An Odd Couple...

graphite & watercolour/30x20cm

Continuing with the emphasis, mostly, on ‘pairs of’, with, on this occasion, a familiar seasonal pear juxtaposed with not another of the same but, rather, an object of a similar, ‘relational’ shape, which presents the challenge of representing its own different & distinct surface qualities, upon which the light source plays more fugitively even than that of the pear – on a related matter, the slightly more elevated angle of observation than has become habitual is to take account of the reflection of the light bulb upon the varnished surface of the windowsill upon which it rests.
The prevailing natural light conditions proved to be remarkably similar over the course of the consecutive evening & morning sessions during which the drawing- watercolour was processed, even allowing for those different times of the day.

Utilizing such an object as a pearl light bulb also allows another of our playful little art historical references, again to the still lifes of Euan Uglow, whose late work includes such an example, cool & considered, measured, as habitually, as that reproduced below:


[from Catherine Lampert 'Euan Uglow: the Complete Paintings', Yale, 2007]

Considering my own use of the perfectly-weighted, most visually satisfying form of pears as subject/object matter for drawing & painting on a regular basis since, if memory serves, the cusp of 1996/97 (with an earlyish example of the charcoal drawings upon which I embarked being reproduced - & incorrectly dated 1999 - within Paul Thomas’s & Anita Taylor’s highly recommended ‘Drawing Foundation Course’, & also featured in the Amazon ‘Look inside’ facility relating to that very title, if it isn’t being too immodest to make reference to such here), it’s fascinating to browse the Uglow catalogue raisonne & discover that pears continued to provide sufficient interest to feature as objects of study in numerous compositions over the course of almost 50 years, from the earliest recorded instance in 1953 to 2000, the last of the artist’s life, with each example a distinct & compelling variation on the theme, as with the profound nature of Uglow’s work in general.

One might also cite the example of Michael Craig-Martin, whose linear representations of the classic form of the (now old-style, energy-devouring) electric light bulb recur on numerous occasions in paintings & wall drawings over the course of the artist’s practice, & not least in large-scale neon form illuminating the façade of the Kunsthaus, Bregenz during June – August 2006…



Soundtrack:


k-punk 'The Metaphysics of Crackle'
Portishead 'Portishead'
Young Marble Giants 'Colossal Youth'
Mark Mulcahy 'Fathering' & 'In Pursuit of Your Happiness'