Sheppey's expelled TV artist Remy Noe bounces back with solo exhibition
- Aug 15
- 4 min read
Remy Noe was expelled from art school and airbrushed out of a landscape artist of the year TV show.
But the painter from Sheppey has bounced back and is now hosting his own solo exhibition at the newly opened Sheerness Economical Society Gallery in Queenborough.
At its launch on Sunday (August 9), more than 30 curious art lovers crept in through the old wooden door of the former Co-op store and, much to Remy’s delight, agreed to buy two of his works there and then - leaving two conspicuous spaces on one of the walls.
Remy, 51, who is married to Swale councillor Tara Noe (Con, Sheppey East), was unphased. “I have lots more back home,” he revealed before scurrying off to fill the gaps.
By day, Remy makes his money selling motor parts in Maidstone. But in his spare time his thoughts turn to art.
“I’ve been painting for as long as I can remember,” he said. “I started when I was seven. I just seemed to have a natural aptitude.”
He wasn’t exactly following in the family’s footsteps while growing up in the Walderslade enclave of Medway. His dad was a motor mechanic and his mum was a stay-at-home housewife.
But his teachers at Vinters Boys School in Maidstone recognised his potential which led to Remy enrolling in art school.
He picked the Kent Institute for Art and Design (KIAD) which was created in August 1987 by the merger of the three art colleges of Maidstone, Rochester and Canterbury.
He joined a roster of students including the so-called Stockists comprising Medway’s Billy Childish (erstwhile boyfriend of Tracey Emin), Charles Thomson and Bill Lewis.
That led to his downfall.
“I was expelled,” he admitted, with a whiff of undisguised pride.
“We had a series of guest lecturers including Damien Hurst and the Chapman Brothers Jake and Dinos. They were hailed as the Young British Artists. But among the Chapman Brothers’ work was a portfolio of 80 etchings of Francisco de Goya’s Disasters of War which they had reworked by drawing all over them.
“I thought it was rubbish and told them so to their faces. I said in my best Medway accent: ‘You must be ‘aving a larf’.
“The next thing I remembered was being escorted out of the college’s hall by security staff and then told I was no longer welcome on the campus.”
Licking his wounds, he applied to the rival Canterbury Christ Church College and ended up with First Class BA degree and a Masters.
He recalled: “Christ Church had world class lecturers from Slade like John Long and Greg Ward. I really enjoyed my time there.”
He paints in his own inimitable way, eschewing brushes for bits of stick or even just his bare hands.
He explained: “When I’m out in the open, I just take paint and a canvas. I don’t use an easel. I lay the canvas on the ground and then cover it in paint while grunting and growling.”
This technique did not impress the producers of Sky TV’s Landscape Artist of the Year.
Remy admitted: “I don’t think I fitted in. The other artists were very middle class, wearing straw hats and using easels. I just threw my canvas on the ground and started grunting. When the cameraman came round, the producer said ‘no’ and moved on. I was edited out of the entire show.
“I still apply to be on it every year, just for the satisfaction of getting a rejection letter!”
His life, as you might imagine, is far from normal, even down to how he met his wife. The pair were both using a dating website. Remy was still living in Medway but Tara, who originally comes from Canada, was in China teaching English.
The pair hit it off straight away and within three days Remy had packed his bags and was on a plane to Forshan City to meet the new love of his life.
Seven years ago, they moved to Queenborough.
Remy said: “One day, Tara needed some fish for a meal she was cooking. There aren’t many fishmongers in Medway but she’d read about one on Sheppey. So, we drove to Queenborough and immediately fell in love with the place. It’s a beautiful town and, although you might not know it, it has a thriving art scene.”
Among those leading the way is fellow artist Nicole Mollett who bought the former Co-op store in Queenborough High Street with her partner Marc. They gutted the downstairs and turned it into a white-walled gallery. Her first exhibition called Voyages was in June as part of the Festival of Sheppey.
This is her second.
She isn’t charging Remy for the premises hire or taking a commission. She said: “At the moment, I’m just doing it for the love of giving emerging artists a place to show off their work, as and when suitable ideas come up.”
Remy’s exhibition runs to the end of the month. Many of his works are traditional oil on canvas landscapes. But the thrust of his current show is Jutish Mythology featuring four bright giant circular works based on myths and legends.
Catch him during a quiet moment and he will tell you all about them.
The Sheerness Economical Society Gallery is at 127 High Street, Queenborough, ME11 5AQ. It is open on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5pm. For details email nicole@nicolemollett.co.uk or call 07445 497401.
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