The main components of my work for the past year or so has been comparing and contrasting images and aspects of everyday life and my experience of assimilating to the reality of essentially living in two places at once. Although both my places of residence are in the East of the country there is a significant difference between life in Suffolk and life in Newcastle. Even what has been, for many, many, years, a standard household appliance such as a gas cooker in Newcastle is still not available in my home in Suffolk. Welcome to the 21st Century! Similarly, I have found it fascinating to capture and represent images of objects that in essence are the same entity but which are manifest in slightly different forms in each location. Perhaps a standard, albeit traditional, comparison of the conurbations of Ipswich and Newcastle is conveyed in images like the Tyne Bridge and the Orwell Bridge; the verisimilitude of the importance of the fortunes of the local football team to everyday life; and even the common link provided by the late Sir Bobby Robson.
In my work I have encompassed elements of these commonalities and differences rather than simply reproducing them per se. I see my role as an artist as being one who interprets and presents a framework for narrative instead of simply producing “picture postcards”. My work portrays my day-to-day encounters with my surroundings from the perspective of one who is living the reality rather than an outsider who is simply observing. I endeavour to meld my perception of living in two places into a single vision that captures the essence of both, but presented as a unified image where one can’t see the join.
Initially, when I draft my ideas as a sketch I find that my thought processes and the ways in which these find their way onto the canvas happens in an almost seamless fashion. I feel as if the canvas is a direct extension of my thoughts. So what I see in my mind’s eyes is captured on the canvas. However, when I then try to develop this using paint, something just doesn’t feel right. There is an apparent disjoint of which I am conscious.
My course leader, David Baldry, recently saw a sketch I was drawing of the Tyne Bridge fused with the Orwell Bridge and remarked on the pleasing lines I achieved in pencil sketch and that this fluency has a tendency to become lost between the transition from cartoon to painting. I agreed with his observation and consequently have borne this idea in mind when working on subsequent paintings.
In order to practice incorporating freer, more flowing, lines into my painting I have felt compelled to make multiple versions of my work. For example, with the bridge scene, I have produced 3 versions so far in order to help achieve this desired interpretation of ideas which also takes into account the nature of the painting’s theme with motion, speed and journeys at its heart.
This particular image has parallels with J.M.W. Turner’s 1844 painting “Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway”.
In a sense I’m adopting an iterative approach that closes in on the final objective. I start by identifying and focusing on key elements of the image, and almost ignoring ancillary aspects, until I feel I’m near to the final rendition. I believe that I need to spend more time developing this approach but am finding it very useful in terms of the process of transitioning from the initial concept, via the sketch, through to the final painting.
