For now I have to focus on something so I chose some of the last art work I saw in Beer, Devon at Marine House Gallery .Driving through this beautiful countryside and walking about in the fairytale perfect towns helps you understand why landscape is the most prominent content for many English artists.
Tinners' Coast , Collage on canvas, 39 x 39in.
Martin Procter is one artist whose work I liked. He appears to be interested in man's imprint on the landscape through walls, buildings, field boundaries, and industrial architecture and represents these themes through mostly abstracted imagery. As I surveyed his work certain characteristics were retained from work to work. His most recent works painted during a stay in the US can be found on his website .
Hopi Village, Mixed media on board , 40 x 40 cm.
Kiva, mixed media on board, 40 x 40 cm.
There is a two dimensional quality to his work which is dependent on a strong use of line and colour blocking. His paintings frequently have a vertical segmentation to them, leading the eye in lines up the picture. You can quickly see what he determines are the most important aspects of the landscape. In his work the geology and scale of the natural world is overlaid with man's efforts which often appear minute in scale.
A closer look reveals the inventive use of a variety of media (which is probably why this work appeals to me) . His colour choices can be dramatic and all colour usage produces a solid look by chunking repeated forms together.
This is how one artist in Devon relates to the landscape. Stay tuned for several others. It should be interesting to see the commonalities and differences in their imagery and vocabulary.
