'Adventure Lit Their Star' is the first solo exhibition by a young artist with a wonderful talent. Nancy Rose Taplin (her middle name only there to differentiate between an American artist of the same name and herself) is a painter of consummate skill but she has never had a painting lesson.

Minutely observed in gouache and acrylic, Nancy's delicately painted birds give a new purpose to the long-forgotten logbooks and ledgers, evoking both transience and timelessness. Long discarded by previous users, these tomes are collected avidly by Nancy who is drawn to their hidden histories that are hinted at through foxing, scuffing, fingerprints, creases and tears. This 'jettisoned' paperwork has become an habitual canvas for her, rust stains, pencilled notes and ink blots providing an almost topographical habitat that is seems only right to populate with birds.

"My paintings tell not just of my love of all things avian", explains Nancy, "but also of the profound friendship between my father, the sculptor Guy Taplin, and me. Each painting speaks of idyllic days spent together stalking the marshlands of Essex and the deserted barrier islands of the Portuguese Rio Formosa, armed with a camera, some cheese and a carton of wine with only the birds and each other for company". There is also, of course, the uncanny correlation between the work of father and daughter in the sense that they are both giving a second life to the discarded materials which are the life-blood of their art.

Nancy Taplin was born in 1980 and, both her parents being artistically gifted, it was no great surprise that it would rub off on her! She holds an MA in Art History and a first class degree in Fashion and Textiles and her diverse training is reflected in her work, inspired by subjects as disparate as the First World War and the estuary at the bottom of her road in Essex.

She has won multiple awards for her textiles including the prestigious Texprint 2009 Interior Fashion Award, judged by Grayson Perry, and has shown her fabrics in Hong Kong, Goa, Paris and London. But it is really only in the last two years that Nancy has become absorbed in painting in her bright and airy studio by the Essex coast.

The first airing for her work was in last year's 'A Family Affair' exhibition in the gallery, which also featured the work of her father, her mother Robina and her brother Sam. Her work sold out virtually immediately and there was a clamour for the five new paintings which we then had in the Christmas exhibition, several clients wanting to buy all five -- an offer which I politely declined.

Nancy has been working all this year preparing for this exhibition and I have to say that it has developed considerably from the earlier work. Every one of the paintings is stunning and I just stood in wonder at the beauty and delicacy of each one when I visited her studio recently. Both small and large works have great impact, the tones of the chaffinch on a similarly coloured marbled cover blending subtly, while the heron on an old cash book is a very powerful image.

For those who may be wondering, 'Adventure Lit Their Star' , written in 1949 by Kenneth Allsop, tells the story of how a small wading bird, the little ringed plover, established itself in an suburban environment after World War II. It is a charming little story and I imagine there will be few serious bird watchers who have not read it. For Nancy, it encapsulates memories of much of her young life, following the pursuit that she shares so closely with her father. Hence the title of the show.

I'm sure that many who see 'Adventure Lit Their Star' will look back in years to come and remember that they went to Nancy Taplin's first solo exhibition. Make no mistake, this girl is going to fly!

Ian Courcoux

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