Shabs Beigh: A Mother’s Day Surprise
A few siblings pooled some money together and bought a River Wharf print as a surprise gift for their mum, Pam, who follows me on instagram. One of those siblings, Sarah Wright, wrote the below blog.
Mother’s day is always a special time in our household and my three siblings and I always try to do something to mark the occasion. A few years ago, my eldest brother flew in from Copenhagen to surprise her. With the current circumstances, we knew that seeing one another wouldn’t be possible but we still wanted to capture that essence of surprise, joy and gratitude towards our mum. We contemplated what we could do and then I recalled…
Last Autumn, as part of my support bubble, I went to visit her and as we sat nestled in the living room of her home in the foothills of Snowdonia we discussed the possibilities of a vacant space above the mantelpiece. A large mirror had hung there previously; a few years ago we renovated and it never went back up. There was an opportunity to fill the space with something interesting, beautiful and emotive. Snowdonia is known for its picturesque and diverse landscape and so it seemed fitting to find a print that paralleled its unique beauty. We measured the space and entered into one of those wistful daydreams where you start to visualise about what would bring the room to life.
This is how the topic of Shabs’ artwork came about. Mum has always been interested in Art; an interest that she has passed on to us. Like many of us over lockdown, she rediscovered her love of an old hobby; painting. She always enjoys finding new artwork on Instagram which is how she discovered Shabs. She showed me his catalogue of paintings and one stood out for this space immediately….River Wharf.
As our eyes were drawn closely into River Wharf, we noticed the blue and green hues of the piece encapsulated the word ‘glas’ in Welsh which means the rich blues and greens that are found in nature. The way the trees gracefully bow and dip into the water and hint at a mystical world behind them is what collectively captivated our imaginations and transported us back to childhood days spent on the river bodyboarding, swimming and panning for fool’s gold. It immediately invoked a strong sense of place, the smell of fresh plants and the feel of the cool water trickling over your toes.
That is what’s so masterful about the painting; it has a universal appeal as we each have a memory associated with a river. I asked my mum what she liked about the painting and she said she was ‘enchanted’ by River Wharf, with the sensitivity captured in it’s serenity. The deep colours of the foliage and the tree canopy gave me the feeling of being there in reality. The light bouncing over the river brought back happy memories of many river walks and days spent on the riverbank. It’s a print to feel peaceful with, whilst daydreaming away time spent by the riverside. I also admired the precision, and skill of the immensely talented artist, Shabs in capturing that unique river moment, when light streams through the green to reflect and dance on the water.’
The painting is inspired by Monet, who converted an old fishing boat into a floating studio in 1872 and spent his time observing the verdant scenes of the River Seine at different points throughout the day. Shabs was inspired to paint River Wharf after enjoying morning walks in Wetherby, Yorkshire, drinking in all of the vivid colours surrounding this section of the river. The quiet contemplation and calm that Shabs has captured reminds me of a poem by Wendell Berry called The Peace of Wild Things:
I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting with their light.
For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
My mum isn’t easy to surprise; she’s good at piecing clues together. However, we really did manage to pull this one off! Shabs literally went the extra mile to hand deliver the print in time for Mother’s Day, along with a lovely card . She was overjoyed with the present…and has since informed us that she rather likes Lilies in Blue and there’s an empty wall space waiting in the office reserved for next Mother’s Day…