Thursday, January 25, 2007

'Sense Of Place III' (Oil on Board 3x4feet)...the introduction of a wider colour spectrum seems to allow for broader portrayal of emotions, this piece was an attempt to link what I was seeing now connected to memories as a child.
'Penryn Lakes Farm...From The West' (oil on canvas 4x4feet)...the sea of greenery in the foreground prompted a looseness in brushstroke and an abstraction of landscape.
'Times Square Series I-V' (oil on canvas 4x4feet each).
'American Monument'(oil on canvas 4x4feet) ......"Where There's Muck There's Brass"....the soiled rendering of the pig-feeder seemed appropriate.
This was the first painting I made in America in August 2006. 'Approach'(oil on canvas 4x4feet).
'Cathederal' (oil on canvas 4x4feet)....another painting produced in the early hours of the morning with heightened sensitivity. This work was a turning point for me and as served as a strong foundation on which I have been able to build on since...such as the 100+ photo-silkscreens.
'Journey's End' (oil on canvas 4x4feet)....without the double-yellow lines the landscape could have been timeless...I wanted elements of both past and present in the same work.
'Agricultural Panoramics I & II' (Oil and Mixed Media on Canvas 2x6feet each).

'Sense Of Place I'(Oil on Board 3x4feet)
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'The Twins' (oil on canvas 4x4feet).....the landscape being used to make universal socio-political commentry aswell as emulating the everyday to almost iconic status...this painting has a number of levels for interpretation.

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Friday, January 19, 2007

'Urban Rural' all 3x3feet.
'Untitled'(4x4 oil on fabric)
'Sense Of Place II' (oil on board 3x4feet)
'Across Speedwell' (oil on canvas 4x4feet)....an allempt to capture the beauty of light.
These were the first paintings I made in the States back in August 2006...all 4x4 oil on canvas.
'Sky Frame' (oil on canvas 4x4feet) , a study made from some close-up photogtaphy I took of barns/farm machinery...my aim was to capture the essence of man-made fabrications coexisting with nature, the expanse of the Pennsylvanian farmlands portrayed through the sea of blue.
'Autumn Tree'(oil on canvas 35x40ins.)..a loose,liquid and spontaneous rendering.
These earlier abstract paintings served as an expressive release...the one above has been worked on and off for over six months and I still cannot decide how to complete it
...maybe I'll let Kieran or Ellora decide !
.....my son crept into this picture aswell. 'Seclusion II'(oil on canvas 6x6feet)....I wanted an array of sketched marks across to surface to exagerate the scale of the work,the sky can be seen as a page from a sketchbook.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

These early Barnscapes were intended to be a return to figuration, and I suppose a need to make some sort of reference to my new found temporary home for the Fulbright Exchange.

The scale and format of the work (4x4 feet) is square to represent the notion of a grid and the fact that my specific view at that time could be a part of the greater picture.
I wanted to make paintings to evoke feeling and take the viewer to a special place....I wanted to communicate my enthusiasm for the beauty in the landscape around me ,but at the same time give the image exagerated colour and depth.

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

This final image in the series (oils on canvas 3x3feet) allows a certain degree of freedom of expression in the aerosol use in the sky and transforms the rural everyday into the urban surreal
This one is titled 'Seclusion' and aswell as it's focus being simplicity and singularity there are also references to isolation and protection....
This is a romantic view of landscape.... childlike,innocent,and spiritual.
This one I titled 'Fertile Soils 2006' . When I took this photograph it was an unusually wet day out near the 501 and dare I say it, just like 'English Weather' with the moist rain-drenched turf all around.......then I started to think of the masses of open spaces in the States and abundance of space to grow.

This end of the series embraces immediacey, spontaneity,and urgency all in one.

Monday, January 08, 2007

This assemblage was an exhibit of mine back in 1994 for my M.A.Fine Arts show in Leeds....the reference to childhood memories and the formal balancing act with shapes were paramount in my sculptural development at the time and I see a real connection between that the selections I now make in the Pennsylvanian farm landscapes I am now looking at.


....there is also a novel connection here with the tinman in the Wizard Of Oz !
This is yet another view of PenrynLakes Farm....the light in this area whatever the season gives a fantastic clarity ,and the pastel white farm walls present a timelessnes.....even with these fairly modern materials.
Above is a 7x7feet painting I made in February this year, it is called 'Tyneside Utopia'......the interplay of colours and linear construction came from looking at the steel bridges in Newcastle, in the North of England.

I'm hoping to travel out west soon and document some of the historical steelworking towns and metal bridges...the work I have been doing since the fall has taken on a very linear feel (tree branches now more visible as can be seen in the photography I have made around Mount Gretna and on the numerous trails I have been running/hiking on for the last couple of months).

This is one of the early skies from outside my studio window back in Otley,Yorkshire.

Three figure studies made in June 2007.
Abstract Landscape No1........a traditional rural landscape acts as a safe wonderland for children to play, run, climb, sing, build, fish, cycle, etc.......a celebration of freedom.
A much busier, bigger (7x8feet oil on canvas) playground....this time for grown-ups.
This felt like a major breakthrough at the time back in July2007 (7x8feet oil on canvas) ,but my preoccupation with the rural setting and enthusiasm for landscape painting since arriving in the United States has more or less put this approach on hold.
Having said that I am going into the studio now to try and link these two approaches together......

Abstract Landscape No2........Surrealism and Storytelling.
On a visit in late November to an outdoor sculpture park near Trenton I made use of the vanishing light and began the first series of 'Night Moves'.
Atmosphere and the use of accident in these images along with the notion of 'time capture' all add up to producing intriguing imagery and I feel thought-provoking images.

This is my first 'moon-drawing'
This farmhouse on the 501 is splendid.... what more can I say!
Movement,repetition and both subdued and sharpened lines make for an interesting view of the rear lights of a truck on the open road.
The above image is just one of a series of aprox.100 from my experimental photography I made at a rock concert at Giants Stadium recently.

I took these night time photographs in December but as of yet not really found an avenue in the studio to express them with any real conviction....they may stand as works in their own right ..what do you think ?