"A strong, personal sense of place is central to my work. I draw on historical cultural and natural influences to produce work that engages the viewer in a dialogue with familiar places in an unfamiliar setting."
I have developed this Practice Statement during 2018 and it represents a summary of where my practice sits at the moment.
I have spent the last few days looking at all my recent images - drawings, paintings and prints to try and identify key elements and links. Doing this has helped me to focus attention on how I would like to take my practice forward.
I think that
the starting point is that my work must be personal to me and true to myself. I
have found that I work best when I am following my own agenda and ideas. I want
my work to speak about me, my visual experiences, thoughts, memories, concerns
and beliefs, with a strong sense of place. I
want to be driven by what inspires me, being creative, imaginative and
original, which includes continually developing and changing.
Key elements in my work, which keep recurring, include the industrial landscape, and natural landscape and forms. Sometimes these elements come together in one image. This aspect fascinates me, and I feel that it is something that I can build on. Some of the works I am thinking about are shown below.
Drax, Hard Ground Etching on zinc with aquatint
Early in the year I went on a walk along the River Derwent, and as I turned a bend Drax Power Station came into view. The horizon was filled with the vast cooling towers, the ones on the left emitting swirling clouds of steam which mixed with the clouds, and the ones to the right, standing stark and proud, with a tall chimney providing a focal point. Below, the strong shapes were reflected in the water. Also in view was a wind turbine, and I thought of all three energy sources which the image portrayed - water, coal and wind. I took a set of photographs and developed a print building on these ideas. and emphasising the epic scale of the structures and their impact on the surrounding landscape.
Cement Works, South Ferriby, acrylic paint on paper
One evening
in August, I went to a pub in South Ferriby, which is on the South Bank of the
Humber Estuary. It had been an exceptionally hot day and the light was really
good, with a beautiful sunset later on. The tide was out and we sat next to the River Ancholme, which leads into the Humber. The site is dominated by a cement works,
which has been there for years and can be seen right across from the north of
the estuary. I sat there for a very long time and soaked up the views.
I felt that the site was important to the locality, due to the
presence of the cement works -not only because of its size and position, but
also because it nestles in the middle of an agricultural area and is key to the
local economy. Despite its function as a huge and somewhat ugly factory, it
struck me that in the early evening light, and set against the old locks, it
really was quite a magnificent sight. I came home and did a monochrome sketch
and then followed up with a study in colour. I tried to give the impression of
scale by including the locks and other smaller features such as steps, lighting
and fences. The inclusion of the river allowed me to play with colour and
light, which was a particular feature of the evening. The impact of the
chimney, complex buildings and structures dominate the horizon. I would like to
go larger with this painting, emphasising the scale and dominance of this
man-made structure, set against the earlier, more natural setting of the river
and locks.
Mudflats, South Ferriby, acrylic paint on paper
I later walked right out to the edge of the receding water where the estuary meets the river. The mud formations at this point are affected both by the state of the tide and the workings of the sluice and lock gates. Birds were wading in the sticky brown mud, and other floated in the shallow water and sailed serenely in the fading light. I felt the power of the great river, the wildlife it supports, and the passage of time. On my return I painted a study to get across these feelings about this environment to the viewer. I used a high skyline to emphasise the vast swathes of river banks and mud flats along the Humber which provide a haven for birds and wildlife. I used a limited palette for this exercise, which I felt was appropriate for this view.
Sunset, South Ferriby, acrylic paint on paper
As the
evening progressed the light intensified, the sun turned orange and began to
set beyond the river entrance. It had been one of the hottest days of the year.
The sunset was enthralling. I took many photographs of the sun amongst the
colourful clouds, ranging from yellows and orange through to dark blues and
purples. However, the view with most impact was looking across the river inlet,
over to the horizon, where the river bank and fields behind were in
silhouette. There were also beautiful,
dark shadows on the water, coupled with bright reflections from the sun and
clouds. I could see the estuary disappearing off into the distance behind. I
have tried to capture that moment in the study above. Here the water and land dominate the view. The sun and sky play an
especially important role in this work, providing the opportunity for me to use
colour in a vibrant and powerful way.
As well as the visual impact of industry on the landscape and how they inter-relate, I have also thought about what is physically left behind by these industries. On a recent walk along the banks of the Humber, near to Barton, I came across the wrecks of some boats embedded in the mud. I thought how people across the ages had worked on small fishing boats, the lives that they lived and the lives which were lost. I made a print of the boats nestled into the mud, with grasses growing up through them, as they were revealed by the low tide. I tried to capture the essence of time gone by with the use of aluminium for the ground which produces a soft, greyish, tone.
Wrecks, Barton Upon Humber, Hard Ground Etching on aluminium with aquatint
Following a similar theme, during a visit to Burton Constable Hall, I was intrigued by the skeleton of a huge sperm 58 foot-long which was on display in the stable block. The bull whale had been stranded on the shore at nearby Tunstall in 1825, where it aroused a great deal of public interest. As Lords of Holderness, the Constables had claim to anything washed up on the Holderness shore, so the whale became the property of the Burton Constable estate. As the door to the stable creaked open the sunlight from outside beamed in and lit up the enormous skeleton, the white bones standing out in majesty despite the passage of time. I thought of this great creature diving deep in the oceans to avoid the 19th century whaling fleets which set off from this area, and I was grateful that they are now a protected species. In the study below, I tried to capture some of the whale's former glory, set against its current lowly and incongruous surroundings.
The Whale, Burton Constable Hall, acrylic paint
Industry has a large impact on the environment around us and can affect the landscape in a number of different ways. A close examination of natural sources can help inform us of that impact and give us clues as to their environment or habitat. I am currently thinking of a charcoal drawing of an apple tree in which I aimed to depict its aged, crinkly bark and odd deformities through years of wear and tear and pruning. It had soft green moss growing on it, but may have looked quite different if grown in an inner city amongst more smoke and pollution. Such processes and changes interest me.
Apple Tree, charcoal and soft pastel
I also work with natural forms creating abstract images from environmental sources. For instance, when I was working on the wrecks at Barton, I made some studies of the foreshore. I took the shapes, line, tones and textures of the mudflats and built up an image using a collagraph technique which suited the subject matter.
Abstract Form, collagraph, card, PVA, sandpaper, carving and carborundum
After thinking about, and pulling together, some of these key elements, I think that there is much scope for me to develop my practice further by building on the above, and to really hone in on, and synthesise, some of the ideas and practices referred to. Research and experimentation will enhance this process.
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