Bohemia Village Voice

Unexpected Path (2009), an imagined landscape in oils, is on sale at 350.

Local artist and musician, Jem Turpin, whose work has just been exhibited at the Gill Gallery in Kings Road,   tells us about his life, art and music.
“I was born 1959 in Brixton, London and grew up in Chertsey and Shepperton near London. I have two boys, 17 and 6 years of age. I have an older brother, Louis Turpin, 62 who lives in Rye and survives entirely on his painting and a younger sister, Emma, 45, who lives in London, also a (part-time) painter. My mum, Beryl, is an enamellist; she still provides galleries with her work though, like my father, she’s now in her 80’s. I’ve lived in Horntye Road for 11 years”. Jem forsook family tradition by going to university, rather than art school. He gained a degree in American literature at Sussex University. He finally succumbed to genetic dictate and obtained an HNC in Fine Art (painting) at Hastings College in 2004. “I love the art and I’m surviving. Just to be doing it is wonderful – it’s great as far as I’m concerned – I really enjoy it”.
Jem’s interests in art include painting, pen and ink work and ‘decoupage’* The paintings are: ‘figurative’, ‘imagined landscapes’ – an attempt to connect with the freedom of childhood imagination and expression; and ‘monocrome’ – these pieces are conceived as scenes from ‘lost’ films. Jem originally did his decoupage work on furniture.
Jem has worked as a musician for over 30 years. He’s still playing a lot of music, “bluesy roots stuff” with local groups such as Night Shift, T-Chest Blues and Sun Dog. His instrument is the harmonica and he also does vocal work. Jem has done recordings, including some for  BBC Radio 2. His personal taste is ‘pretty eclectic’ including everything from Louis Jordan, Ry Cooder, Jamaican Ska and Blue Beat, Joe Turner, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Thelonius Monk, Billie Holliday and Aretha Franklin. Although he does vocals, ‘I’m quite happy being a sideman’.  
o Jem has had solo shows at the Memorial Art Gallery and at the White Rock Gallery, Hastings. His work has appeared many times at Rye, Battle, Brighton and Hastings. His exhibition in Kings Road ran from 17 July 2009 for two weeks.
 *Decoupage – the art or process of decorating a surface with shapes or illustrations cut from paper, card, etc; from the French ‘decouper’, to cut out.

Jem Turpin