Brought to some form of conclusion over the course of the weekend (although revisions may occur upon further consideration, of course), presenting the fourth in the current series of ‘woodscapes’ based on a local resource.
In displaying distinct flashes of autumnal colour, this particular late January-early February-produced painting provides tangible evidence of the number of sources that go into each of the paintings’ process of making – ‘shot-establishing’ photographs of likely compositions taken whilst out walking in the woods, quick colour-noted sketches and more empirical research carried out whilst work is in progress. The silver birches that are dotted around the area, amidst the commercially-planted pines, make an appearance in this composition (in three distinct forms), asserting a degree of difference, and it is they, indeed, that provide the colour-turning foliage to contrast with the evergreen.
‘Woodscape #4 (Silver Birch)’
oil on canvas/24″ x 48″/January – February 2017
Again, facture is the priority once the composition is established, intended to return the spectator to the physical surface of the picture plane, to the fact of paint as brush-stroked paint, and move across it laterally, as the spatial representation attempts to tempt one within the represented depths of the environment, so that some form of active, participatory resistance takes place.
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