CRAVEN artists are inviting people to enjoy their work virtually, in the comfort of their own homes during the coronavirus lockdown - and they are hoping it will mean reaching out to an even wider audience.

Instead of inviting people into their workshops over two weekends this month, as part of the annual North Yorkshire Open Studios, the artists have instead been filmed, and are offering an insight into their work, to be streamed on the organisation’s Facebook page.

Around 60 of the artists have filmed their studios, artwork and techniques for a truly kaleidoscopic insight into their creative practices, beautifully edited by independent filmmaker Josh Hallett, from Inside Story Video.

Organisers say the arrival of coronavirus earlier this year clearly posed a major challenge to the June art trail, but with vision and determination the organising committee has succeeded in moving the event online.

“Many artists plan their calendar around this event and for some it represents a substantial proportion of their annual income, so to lose this event overnight would have been a huge blow to many of the participating artists” said NYOS committee member and painter Debbie Loane.

“For these artists, who derive their living from their creative practice, it was important not to postpone until next year but to take action to secure their income straight away.”

She added: “Since lockdown the appetite for buying art online has been strong and I am feeling very optimistic. Moreover, the event which was previously restricted to a largely county based audience has now, through social media, the potential to reach a national and quite possibly international audience. This could well lead to new ideas and opportunities for our artists and the event next year. “

The creative trail, run by Artists for Artists, covers coastal spots in Scarborough, through to scenic national parks including North York Moors, the Yorkshire Dales, with many based in Grassington, and Nidderdale, alongside picturesque villages and vibrant market towns.

It says experiencing the studios is a chance to really appreciate the creative process, from initial inspiration to completed work, and to meet and get to know the artists.

People can therefore see ‘secret studio spaces’, watch artists at work, browse through their collections, and have art delivered straight to their doors.

Craven artists taking part include Grassington based Jacquie Denby, whose paintings and drawings are ‘a response to the Dales landscape she lives in, and also to the urge to make something’.

Mark Butler, also Grassington based, says his influences have a scientific background, in the amazing forms that can be found in the microscopic world and their unseen influence on our world.

His recent work has focused on the impact of Ash Dieback disease through bronze and rusted steel sculptures and rust print drawings.

Cross Hills based David AP Thomas’s oil paintings are closely observed still-lifes; arrangements of things both found and made; pots and bits of stuff that have caught his eye, and sometimes flowers.

The work of Susan Calverley Parker, based in Mewith, Bentham, has evolved from studies of the Yorkshire landscape over 25 years and explores how land use influences scenery. She explores farming practices, tree planting or wind turbines, solar farms, countryside stewardship, and wildlife habitats as well as music and spiritual musings, all providing inspiration for her mixed media paintings.

Others taking part in the online event are Tony Roberts, painter, High Bentham; Frank Gordon, painter, Giggleswick; Alison Wiffen, ceramics, Gargrave; Anna Lambert, ceramics, Cross Hills; Val Emmerson, painter, Grassington; Emmeline Butler, ceramics, Grassington; and Ruth Shepherd, painter, Grassington.

The four day schedule of artist films, can be used to create an ‘artistic armchair tour of the county’ over the weekends of Saturday, June 6 and Sunday, June 7; and Saturday, June 13 and Sunday, June 14, and will include painting and printmaking to textiles and metalworking.

All the films will be available to view on the North Yorkshire Open Studios Facebook page once they have launched, while artists’ details and websites can be found on the NYOS website.

Films start at 10am each day at: https://www.facebook.com/NorthYorkshireOpenStudios. NYOS Website: https://www.nyos.org.uk