When Newcastle University's Fine Art Degree Show opened at the beginning of the month, I had time only to look at the work in The Hatton Gallery and a few of the First Year Studios. Meeting up with The Frootbat on Wednesday, I got the opportunity to see most of the rest of the Show, although some of it had been taken down. I'm pleased to be able to say that, overall, the work was immeasurably better presented than in the last few years and, from a personal point of view, I was delighted to see the re-emergence of painting as a favoured discipline. Clearly the departure of the egregious Uriah Heep from her post of Head of the Painting School has been like a breath of fresh air.
Back at the Art Club on Thursday, I made some headway with the painting of the Metro Station in South Shields.
Metro (work in progress)
I'm still trying to convince myself about the tree. It started life as leafless and looked terrible. When it came into leaf, the awful greeny-ness of it fought like hell with the red, blue and yellow. Now that it's been re-clothed in rather browny-green leaves, including quite a bit of cadmium red in the mixture, I think it works better. But I want to look again at some real trees, instead of the ones growing in my head.
Having a little time to spare before I left the Club, I thought I'd have a go at one of the views I brought back from the Lakes. I'm experimenting with a palette knife at the moment, so most of this was done with one, the paint thickened up somewhat with Matt Spectragel.
It's OK; better perhaps than I expected it to be, but more work will be needed and I suspect I'll do that with a brush.
Lakeland Farm (first impression)
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9 comments:
I like those - particularly the farm - reminds me of Matisse
More sludgy brown needed. This the North.
Thanks, WW. I blush to be mentioned in the same breath as Matisse.
Oh Birdy, I know it's the North, but *this* is paint on a board. And some of it is burnt sienna. Not a sludgy brown, admittedly, but brown nonetheless.
I LOVE the tree, it is really stunning. I just can't put my finger on it but the tree is distracting me.Somehow I feel the way you have painted it, well like it belongs in a different painting. It is the colours, the style, the size, the placement?
I'm interested in your pinks - in both pictures. Will be fascinated to see how the farm develops.
Jafabrit - the tree is definitely more of a problem than I at first envisaged. It's become overly dominant. Dealing with it will be difficult.
Anna - you can't beat a bit of cobalt violet. That nice Mr Monet spent more on cobalt violet than any other tube of pigment.
The thing about the tree is it is isolated in it's texture. The rest of your painting of the metro station is all geometric shapes, and clear bright colours no texture really, but the tree stands alone...it needs to marry with the rest of the painting...perhaps you could treat it simplisticly and more solidly like the rest of the interesting shapes throughout the work....anyhow I love your paintings, I think they're great.
I take your point, Sally, although it might be argued that the tree (and to a lesser extent, the man) form an organic contrast to the rectilinear buildings. Still, we'll see what more work brings ...
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