I had another birthday earlier in the month and yet again one more year has flown by. Three presents from family and friends were books about artists whose work has captivated me for many years – John Piper, Kurt Jackson and, as I said earlier this year, Jonathan Yeo, the self-taught portrait artist.
John Piper (1903 – 1992) was a brilliant and versatile artist who created works which included paintings of landscapes, churches, castles and buildings, stained-glass windows for various buildings, stage design for opera plus a wide range of other work. I have always been drawn to his art by the hauntingly beautiful use of colour in the paintings and windows plus the atmospheric feel of the watercolours in his interpretations of churches, castles and rugged landscapes. His evocative style of painting is unique yet I’m sure his influence has rubbed off on many artists who came after him.
Kurt Jackson too is a stunning, prolific painter who works rapidly revelling in landscapes, seascapes and the environment itself. He lives in Cornwall and has been artist in residence at the Eden Project at St Austell and also a familiar face at Glastonbury Festivals, sketching and painting many of the performers there in recent years. I first saw his landscapes in a one man show in Cork street in central London several years ago which sold out rapidly; I sensed then that here was an extraordinary and compelling talent who would make a big impact on the art world. The publication of several books of his art and sketches illustrates his success so far even though his phenomenal work does not yet seem to have been fully acknowledged yet by the art establishment, critics and media. He is very much his own person and to me his creations often remind me of the large scale multi-media works of the German artist Anselm Kiefer who has been embraced by the art establishment at both the Royal Academy and Tate Modern. Although Jackson’s works are much smaller they have the same intensity, passion, and emotion found in Kiefer’s monumental efforts.
Kynance Cove
Meanwhile, back in my tiny studio/workroom I carry on in my own little world trying to absorb what I have seen and discovered from these external influences. The latest multi media landscapes that I’m working on, the first of which is above, use a mix of watercolour, pen, acrylic and chalk pastel but I’m constantly experimenting and changing my mind how to achieve the most effective and striking results combining the different materials. I too spent many a childhood holiday with my parents in Cornwall and I have produced a second variation on Kynance cove in windswept, stormy and wintry conditions in contrast to the serene version of this landscape in the “Places” section of this website. They are still not finished and I shall probably play with them for some time. I’ve kind of paid homage to Kurt Jackson (also by painting them at speed) and, to some extent, John Piper, but hope to put my own stamp on them by the time they are finished.
At the same time I am still obsessed with portraiture and have tried to keep my hand in by sketching a young relative of mine who is very athletic, an excellent footballer and a surfing instructor who, like Kurt Jackson, also lives in Cornwall and loves to travel. The first effort is shown here.
Tommy
Unfortunately I’m having to work from various photographs instead of having him sit for me and as always getting a good likeness is more difficult as is the detail on his face.