Curious? About art in Watford… September heralds that season in Hertfordshire again - the time for Herts Open Studios 2013.

Between September 7 and 29, artists open their doors to show you their work - and you can meet artists and craftspeople across the county. Some artists work from home and invite you in through front or back doors; others have studios which may range from a shed at the bottom of the garden to a gallery on a high street or in a business park. Aren’t you just a tiny bit curious?

Maybe some people choose not to take up the invitation because they don’t understand the idea of art - or what artists are trying to do. Yet art and craft are easy for everyone to enjoy - because most of all they are about curiosity. What if I mix this with this? What if I dab this colour here? What does that look like now? What will someone feel when they see this finished work?

Well, there are plenty of finished works to look at in the Watford area alone - with 26 artists showing here this year. You’ll find them in Rickmansworth, Sarratt, Croxley Green, Chorleywood, Abbotts Langley, Chipperfield, Oxhey, Bushey, Northwood and Pinner, as well as Watford itself. They’re exhibiting: drawing, painting, mixed media, computer graphics, ceramics, encaustic wax, sculpture, stone, wood, metal, jewellery, textiles, photography and printmaking.

On your tour look out for… Graham Boyd in Chipperfield showing paintings that explore colour and surface. He describes them as ‘trying to tackle fresh problems and face the unfamiliar’. Terry Mower, at the Mill Way House and Garden Studio in Bushey, shows painting and mixed media works using creative techniques to capture the beauty of the British countryside and flowers. Gerry Langton at the Oxhey Road Studio shows delicate and sensitive figurative drawings and paintings in pastel and acrylic. Sarah How, Vivo Art, Watford, exhibits semi-abstract paintings inspired by the British coastline. Dick Onians, in Chipperfield, exhibits wood, stone, metal and resin sculptures for the house and garden. Aren’t you just a teensy weensy bit curious?

If you are - curious I mean - look through the free glossy brochure that tells you the opening times and locations of every artist taking part across Hertfordshire. As Mel Hilbrown, Chairman of Herts Visual Arts, says in the brochure’s Welcome, ‘Open Studios is completely free to visit - we want as many people as possible to see our artists’ work and to appreciate the great range of talent we have in Hertfordshire.’ So why not share your enthusiasm - and shed-loads of curiosity - by going to visit?

To find out more about Herts Open Studios 2013: free brochures are available from libraries, tourist information centres, galleries and other local art outlets - also online at hvaf.org.uk.