New Paintings for forthcoming exhibitions
A note on the difficulties of progress
Now over nine months after changing my medium from oil to gouache, and vowing to stick with it for a year before returning to oil, it’s time to look critically at what I’ve produced and how near I have come to achieving the goal I set myself. And the answer is not a great deal of progress but definitely some. I’ve discovered that the white paper, like the canvas, has an important role in the luminosity of colour. The other is the choice and juxtaposition of colours that vibrate. In the early days my son complained that for him the colours were too crude and resembled children’s art. It was a fair criticism (though every artist envies the innocence of children’s art). It has taken a long time to become accustomed to the gouache pigment, so unlike oil, and going back to basics and limiting the range of colours used in any one painting was essential, for example, ‘Rocky path beneath an aqueduct’. But for me the greatest difficulty was crossing the bridge dividing figurative images from the abstract. I began to despair that I would ever make any headway. Having chosen a theme for a painting I was unable deviate from it in pure abstract form. So, on the cusp of nearly giving up I began with drawing shapes that were unrelated to any subject and then to paint using colours that beside each other vibrated. As the painting continued it began to suggest to me a subject, as if I were working from back to front. It was a relief because now I could move forward to completion but keeping the images as obscure and as unexplained as possible and also keeping in mind an overall pattern. It was hard, and still is as it rows against the tide of former habit. There have been many discards along the way because the images became too figurative so were prone to alterations as I tried to remedy mistakes in composition. That meant the freshness on which gouache depends, was lost.
A
breakthrough
came
with
the
completion
of
‘Two
birds
drinking
from
a
pond’.
It
seemed
to
paint
itself
with
few
alterations
and
I
realised
that
I
really
had
reached
halfway
across
the
bridge
and
it
was
mine.
But
as
with
all
unexpected
feelings
of
elation,
I
careered
on
with
the
naive
optimism
that
I
could
do
it
again.
Alas,
the
opposite!
-
producing
a
dreadfully
contrived
abstract
I
called
‘Laying
on
of
Hands’
(meant
to
be
a
nod
to
the
NHS
and
the
Covid
crisis).
And
here
I
learnt
a
big
lesson,
(once
again
as
I’ve
made
this
mistake
many
times
before),
that
a
local
theme
is
not
a
timeless
theme,
-
though
a
painter
with
a
greater mind than mine could probably have pulled it off.
I’ve
sometimes
said
that
there
really
is
only
one
subject
within
the
three
truths,
Birth,
Life,
Death,
and
these
must
apply
to
any
subject
first.
So,
by
‘local
theme’
I
mean
that
which
illustrates
the
present.
There
is
a
timelessness
in
covid
but
direct
painting
of
it
does
not
work
in
art.
It
has
to
be
expressed
in
a
far
wider
way
through
colour
and
images
that
everyone
can
relate
to
and
respond
to
according
to
their
own
life
experience
–
and
no
explanation
of
the
meaning
of
a painting imposed on them by the painter.
In
starting
with
a
balanced
imaginative
composition
with
no
recognisable
images,
I
had
hit
on
a
way
through
the
barrier
that
was holding me back from entering a more abstract approach.
Now
it
was
important
to
return
to
the
technique;
to
find
a
way
of
applying
this
spontaneous
start
to
thinking
more
deeply
about
theme
and
composition,
so
as
not
to
keep
altering
parts
to
match
the
theme
that
was
suggested
to
me
by
these
abstract
beginnings
–
to
keep
the
freshness
of
colour,
because
any
alteration
deadens
the
luminosity.
And
also
to
keep
the
application
loose
and
guard
against
tightness.
This
can
be
seen
in
the
painting
‘Cold
Eye
of
the
Predator’.
The
upper
portion
of
the
painting
retains
the
light
of
the
white
paper
shining
through
and
swiftness
of
touch,
while
the
lower
part,
which
I
altered
several
times,
has
become
dead.
(Incidentally,
the
subject
reflects
Covid
and
NHS
far
more
than
‘Laying on of Hands’ does).
So,
I
may
have
reached
half
way
across
the
bridge
in
one
painting
but
have
still
struggled
in
subsequent
paintings.
However,
it
does
help
to
have
a
marker.
Whether
I’ll
be
able
to
push
ahead
on
the
bridge
to
the
other
side
of
the
river
and
extend
what
I
have
managed
so
far,
is
something
I
can’t
foresee,
I
can
only
hope
for.
After
all,
I
am
fifty
years
too
late
for
such
a
drastic
change.
But
obstinate
persistence
is
the
hallmark
of
any
painter
who
wants
and hopes for their efforts to be judged worth while.
Philippa Jacobs May 2020
Someone has asked why I have included the gouache Pierotte paintings in this new series.
The
answer
is
that
the
realism
of
these
paintings
is
important
because
although
the
shift
seems
sudden
the
imperative
inclusion
of
the
‘idea’
is
not.
That
has
not
changed
as
I
move
forward
towards
pattern
and
abstract.
The
Pierotte’s
are
not
what
I
call
‘local’,
they
are
far
wider
in
what
they
have
to
say.
Also,
they
belong
to
the
early
period
when
I
was
learning
to
understand
the
limits
of
a
new medium and without that quite prolonged period the subsequent paintings would not have been possible.
Spring flight
Rainbow over the valley
Herons rise on a thermal
Ewes in the Shade
Rocky path beneath an Aqueduct
Two birds drinking from a pool
Laying on of Hands
Cold Eye of the Predator
Secret Life of a Book
Medieval Church by a River
Pierrot 1
Pierrot 2
Pierrot 3
Harlequin and his Monkey
Pierrot and his dog
Aerial Acrobat
New Paintings for
forthcoming
exhibitions
A note on the difficulties of
progress
Now over nine months after changing my medium from oil to gouache, and vowing to stick with it for a year before returning to oil, it’s time to look critically at what I’ve produced and how near I have come to achieving the goal I set myself. And the answer is not a great deal of progress but definitely some. I’ve discovered that the white paper, like the canvas, has an important role in the luminosity of colour. The other is the choice and juxtaposition of colours that vibrate. In the early days my son complained that for him the colours were too crude and resembled children’s art. It was a fair criticism (though every artist envies the innocence of children’s art). It has taken a long time to become accustomed to the gouache pigment, so unlike oil, and going back to basics and limiting the range of colours used in any one painting was essential, for example, ‘Rocky path beneath an aqueduct’. But for me the greatest difficulty was crossing the bridge dividing figurative images from the abstract. I began to despair that I would ever make any headway. Having chosen a theme for a painting I was unable deviate from it in pure abstract form. So, on the cusp of nearly giving up I began with drawing shapes that were unrelated to any subject and then to paint using colours that beside each other vibrated. As the painting continued it began to suggest to me a subject, as if I were working from back to front. It was a relief because now I could move forward to completion but keeping the images as obscure and as unexplained as possible and also keeping in mind an overall pattern. It was hard, and still is as it rows against the tide of former habit. There have been many discards along the way because the images became too figurative so were prone to alterations as I tried to remedy mistakes in composition. That meant the freshness on which gouache depends, was lost.
A
breakthrough
came
with
the
completion
of
‘Two
birds
drinking
from
a
pond’.
It
seemed
to
paint
itself
with
few
alterations
and
I
realised
that
I
really
had
reached
halfway
across
the
bridge
and
it
was
mine.
But
as
with
all
unexpected
feelings
of
elation,
I
careered
on
with
the
naive
optimism
that
I
could
do
it
again.
Alas,
the
opposite!
-
producing
a
dreadfully
contrived
abstract
I
called
‘Laying
on
of
Hands’
(meant
to
be
a
nod
to
the
NHS
and
the
Covid
crisis).
And
here
I
learnt
a
big
lesson,
(once
again
as
I’ve
made
this
mistake
many
times
before),
that
a
local
theme
is
not
a
timeless
theme,
-
though
a
painter
with
a
greater
mind
than
mine
could
probably have pulled it off.
I’ve
sometimes
said
that
there
really
is
only
one
subject
within
the
three
truths,
Birth,
Life,
Death,
and
these
must
apply
to
any
subject
first.
So,
by
‘local
theme’
I
mean
that
which
illustrates
the
present.
There
is
a
timelessness
in
covid
but
direct
painting
of
it
does
not
work
in
art.
It
has
to
be
expressed
in
a
far
wider
way
through
colour
and
images
that
everyone
can
relate
to
and
respond
to
according
to
their
own
life
experience
–
and
no
explanation
of
the
meaning
of
a
painting
imposed
on
them
by
the painter.
In
starting
with
a
balanced
imaginative
composition
with
no
recognisable
images,
I
had
hit
on
a
way
through
the
barrier
that
was holding me back from entering a more abstract approach.
Now
it
was
important
to
return
to
the
technique;
to
find
a
way
of
applying
this
spontaneous
start
to
thinking
more
deeply
about
theme
and
composition,
so
as
not
to
keep
altering
parts
to
match
the
theme
that
was
suggested
to
me
by
these
abstract
beginnings
–
to
keep
the
freshness
of
colour,
because
any
alteration
deadens
the
luminosity.
And
also
to
keep
the
application
loose
and
guard
against
tightness.
This
can
be
seen
in
the
painting
‘Cold
Eye
of
the
Predator’.
The
upper
portion
of
the
painting
retains
the
light
of
the
white
paper
shining
through
and
swiftness
of
touch,
while
the
lower
part,
which
I
altered
several
times,
has
become
dead.
(Incidentally,
the
subject
reflects
Covid
and
NHS
far
more
than
‘Laying on of Hands’ does).
So,
I
may
have
reached
half
way
across
the
bridge
in
one
painting
but
have
still
struggled
in
subsequent
paintings.
However,
it
does
help
to
have
a
marker.
Whether
I’ll
be
able
to
push
ahead
on
the
bridge
to
the
other
side
of
the
river
and
extend
what
I
have
managed
so
far,
is
something
I
can’t
foresee,
I
can
only
hope
for.
After
all,
I
am
fifty
years
too
late
for
such
a
drastic
change.
But
obstinate
persistence
is
the
hallmark
of
any
painter
who
wants
and hopes for their efforts to be judged worth while.
Philippa Jacobs May 2020
Someone
has
asked
why
I
have
included
the
gouache
Pierotte
paintings in this new series.
The
answer
is
that
the
realism
of
these
paintings
is
important
because
although
the
shift
seems
sudden
the
imperative
inclusion
of
the
‘idea’
is
not.
That
has
not
changed
as
I
move
forward
towards
pattern
and
abstract.
The
Pierotte’s
are
not
what
I
call
‘local’,
they
are
far
wider
in
what
they
have
to
say.
Also,
they
belong
to
the
early
period
when
I
was
learning
to
understand
the
limits
of
a
new
medium
and
without
that
quite
prolonged
period
the
subsequent
paintings would not have been possible.
Spring flight
Rainbow over the valley
Herons rise on a thermal
Ewes in the Shade
Rocky path beneath an Aqueduct
Two birds drinking from a pool
Laying on of Hands
Cold Eye of the Predator
Secret Life of a Book
Medieval Church by a River
Pierrot 1
Pierrot 2
Pierrot 3
Harlequin and his Monkey
Pierrot and his dog
Aerial Acrobat
