Chinese Orange is the name of Diana Tetlow?s first exhibition for twelve years and her first show entirely in oils. It is to be seen at the New Heritage House Gallery opposite the City Hall.

Previously known primarily for her work in pastel and her portraits, her first show in several years is welcome both for the quality of the painting and the mastery of colour demonstrated throughout.

Mrs. Tetlow?s subject matter is certainly conventional, ranging from nudes to flower still life and land and seascapes but her dramatic sense of colour and lively painting technique lifts the show out of the ordinary.

This proficiency in oils has long been apparent to others, if neglected by the artist herself in favour of pastels.

Pastels are generally regarded as a minor medium with some justification and Mrs. Tetlow?s oils, as with anything she sets her hand to in a wide field of creative talents, are technically proficient and an object lesson to those who don?t take too many pains with technique.

The accomplished brushwork in her paintings, her thorough understanding of colour and how to apply it, her apparently effortless understanding of balanced composition, her confident knowledge of anatomy and botanical structure, and above all her passionate feeling for light and colour all combine to make her a leading artist on the local scene.

Of the 30 paintings in this colourful show only one, ?Lucretia, Beware of Darkness? has any awkwardness about it. It is, apparently something of an ?in? joke and seems influenced by Gauguin?s Tahitian period. Otherwise the show is a triumphant return after too long an absence.

Needless to say there have been changes in her work during her absence and I will concentrate on what seems to me to be new in her work as any but newcomers to the Island will remember her work well, despite her long absence.

?Mask I Within Me? and ?Mask II Without You? are strong haunting visions rendered in disparate techniques, the first impressionistic, the other quite stark, of almost similar masks.

The complementary colours of both render the two paintings together a powerful and compelling pair. A painting of Mrs. Tetlow?s son, ?The Lifeguard?, is the only painting in the show that is not new. It is as vibrant and filled with life as might be expected from the title and is a clear likeness of the son who was readily identifiable, despite his subsequent accumulation of years, amongst the guests at Friday?s opening.

In a style new to me two paintings of the South Shore, ?Church bay? and ?The Foreshore?, catch the eye with their daring contrasts of balanced opposites in the colour spectrum.

As with everything she undertakes, Mrs. Tetlow has taken the trouble to understand the movement of water, an understanding that makes all the difference in the world.

The principal nudes in the show, ?Handle with Care?, ?Sorolla?s Siesta? and ?Hot Orange? run from impressionist to near abstract. Abstraction is a new and successful direction in the artist?s work, ?Sorolla?s Siesta? being the dominant example and the focus of the entire exhibition.

Once again her technical abilities give a solid foundation to a work that is pulsating, alive and filled with fire the siesta notwithstanding.

Of the flower still life works, a steady thread through Mrs. Tetlow?s work over the years, ?Flowers in a Blue Vase? seemed the most innovative.

It is composed of complimentary contrasting colours that give it a power unexpected in a work of this genre. As they always are, these works have not only the expected charm of the genre, but strength and life as well.

The unusual talent of Mrs. Tetlow lies in her mastery of amazingly diverse skills. This show represents only one of her many accomplishments, but those of us fortunate enough to be at the opening reception were treated to another.

The show was formally opened by ?Lockjaw?, Gavin Wilson?s celebrated St. David?s Islander ventriloquist?s dummy. Few know that Lockjaw himself is also Mrs. Tetlow?s handiwork.

It was my first encounter with Lockjaw, who hates art, and I almost fell down laughing. As a ventriloquist?s dummy he is certainly unique and a tribute to another of the artist?s many skills as is her long overdue show.

?Chinese Orange? An exhibition of paintings by Diana Tetlow at the New Heritage House Gallery.