During May 2006 John Dyer and Joanne Short were the Artists in Residence for St. Michael's Mount. Working with the island Manager and the St. Aubyn family the two artists have realised an exciting and unique new set of work which will be exhibited on the Mount at the end of the year.
The BBC did four live transmissions from the Mount, using their satellite outside broadcast unit to capture the artists at work, and the resulting footage has inspired many to walk the causeway to find out more about this magical island.
"Staying in a waterside property on the edge of the harbour the artists will be well placed to soak up the atmosphere, colours and life from this enchanting place." BBC Online.
"It is a great pleasure to host this exhibition by John Dyer and Joanne Short, which is a product of their stay on St Michael's Mount during May last year. While the island as a whole has been painted exhaustively over the years, the gardens and grounds have received much less attention. I am delighted therefore to see the gardens given their due and depicted so vividly in these paintings. It is a new venture for us to hold an event like this in the Island Café and I hope you enjoy the venue. The Café sits next to the entrance to the gardens, which I hope you might visit also to see some of the subject matter that inspired the artistic work on show." James St Aubyn
"As a child I was told a story of St Michael's Mount being a rock thrown into the sea by a giant. I believed in this magical story for years and it is a sad moment when you grow up and leave those magical dreams behind. This journey has been a a return to childhood for us all, as the Mount is definitely a magical place of childhood dreams; a place where dreams don't disappear as you grow up. We spent a fantastic time as a family on this fairy tale island - perfect evenings in the garden watching the full moon shimmering across still water with the castle rising into the dark blue sky. Flowers and sculptural plants balance on sheer rock faces before appearing to tumble down into the sea, secret gardens and hidden pathways led us around our own story book of ideas. While living on the island we were lucky enough to feel part of this very special island community which made us so welcome. Our time on the island exploring and dreaming has resulted in this exhibition of paintings which I hope you will see captures the essence of the island, the sheer thrill of being alive and the wonderment of being a child. It is, I believe, one of our best collections of work" John Dyer.
"The paintings of John Dyer and Joanne Short almost completely sold out at an exhibition at the Island Cafe at St Michael's Mount on Friday.Thousands of pounds worth of work was sold almost immediately, with some invited guests running to their chosen paintings as they entered the cafe exhibition. John Dyer, resident painter at the Eden project, is preparing for his next painting expedition in Peru when he will paint the potato harvest." Cornish Man 17 May 2007
Images feature John Dyer, Joanne Short and Martha-Lilly Dyer
