and showcasing their work in rural barns, converted chapels, coastal studios and other creative spaces. Many artists also offer demonstrations, talks and hands-on activities. The art and craft on display will include jewellery, sculpture, printing, drawing, painting, ceramics, glass and handmade paper. Devon Open Studios is the flagship event of Devon Artist Network. Printed guides are available from community venues, libraries and tourist information offices. 12 - 20 September: Locations throughout DEVON. devonartistnetwork.co.uk. MEGAN HALL