oak wood water
oil on canvas, 1370mm x 1120mm
I came across a sluice waterfall in the oldest part of a small sessile oak wood. From its gorge looking upward water flowed from a green sky, split and spread out in broken bright lights to dissapear behind the rocks below. The following year I went back to start a painting.

two global studies


global v local colour title

Each colour we see is effected by colours in its locality. For example, the same grey might look pinkish next to green and neutral near a blue. But as we look about a scene we also compare colours that are distant from each other, bringing a memory of the last colour we saw to each new perception. This means that colour perception is dynamic. Each area has a range of possible colours - it all depends on the dance of the eye*.
To create a sense of this richness I make two sets of studies, global and local. Two or more studies for the same area means there I have more than one colour available for unique areas...
For me, conscious interest in the instability of colour perception can be traced back to Cézanne. It can be taken up again to refresh our sense of seeing nature. To see ourselves seeing through art makes both subject and object seem more extraordinary.
four local colour studies




picking out features

studio


