Hockney

I've literally just finished watching this programme on Hockney on the BBC, and all I can think is just how I need to write down everything that it's made me think.

For me I think it's the immense combinations of texture and colour in his works that just completely capture my attention. I could spend hours looking at his paintings. And that is one of the things that he mentioned in this film when discussing the differences between painting and photography. Hours and hours of work go into the making of a painting, whereas a picture can be caught in a fraction of a second, and this somehow really does affect the way in which we see and respond to them both respectively. I don't know about you but a photograph can't really capture my attention for much longer than a minute, but I can be lost in a painting for days. Hockney said that one reason for this is because we see space, and a camera only sees surfaces. We can't really get lost in a 2 dimensional space because there isn't any space to get lost in. But in a painting, there can be as much space as you can possibly envisage.

Something else Hockney said that really struck me (probably because I just wrote an essay for History of Art dealing a lot with the use of linear perspective in art) was what he said about how we need to widen perspectives in painting, instead of restricting them. Perspectives can so often be constricting and claustrophobic, which is bizarre to think when you're looking at a painting of an open, rolling landscape. But there it is. He has this playful integrity combined with such a serious passion and need to express; to break down perceptions. One of the quotes that they used in the film went something like, "I paint what I like, when I like", and I thought this was brilliant. So many people can get caught up in the assumed 'need' to conform to the times; to the ever changing trends... but is that really you?

For me, actually thinking about the thought processes and concepts behind his artistic movements and those famous famous paintings of his is truly fascinating. I've always been a Hockney fan but this has really opened my eyes to a whole new level of understanding and appreciation for his art. I've been lucky to see a lot of his work already, some in permanent exhibitions and also in his 'A Bigger Picture' exhibition in the Royal Academy a few years ago. What struck me there was the shear enormity of so much of his work. When I said earlier about how easy it is to get lost in his work, I wasn't just saying it to sound poetic. These works are vast and they literally envelop all of your senses, you almost feel like you are inside the painting; you can feel the space. But then in some of his works he uses boarders as a tool of actually separating the viewer from the scene within. One must first cross that barrier before entering that second space.

What's more he has completely inspired me to get back into drawing. Over the years of art education that I've been through I definitely think that I have developed a keen way of looking and seeing and interpreting the world I see everyday. Just in church this morning, there were moments when all I could think about was how beautiful the ceiling was and how all the lines and curves fit together in an almost pattern-like manner. The world intrigues me and two of the best ways I know how to describe it are through words and drawings. So that's what I'm going to do.

Watch the film, you won't be disappointed. He's a truly inspiration and free-thinking man, and has lead such an ordinary extraordinary life:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b05gv4zf/hockney

Portrait of Nick Wilder, 1966
acrylic on canvas, 72x72 in.

http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/hockney/hockney.nick-wilder.jpg

Leonora's Creativity Takes Courage Exhibition

Over the weekend my friend Leonora Rae held an exhibition that she had created, curated and organised in aid of a charity called Maggie's. Her theme was 'Creativity Takes Courage' and I thought this was such an apt title as it united both the artists involved and the charity it set out to help. I went along to the opening on Friday night at the Dundas Street Gallery and was delighted to see so many people there in support of Leonora, Maggie's and the ten artists involved in the exhibition. Aside from the lovely wine and canapés, what I really enjoyed was the diversity of the artwork. There was everything from beautiful landscape photographs to exquisite oil paintings to amusing sculptures of cheese. It really had it all. I found myself drawn to a set of prints of the most delightful little illustrations of stags; in fact I liked them so much that I ended up buying one ambiguously named 'Self-Portrait'.

Leonora has inspired me to take my ambitions into my own hands and really get involved in more projects like this. Maybe soon I'll be writing on here about an exhibition of my own, who knows.

John Piper

What better way to begin my blog than with one of my favourite artists, John Piper. What first drew me to Piper's work was his architectural paintings, and what made me keep coming back was his harmonious use of detail and abstract colour. The way he uses line to only pick out distinctions and not simply outline and describe the building will continue to fascinate me. Everywhere you look there is something to see; something to explore. His use of colour, I feel gives his works a timeless quality. They do not become stagnant with time, but continue to be relevant as the world of Art changes. What's more, particularly in his paintings of churches and ruins, the works carry a sense of the spirituality, power and the ethereal nature of the buildings which really resonates with the audience.

Isle Abbots, 1986

Also if you have a moment check out http://www.johnpiperandthechurch.co.uk/exhibition.htm for more of Pipers work on churches, and an interesting read.