New Tondo Landscape Paintings

On the back of the walk that I had undertaken at the North Norfolk Coast, I began to experiment with a series of graphite drawings on paper which were created fairly quickly and on a relatively small scale. In creating these works I attempted to vary the size and shape of the pieces which involved deviating from a straightforward rectangular format as well as removing and burning areas of the composition.

Coastal Landscape Studies, Graphite on Paper, 2015

Via my experimentation I hoped to abstract various elements of the landscape that I was depicting, so that whilst retaining many of its original features it had the appearance of slipping and changing into something else. The black and white monotone quality of the work helped to create the impression of starkness and bleakness, whilst I hoped that the fragmentary feel created the impression of something that had broken away and become unachored from its mooring in reality.

An artists whose work I have been researching is that of Christopher Cook. Returning from India in the mid 90s Cook was inspired by the ruggedness and ubiquitous grey tonality of much of the surrounding area of his studio in Porthleven, West Cornwall. Cook began a new working process involving liquid graphite on paper. 

Cook sought to engage with the distressed landscapes of Cornwall, which he saw as exerting a powerful influence on his work. Discarded tin mines and china clay pits had created a scene of desolation within the landscape ousting nature from the land. Cook's graphite works function as a hybrid between drawing and painting, the marks, stains, runs and deposits always evading full control.

Cook has attempted to create a dual identity within his paintings as a way of giving them an edge. The work referenes the landscape and human structures that respond to it, however they are rarely resolved with any consistency into a legible space. Blots, wipes and marks offer a particular pattern for the viewer to interpret.

Christopher Cook, the present place, graphite in oil and resin on coated paper, 2000, 72 x 102cm

Christopher Cook, the great divide, graphite in oil and resin on coated paper, 2000, 72 x 102cm

Christopher Cook, influx, graphite in oil and resin on coated paper, 2000, 72 x 102cm

One of the aspects that I find particularly effective within Cook's work is the fashion with which he alludes to the reality of the landscape without actually making it completely apparent. Whilst using a figurative language in order to construct his compositions there are many aspects of the work which are ambiguous forcing the viewer to take a closer look in order to attempt to piece together what it is that they are looking at. At times this makes for slightly uncomfortable viewing due to the paired down grey colouring as well as the fashion in which clearly recognizable features appear to drift off and blend into less identifiable features and patterns. Many of the marks that Cook uses look although they have been used to excavate the surface of the works rather than as a way to create pattern and depth. 

Another element of the work that I am keen to experiment with is the use of colour. My aim is to escape from the brightly coloured experiments of my earlier works and relate the colours back to the coastal landscape that I am referencing. I am hoping to find some way of marrying the figurative and more abstract elements of my compositions to create the impression that something is being alluded to as opposed to being directly referenced. Using the afore mentioned drawings I created two circular collages which I hoped to use as a reference in order to create two further circular paintings.

Rather than introducing geometric patterns to break up the surface of the compositions as with my earlier experimentation, my aim was to create some form of distortion that was inherent within the pieces. By creating drawings using the marks and patterns derived from the physical landscape of the North Norfolk Coast and subsequently creating collages to be used as a reference point for my paintings I hoped that the sense of undulation and movement alluded to the passage of time whilst simultaneously relating back to the landscapes from which they had come.

Works in Progress, Oil Paint on MDF

I also attempted to use a muted colour pattern within my compositions, referencing the colours back to the original photographs of the places from which I was deriving the imagery. My aim in creating these pieces was to create something which although containing references and traces from the landscape also juxtaposed both representational and abstract elements as a way of creating an ambiguous interpretation but with an obvious link to the landscape from where the imagery had been derived.

Coastal Landscape Study I, Oil on MDF, 70 x 70cm

Coastal Landscape Study, 2015, Oil on MDF, 70 x 70cm

I feel that these two pieces are partially successful in achieving the aims which I intended for them. The combination of marks used to create the surface although not completely obvious, have a link to the landscape creating the impression of a trace, mark or something which has been embedded within something else. The process of subduing my pallette has enabled the pieces to connect to the original places from which the visual material was derived. By creating a sense of distortion that is embedded within the works rather than sitting on top of it it has helped to link the work back to the landscape as well as unifying the compositions. The round tondo shape helps to enhance the feeling that these are objects as well as creating a sense of ambiguity rather than them conforming to a more conventional rectangular composition.

However in terms of relating back to my original ideas in relation to place and memory there are certain aspects where I feel that the work is less successful. Although making a reference to place via the use of marks, shapes and colours the overriding sensation relates more strongly to pattern and composition, whereby the marks produced blend and merge together in order to produce the imagery. Perhaps by using a more conventional and recognisable image of the landscape it would make the imagery more visually compelling as well as creating a direct relationship with the places depicted. I feel that this would work well alongside the use of colour. Similarly by making the compositions less abstract it would have the effect of making them more personal, less subjective and more obviously about the experience of being in a particular landscape. Once again the round shape of the tondo although visually compelling feels quite separated from the experience of being in the landscape.