Came across this watercolour/drawing when looking through works that I have at home in Sweden. Although it is part of a large group of ‘fur’-like drawings I like it because its landscape qualities, combined with hints of human/animal bodies, sets it apart from other works. The pools of ‘water’, I think, are quite delicate and seeps into the fur which is undulating, maybe following an underlying mountain range.
Flow has been selected to the Open Exhibition at the Ferens Art Gallery at Hull and will be shown from Saturday 15 February to Sunday 26 April 2020.
Technique similar to Dance On that was exhibited in Edinburgh but with watercolour instead of block printing colour as the starting point.
Staying in my comfort zone of graphite …. although most of these new works in this series are a slight deviation from my usual ‘fur’ works which seem to be hard to step a way from.
Having listened to a lot of artists’ interviews on the net it is clear that most of us make some initial marks, be it planned or experimental, and then we just follow the demands of the work. Beckett saw art as an act of translation and Barnett Newman said ‘one cannot really say it – one can only paint it’. I’ve also come across the view that art is a place for expression, and especially for the expression of that which we are less clear about. So this is what the images are – something that wants to be communicated in this way. Sharp edges and soft layers finding that they are part of the same unit.
I seem to not being able to change the organic, ‘dotty, and ‘flowing’ way of drawing. And yes, red is also a prevalent feature. With Flow I just had to stop – don’t think another spot of colour would improve the final work! Next piece – maybe all in grey …..
