Listed here are the principal research themes and activities that have helped develop my studio practice.
The external links are to a personal journal maintained during the course of study. These should be followed if further detail is required (each page opens in a new window). I have included a bibliography.
The external links are to a personal journal maintained during the course of study. These should be followed if further detail is required (each page opens in a new window). I have included a bibliography.
Artists
- Paul Cézanne - I extended previous reading with another title about this important artist, and learnt about 'sensation' in his work and the relationship between what the things he made and the ideas said to be behind them. | More...
- Ivon Hitchens and others (Ray Atkins, Nick Schlee, Patrick George, Peter Prendergast, George Rowlett) - Half a dozen twentieth century British painters who will always remain an important reference for me. I periodically remind myself of their work as all continue to serve as an inspiration, in distinctive ways.
- 'Landscape Painting Now: From Pop Abstraction to New Romanticism' - I continue to refer to this significant publication (see also @landscape-painting-now, below).
- Nicolas Poussin - By studying the works of this classical landscape painter, and his contemporary Claude Lorrain, I appreciated that I, too, might hope to construct the images that I make rather than rest content with a found motif. | More...
- Claude Lorrain | More...
- Per Kirkeby - Many of Kirkeby's abstract paintings retain a strong link with landscape so his paintings are of interest to me. However, I have found that the overlap with what I have attempted is small. | More...
- Dexter Dalwood - I viewed Dalwood's earlier work to understand how he combined elements in paintings based on collages. | More...
Exhibitions
Gallery visits were not possible for most of the period of study. Below are some online resources that I have consulted instead (plus one real exhibition).
Gallery visits were not possible for most of the period of study. Below are some online resources that I have consulted instead (plus one real exhibition).
- @landscape-painting-now - A companion Instagram account to the book of the same name. This site regularly brings the work of a wide range of landscape artists to my attention. I helped clarify my own intentions by reviewing the work of the likes of contemporary painters such as Nicole Wittenberg, Eric Aho, Lois Dodd, Maureen Gallace, and Billy Childish, plus the occasional artist from a previous generation, like Fairfield Porter. | More...
- Simon Lee Contemporary - This site presents its featured artists' work very effectively, which was of interest as an online show was discussed.
- RCA2020 - This site also presents its many artists' work in interesting ways.
- Spotlight On: Modern and Contemporary Art from the collection of Chippenham Museum - A pre-booked private view, visited simply because I could, rather than for any direct link with my own art production.
Practice
- May - August 2020: Painting and Drawing - Practical activity has been the principal research tool of this period of study (see Commentary on exhibited works and Unselected works). | More...
- July - August 2020: Printmaking - With invaluable technical support, I developed printmaking techniques to enable me to make an etching that was substantially larger than anything I had attempted before. | More...
- Writing - Maintaining a regular journal has continued to be an important part of my research. Occasionally I gather my findings in short essays. This practice has been instrumental in clarifying what I have learnt. | Selected illustrative extracts in Appendix 2.
Criticism + Reflection
- [Criticism] Luzar, R., Medjesi-Jones, A. and others (2019-2020) Tutorials Bath Spa University, May - August - Regular discussion has been critical in provoking and encouraging relevant research activity. | Selected illustrative extracts in Appendix 1.
- [Criticism] Phenomenology - I have continued to investigate this philosophical theme as it applies to my interest in perception, principally by reading Maurice Merleau-Ponty's 'Phenomenology of Perception'. | More...
- [Criticism] Ferber, M. (2010) Romanticism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press - Landscape imagery is bound up with Romanticism as, most certainly, is my own work. I re-read this book, and plan to access more on the theme with the re-opening of library facilities.
- [Artist's talk] Sarah Pickstone (16/06/20) - This talk, and a tutorial later the same day, addressed issues germane to my work, viz. the connections between paintings and the ideas behind them, the conscious construction of compositions, and the application of the 'layer of an additional process' between observation and a final piece. | More...