Original artwork description:

‘San Marcello study 1’ is an acrylic painting on 230gms canvas paper 20cms wide x 15cms height. It is presented in a cream card window mount with a total size of 25.5 cms x 20cms. It is signed and dated on the front of the mount card. The painting is shipped in an A4 card reinforced envelope. The weight of the shipping package is 0.10 Kgs. It is part of a series of paintings inspired by locations across Europe. The paintings in this series have been made to record the atmosphere, light and colour of locations I have travelled across Italy, Catalonia and the Greek Islands. San Marcello Pistoiese is a comune in the Province of Pistoia in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 45 kilometres (28 mi) northwest of Florence and about 15 kilometres (9 mi) northwest of Pistoia. It is a rural area of immense natural beauty set in the mountains deep in the heart of Tuscany. The paintings are based on memories of living in or visiting the locations and as such try to capture the sense of place through expressive use of colour, light, shadow and texture. In the painting ‘San Marcello’ I have tried to capture the joy of this township . The historic buildings and the cuisine all set in a thriving landscape environment. Other sources which inspire these particular paintings are varied including historical and ancient signs, symbols and motifs and mythologies. John Hoyland, Paul Gauguin, Howard Hodgkin, Helen Frankenthaler, Barbara Rae, Hans Hoffman, Alan Davie, Corneille and the COBRA group are indeed inspirations. The boundaries of what can be managed in a painting present a constant challenge to me and through a process of layering, cancellation and improvisation my intention is always to test such boundaries. The compositions are structured to allow for incidental visual melodies in the same way a musician can create a sense of meaning and atmosphere through incident and improvised sound. The paintings incorporate visual melodies that have a principal part in the visual harmony.

Materials used:

acrylic paint on 230 gm canvas paper