Birmingham - Year of the Boat preview evening

Birmingham Exhibition

26th April - 18th May 2013

Some more wonderful photography by Page Seven Photography...

Portrait at Gas Street Basin, at the spot where I painted Oil Painting 38, the photographers were keen to test a comparison of the photograph vs the actual painting (see below)

The painting in the window at Number Nine the Gallery, Brindley Place

Clive Henderson, former Chairman of IWA and influential in the establishment of the Canal and River Trust, alongside his now completed portrait

Tony Hales, Chairman of Canal and River Trust opening the Birmingham show

The presentation of Clive Henderson's portrait. Left to right; Rob Pointon, Clive Henderson, Tony Hales

Well attended launch party

Manchester - Year of the Boat Launch

The April Year of the Boat launch in Manchester was a great success, below are some images taken by the superb photographers Page Seven Photography

Poet Laurette for the Canals - Jo Bell, chatting with Andrew Denny at the launch

The Year of the Boat team - Karen Sayle, Rob Pointon and Carolyn Powell

Look at all that space! The wonderful Artzu Gallery in Spinningfields, Manchester

The launch

Oil Painting 64 - Sunlit Castlefield

This painting was begun in harsh wind and cold when I was still limited to the boat. I lashed the painting to the stern and weighted the easel down to combat the wind. The painting transformed completely when I finally get to revisit it over a week later. No wind and glorious sunshine made the process easier and more enjoyable. I couldn't get the boat to the same spot though; so I had to readjust the painting to a new vantage point. I really enjoyed this adjustment and the movement within the piece's history.

Oil Painting 63 - Castlefield Reflection

A view from the back of the boat chosen because it was a stunning view of the famous mixed arches and bridges of Castlefield and also because the wispy snow and bitterly cold and strong wind meant I was not straying too far from the warmth of the wood burner. The wind meant the water was not as still as previous reflection studies I have attempted in this project, and it is this distortion of the reflection by the undulating water surface that is the main subject of the piece.

This photograph was taken by the superb Page Seven Photography. Image use can be arranged by emailing contact@pagesevenphotography.co.uk

Oil Painting 62 - Above Deansgate Locks

The breach on the Trent and Mersey by Middlewich meant our return to Manchester was via the Macclesfield, Peak Forest and Ashton canals.

After a winter of animations and harsh weather I was eager to get the paints flying again in Manchester, and on the home stretch into Castlefield, I was already spying possible subject matter and left the boat dropping in a lock to run up these stairs to check the view from this metro station.

The shear drop down to the bar terraces and the canal even further below, in contrast to straining your neck to catch the full height of the Beetham Tower was an interesting spacial challenge. I also wanted to depict the dog-legging staircase up to where I was standing as a device to describe the different levels and the banister railings to help reiterate the vertical. It got to the interesting stage where I was having to look through myself to describe the platform.

Oil Painting 61 - Portrait of Clive Henderson

I am delighted to have had the support of the Canal and River Trust throughout this project. A percentage of all proceeds from the Year of the Boat exhibitions (see exhibitions page) and the supporting merchandise shall be donated to the trust.

http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/art-and-the-canal-and-river-trust/the-year-of-the-boat

When I was asked to paint the portrait of former IWA Chairman Clive Henderson as a thank you from the Trust for playing an instrumental role in its establishment, I jumped at the opportunity.

I have spent a few days with Clive sat on the lock gate outside his house producing the oil-painted portrait. The painting shall be presented to him by Canal and River Trust at the launch of the Birmingham Year of the Boat Exhibition, and as I don't want to spoil the surprise you only get to see the pencil sketch at this stage!

Oil Painting 59 - Still life with oil lamp

A gift from mother this oil lamp has proved surprisingly useful when abandoning the world of mains electricity. It can also be mesmerising to watch, although writing this makes me question our decision to live without a television.

Trying to sum up this years experience in a series of paintings has guided me towards wanting to paint some of the few objects that occupied our limited space and have made the journey with us, and in turn have me tackle a few still life paintings which I haven't explored much at all in the last few years. 

The ceramic piece behind the lamp is a hand thrown faceted bottle vase with a celadon blue glaze by a talented potter and good friend Alex Shimwell. http://www.theridgewaygallery.co.uk/ArtList.aspx?artistid=149&artworkid=3008

As this is my first venture into still life for some time I do not feel I can talk with any real authority. I spent a lot of time at college looking at Paul Cezanne's still lifes ...

Still life with bottles and apples - Paul Cezanne

... and the obvious Van Gogh is never far away...


Still Life Glass with Wild Flowers - Vincent Van Gogh

Source: wikipaintings.org via Rob Pointon on Pinterest

Outside of brushwork and colour use I have not really abstracted the subject a great deal. I have enjoyed the dark band of the edge of the table mat the lamp is sat on bouncing around the frame forming strong diagonals but in honesty this was not premeditated and just something I began to exaggerate as the painting developed. What is interesting for me is that when you 'zoom in' to a relatively small scale inanimate subject and leave the composition quite sparse it exposes / lays bare your treatment of the paint, your handwriting, or 'style' for want of a better word.

I often liken an artists gesture to that of a singer's voice, Van Gogh's mark-making is so very individual and distinctive. I can only hope through work and love of the craft that a similar iconic visual language comes through in my work.

Source: wikipaintings.org via Rob Pointon on Pinterest

Oil Painting 58 - Winter Scene from the bow

Quite a small canvas I wanted to reflect the warmth of being inside looking out to the cold snow covered landscape. I dipped in and out of this one over about four sessions whilst also working on Oil Painting 59 - Still life with oil lamp. A snowy landscape is such a fleeting sensation and the view and reflecting light had altered dramatically with each visit but I feel there is enough visually for the subject to work, the warmth of the varnished oak inside contrasts nicely. This interior exterior contrast painting reminded me of a previous called 'Kitchen Window at night' painted outside looking in, on a trip to Provence after a night unable to sleep because of excess beer and bread.

Other artists that spring to mind that I am sure have had an influence in this manner of work are Edward Hopper voyeuristic painting looking into domestic scenes from outside,

Source: wikipaintings.org via Rob Pointon on Pinterest

or Henri Matisse's views through balcony windows.

Source: wikipaintings.org via Rob Pointon on Pinterest

Oil Painting 57 - Narrowboat Interior

Living inside a narrow floating tube and being interested in dramatic perspectives I had to try and sum up this unusual space that has occupied so much of my time and thought. I say 'thought' because of the year we spent designing and fitting out this interior after buying it as a shell and being so limited on space every decision needs thought and has consequences.

This space of our design has now moved with us around the country, and now coming to the end of the project it will soon be time to put it on the market for the next owner to enjoy, a difficult decision and all the more reason to get it recorded in paint.

As a painting this piece was really enjoyable to produce, the natural light in abundance coming in from all angles and reflecting of all the varnished wood was releasing all sorts of unusual colour combinations, and cast and reflected light patches. Karen is featured working on the laptop. Hopefully the angle I have given the composition isn't too much to be distracting, especially in a floating subject you would wish to be level. I seem to be introducing an angle into a large percentage of my works which seems a natural process and true to how I see or experience the spaces as I am painting.

Somebody on social media likened this piece to Pierre Bonnard's work who is an influence, I shall attach an example -

The Dining Room in the Country, Pierre Bonnard, 1913

Source: wikipaintings.org via Rob Pointon on Pinterest

Oil Painting 50 - Tooleys' Boatyard, Banbury

The plan was to rush round the canals from Stratford to Oxford but the drizzly weather broke our morale and we ended up in Banbury for a few days. Just long enough to produce this piece. 

I was worried there wouldn't be much to paint apart from the obvious Banbury Cross and especially after missing the Banbury Canal Festival by one day, but then I discovered the strange oasis of boater interest known as 'Tooleys' right in the midst of the generic glitzy soulless shopping centres and car parks that have taken control of Banbury's canals. 

Quite a contrast to have a working boatyard in the heart of a shopping mall. A world away from the nearby overpriced fashion stores, the 'Grease Club' occupants of Tooleys' boatyard did not give my paint smudged clothing a second glance, or have a policies on floor covering when setting up an easel and wanting to paint their workshop. Its been long enough on board this tub to feel like an alien in a shopping centre and feel a physical sense of relief when stepping into a workshop where I can be messy. I have certainly have gained a community with this project, lost sex appeal, but gained a community.

I have wanted to paint a dry dock or workshop for a while, the constant required work on the boats is such a large part of the boat life and I was keen to represent it in some form. What better than the oldest dry dock in the country? The dry dock at Tooleys' has been in continuous use since 1790 when it was built to paint the horse drawn barges. Nowadays the original wood beam skeleton of the covering is encased in a greenhouse style glass shed. Shoppers are encouraged to peer in at the creatures that do not shop.

As soon as I began the obvious dramatic perspective and subject of people at work on large machines in workshops, the work of the famous railway painter Terence Cuneo came to mind. 

Giants Refreshed - Terence Cuneo

Progress - Terence Cuneo

Castles at Tysley - Terence Cuneo

You can see a statue of Cuneo on the main concourse at Waterloo station, London.  

Oil Painting 48 - Tewkesbury Reflection

An easy and enjoyable piece to produce on the River Avon at Tewkesbury, just to be immersed in a large study of water reflection from the back of the boat, skitting, flamboyant brush strokes across the surface of the canvas, playing with the gesture, and the meeting of high contrast lights and darks. Very loose piece that just flowed in it's production. The weather darkened slightly with the second visit which was a bit of a shame, but has resulted in some subtle greys.

A more colourful beginning after a sunset on the first session

Oil Painting 47 - Gloucester Docks IN PROGRESS

This is my first of many Gloucester paintings, we will be having a Year of the Boat exhibition in the Waterways Museum in May 2013 and shall be doing more work in Gloucester in the build up to that, but I wanted to get started whilst the boat was in the area.

Oil Painting 46 - Inside the Copper Beech

I think realisation that i had not ticked all boxes with the previous painting of the Copper Beech led me to produce this quick study, literally 10 metres from the previous vantage point, stepping inside the Copper Beech's canopy and painting just the trees' internal area. This subject could have taken an enormous canvas and invited more comparison with the inside of a Cathedral, however, time and available canvases were against, so it remains quite a loose small work of the trunk.

The brushwork and approach seems different from my usual so it intrigues as a piece, although not completely sure why, I think it was enjoying fracturing some of the light into straight angled brush-strokes which is against the initial anticipated dappled treatment but does convey something of the experience of looking through all those branches. Knowing a piece is not going to be something you would ideally like from the offset, and working on it whilst flipping between another painting, does give a lack of expectation to the painting and in turn a feeling of freedom and 'anything goes'.

Oil Painting 44 - Worcester Cathedral Interior

I am especially grateful to the management at Worcester Cathedral for allowing the benefits of my work to overrule the hazards and to grant me access to paint inside the Cathedral.

This interior space is beyond breathtaking, the height, space and unquestionable beauty surround you. Whereas I was struggling to find an angle that satisfied with Oil Painting 43 of the exterior, there was absolutely no problem in locating a vantage point inside the building. This for me, sits alongside some of the best Cathedral Interiors in the North of France. I can now, for the next four days at least, walk to this incredible subject from where I wake, and spend full days responding. The colours change fabulously throughout the day as the sun comes and goes throughout the different stained glass, highlighting the green and golds of the naked cotswold stone. 

I knew instantly this subject would lend itself to my approach and I could produce an individual take with challenging perspectives, gestural brushstrokes whipping the eye around to reflect the enormity and strength of the pillars, and draw out and exaggerate some of the colour subtleties within the stonework in the changing light.

Because there was just so much to go at visually I ended up attempting to contain as much as possible by standing in the central cross of the building in a position where by swinging around I could view down the Nave, both transepts and down towards the Lady Chapel, basically a panorama just short of 360 degrees catching the north, east, south and western stained glass windows in one image. Panning round so far enables you to convincingly wave the horizon and bring in a sense of height. 

This was the main struggle with this painting, wanting to spin right the way round but also knowing the overriding sensation of being in this space, and therefore the main subject, is the gravity defying height. Spinning too much and creating a thin panorama that loses that feeling of looking up would be a failure. The easiest way for me to communicate the height would be flip the panorama on its side, so you simply pan from the floor to the ceiling, which is exactly what I did Oil Painting 42 - Pugin's Gem. This piece is the straight forward symmetrical depiction of the interior of a gothic space and I wasn't surprised to find a photo with nearly the same composition in The Pugin Centre in Cheadle after starting the piece. No, I had got the appeal of the symmetry out of my system with that painting and now wanted to play games with recording right the way around me, looking up and down, even skewing and distorting some aspects to sneak the transept organ in on the right.

It was a compositional struggle that stretched me to the point of not knowing, even after a full days work, if it would read clearly as a representation of space or not. There was a eureka moment when i painted the pattern of the tiles in the central space that helped describe the entire space. All of a sudden the piece then seemed to click with the average viewer, and I gained the approval of the general public which until then had obviously been unsure! This happens a lot with the painting process in public and I often rush to get to the stage where people can read where I am going with the painting, as the activity becomes more enjoyable after that and you do not feel the end to constantly explain yourself. Believe me, a full day of rushed work and doubt, with confused glances from passers by, is a long time!

Gradually though the piece developed and the community of the Cathedral became warmer and warmer to having a painter in with them. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the Cathedral, met some wonderful people, and would love the opportunity to spend more time there. A residency either with the Cathedral or the local school would be ideal where I could have more time  to explore spacial representations in this the most breathtaking of interiors. This is something I shall certainly be pursuing once I have finished dragging this 16 tonne tub around the country.