Enmeshed Again...

In the zone after last weekend’s painting session, this Saturday and Sunday I continued the exploration of the subject/objects with an active contemplation of a second example of the recently-acquired pears in foam-mesh protective sleeves. On this occasion, a twist of the inner lining of tissue paper can be observed peeping up through the top aperture.

'Pear in a Jacket #2'

oil on canvas/35 x 25cm/22-23 September 2018

[detail]

Autumnal Object

Having brought the summer project to a point not necessarily of conclusion but rather a pause for consideration of how and where it might develop, thoughts (re)turned to one of those subjects that just keeps on recurring.

Pears as objects have been a staple of my drawing and painting practice for over twenty years, since, in fact, I was a second-year Fine Art undergraduate at university. More recently, at various points during the last few years, I’ve been representing them in altered form, ultimately whitewashed and placed within white spaces, exploring their form in terms of tone rather than colour. Further back, early in 2006, coincidentally shortly after I’d launched this blog, I discovered in a local greengrocers what were termed Chinese ‘Ya’ pears which came double-wrapped in firstly white tissue paper and then, as an outer protective coat, in ‘jackets’ of foam mesh cylindrical sleeves which objects imbue the pears with a certain ‘otherness’ one might say.

Blogged, excitedly, at the time here, these jacketed pears have remained somewhere in mind as a vague possibility to be pursued creatively. Five years or so ago, during a weekend in London, a visit to a supermarket in Chinatown resulted in the discovery and purchase of a selection of such objects, a pair of which were explored in but a single watercolour sketch before, for whatever reason, I concentrated my attentions upon the undressed fruit whilst it remained fresh and firm in a subsequent series of sketches.

Remaining dormant again since, I recently felt the aesthetic pull of the foam jackets and searched the studio for what I imagined were the stash I’d kept for such an occasion, alas and frustratingly to discover that they were nowhere to be found when required to respond to the spark of inspiration. A trip to Liverpool last week – primarily to collect a couple of unsold paintings that had been exhibited during the course of the Liverpool Art Fair 2018 (which it was remiss of me to fail to blog, following on from a similar failure to mention other of my work’s almost-concurrent appearance in this year’s North Wales Open at Theatr Clwyd) – afforded the opportunity to locate and purchase a small selection of  the jacketed pears and, after a couple of painting sessions, on Sunday and to resolve on Monday, the first visual evidence of a single example of this find is (re)presented below – the very first oil painting of an object of long-harboured desire. The familiar environment of white horizontal and vertical planes is evident, with the object suggested as existing within as subtly as possible.

'Pear in a Jacket'

oil on canvas/35 x 25cm/16-17 September 2018

[detail]

Three Pears

‘Three Pears with Geometric Shape’  oil on canvas/20″ x 16″

On a recent grocery shop, Anna picked up this trio of pears and then, once home, deposited them on a shelf in the conservatory/studio. A quick reorganisation and they were in place and ready to be actively contemplated and the findings represented on canvas. A brief ray of sunlight observed one morning before the day’s painting process began suggested the geometrical shape thus projected might be incorporated into the composition and thus it came to pass, as an additional element to the familiar and habitual.

As ever, one’s mind turns to the various pears painted by Euan Uglow, particularly with these objects displaying a combination of yellow and red skins as did examples studied by the master.

Showtime!

Saturday evening and, as one of the selected exhibiting artists, the opportunity to attend the Private View and opening of the North Wales Open 2017 at Theatr Clwyd in Mold, our regular cinema-going and theatrical venue, augmented by a programme of visual art and design displays, where many a fine and entertaining evening has been spent.

Despite having made a point of seeing the NWO or its predecessor prior to local government reorganisation the Clwyd Open many years over the last 30+ and previously exhibiting at Theatr Clwyd as an invitee of the ‘Group 75’ show in 2001, this was actually the first time I’d entered work (up to two pieces per individual) for consideration for selection, and was gratified not to hear news that I’d not got both in, as per the judging process (!), building up some momentum after the Wrexham Open success of April. Rather than rest on the old laurels and rely on those tried-and-tested, I decided to submit another of the ‘woodscapes’ (#5) and, for variety but possibly taking a risk in presenting two distinct aspects of painterly activity, one of the recent larger-scale ‘White Pears’ compositions (#29).

Anyway, suitably uninformed, Anna and I made our way to the venue where it was pleasing to see and be part of a well-attended event, lots of milling, viewing and relaxed chat in evidence and a wide variety of art, traditional and modern as they say, the work of professional and amateur practitioners alike, some familiar names, on show.

Anna studying the selection...

With the focus towards the personal, here follows a small group of spectators before ‘Woodscape #5’, the painting in its immediate context and in isolation and then ‘White Pears #29’ in the company of other still life compositions (paintings and a collagraph) and on its own – both paintings were favourably hung, in nice central, well-lit locations in the main and Community galleries, it must be said, so we’ve done very well out of the experience.

New Paint Jobs...

The following set of images represents the evidence of a recent bout of re-painting of previous work, the first time I’ve ever really engaged in such an endeavour but which, upon daily encounter with said objects, was deemed necessary in the light of subsequent developments.

Having recently returned to the subject/object matter of the whitewashed model pears as the field of painting practice, in the form the larger-scale compositions #28 and #29 which succeeded the departure of the series of six ‘Woodscapes’, those ‘White Pear’ works numbered #21 – #27, processed during February – April of last year, came to seem to be too dark in terms of the tone of their grounds, for whatever reason they had originally been (erroneously) rendered thus when painted from life and empirical observation. The earlier time of year, with its own particular natural light conditions, hardly seems to explain just how ‘wrong’ the paintings, and the contrasts between figures and grounds, appeared.

Thus, and in keeping with recent developments, have the grounds against which the objects appear been re-painted, as ever from direct observation transferred to canvas, comparatively significantly lighter in parts and less so in others, with adjustments also to the whitewashed pears as necessary, with the evidence presented below.

‘White Pears #21’ (2016/17) oil on canvas/20″ x 16″

original ‘White Pears #21’ (2016)

‘White Pears #22’ (2016/17) oil on canvas/20″ x 16″

original ‘White Pears #22’ (2016)

‘White Pears #23’ (2016/17) oil on canvas/20″ x 16″

original ‘White Pears #23’ (2016)

‘White Pears #24’ (2016/17) oil on canvas/16″ x 20″

original ‘White Pears #24’ (2016)

‘White Pears #25’ (2016/17) oil on canvas/20″ x 16″

original ‘White Pears #25’ (2016)

‘White Pears #26’ (2016/17) oil on canvas/20″ x 16″

original ‘White Pears #26’ (2016)

‘White Pears #27’ (2016/17) oil on canvas/20″ x 16″

original ‘White Pears #27’ (2016)

More Pears (Amongst the Tomatoes*)

‘White Pears #29’

oil on canvas/40″ x 30″/May 2017

Presenting another recent painting on/off the easel (actually completed before the most recent smaller 'woodscape' of the previous blog post), another in the ongoing series featuring the remodelled and whitewashed pears as subject/object matter with this time, to return to another theme, seeing us once again under the visual influence of Edmund de Waal, arranging and obscuring some of the objects behind a sheet of semi-transparent tracing paper as others sit before this screening device.

As with the previous example, the larger scale canvas allows for a more expansive compositional approach.

(detail)

(detail)

(detail)

(detail)

(detail)

* the conservatory/studio is currently host a number of fast-growing tomato plants which have sprouted to the extent that they're obscuring the view to parts of the 'still life zone'.

Back Indoors...

Following the six months’ work on the ‘Woodscape’ series of paintings, a return to interior concerns and our old faithful whitewashed pears, the same as last year but, on this occasion at least, on a larger scale canvas and composed with a lot of contemplative ‘blank’ space, certain of Edmund de Waal‘s displays serving as the inspiration for such…

‘White Pears #28’

oil on canvas/40″ x 30″/April 2017

(detail)

(detail)

(detail)

(detail)

The Blank Decorations...

Awaiting a delivery of some more of the ‘widescreen’ canvases that have proved themselves to be the most appropriate for the current sequence of painterly investigations of yonder woodland (a mere pair having been purchased in the first instance, for the purposes of testing the proposal, and alternatives being unfit for such purpose), it seemed a good idea to fill some of the hiatus by remodelling another batch of pears and then whitewashing them in readiness for the intended further investigation and possible expansion of that particular body of work as was carried out earlier in the year. Here, captured looking in to the conservatory/studio from outside, are the five objects suspended and drip-drying.

And Again...

 

‘White Pears With Barry Stedman Vessel #4’

oil on canvas/16″ x 20″/August 2016

 

Continuing with the painterly exploration of the increasingly-familiar Barry Stedman vessel juxtaposed with a selection of the even more familiar whitewashed (re)model(led) pears, with, on this occasion, the vessel being observed with the plane first featured in version 1 of the sequence to the fore, its glazes of colour showing slight variations to those on the reverse, and also a variation in the configuration of pears to the right, with one immediately behind the pair to the front of the shallow recessive space, crowding them together in vaguely Morandi-esque fashion. As with the previous example, the underpainting was a thin sap green wash, the pale grey over it allowing a certain amount of tint and, hopefully, luminosity to glow through.



Next...

 

 

A new painting in progress, continuing the inclusion of the Barry Stedman vessel into the composition, in relation to the familiar whitewashed pears, with its splashes of colour amongst the predominant whites and greys. This occasion and example sees a return to the single canvas, given the uncertainty over the recent pair of diptych format paintings, and the portrait orientation featuring the upper and lower shelf formal device upon which the various depicted objects sit. In a departure from the habitual, this time the underpainting is not a sienna wash but rather a pale green that relates to the cast of the natural light present in the conservatory studio, tinted thus by virtue of the proximity of the garden and dense woods beyond: the particular challenge now is retain some this green underpainting and its luminosity as the painting progresses…





On Returning...

 

‘White Pears With Barry Stedman Vessel #2’

oil on canvas/12″ x 16″ and 20″ x 16″ (diptych)/July 2016

 

After the tardiest spell of recent times – with areas of productivity having relocated to the site of the garden and the act of looking largely having transferred to the televised coverage of the European football Championships (particularly enjoying Wales’s amazing progress through the tournament, as well as that of Iceland and Hungary) for the duration – a more concerted return to studio practice over the last week or so has resulted in the processing of a second diptych depicting our object-of-desire Barry Stedman vessel in the company of the familiar whitewashed pears. On this occasion, the reverse plain of the vessel is featured to that previously, similar to its opposite in design but exhibiting certain particularities. Again, doubts exist and persist as to whether the diptych format is entirely successful – it does obviously have a different object-quality to a single canvas, which creates slightly more of a dialogue with the subject-matter, but the composition would probably be better served being viewed within a single frame.



Pears and a Vessel

‘White Pears with Barry Stedman Vessel’
oil and graphite on canvas/(diptych) 12″ x 16″ and 20″ x 16″/May 2016

At last a new painting, this one a diptych, featuring a selection of the familiar white pears composed and observed in relation to one of the precious objects of the household, aBarry Stedman ‘slab vessel’ acquired after being seen and fallen in love with during an exhibition at the Ruthin Craft Centre last year, the thing itself pictured below (actually displaying the reverse plane of similar design).

Barry Stedman ‘slab vessel’

Obviously, the representation of the vessel and the drawn/painted image upon its planar surface is a painterly response to the thing seen rather than a direct transcription whilst attempting to be faithful to the design.
Being preceded by the recent series of paintings that featured the compositional device of ‘blurring’ some objects-as-observed behind a translucent screen of tracing paper inspired by examples of Edmund de Waal‘s installations of his work, this development might be regarded as continuing something of a visual dialogue with contemporary ceramicists.



White Pears #27

'White Pears #27'

oil on canvas/16″ x 20″/April 2016

Continuing with the Edmund de Waal-inspired compositional device of placing some of the observed objects behind a translucent ‘screen’ (of tracing paper), this latest painting displays a distinct split between upper and lower levels, those on the upper horizontal plane unscreened and those on the lower behind and appearing out of focus, but no less keenly seen. In the representation of both, and over the entire picture plane, of course, paint as manipulated material stuff is emphasised as such as much as it assumes ‘object-form’ in the description of the whitewashed, re-modelled, hand-finished pears and the horizontal and vertical surfaces of the grounds upon and against/behind which they sit and appear.

 

This one might have failed more than some of the others in the series to date…

 

(detail)

(detail)

(detail)