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Inspiration from Artists Week 34 : John Piper and Terence Clarke.
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Posted
I found a chronological presentation of a dozen or more of his works here: https://poulwebb.blogspot.com/2012/08/john-piper-part-1.html and it seems his output is even more varied than the examples posted so far suggest. There are a lot of abstracts (up to and including Jackson Pollockesque) from 1955-1965, although it is hard for me to discern a distinctive personal style apart perhaps from the presence of architectural elements.
I'd like to include one or two examples but before I do, and as I'm new to these parts: do the images have to come from royalty free public sources such as wiki commons?
Posted
Had a look at a lot of his work, it doesn’t really appeal to me, although I do like this ink and coloured paper collage (done in 1936). Quite different again to most of the examples posted so far. Lovely bold shapes and clean-cut lines - I thought at first it might be a linocut.
Littlestone on Sea
Edited
by Jenny Harris
Posted
Thanks Paul. Leaving aside the pure abstracts (I'm not too fond of them in his case), here are a few that I would hang on my wall...
The Forum (Rome) painted in 1961 and aquired by the Tate the following year. It is quite a large work at 1067 × 1524 mm. Oil on canvas.
Coast of Brittany II, also 1961, 571 × 781mm. Watercolour on paper, collage.
San Marco, Venice. 1962. 645 × 467 mm.
Welsh Landscape, Tretio, 1969. 486 × 711 mm
Apart from a whole bunch of styles, he worked in many different media. I didn't know his work until now, so thanks to whoever suggested him!
Coast of Brittany II, also 1961, 571 × 781mm. Watercolour on paper, collage.
San Marco, Venice. 1962. 645 × 467 mm.
Welsh Landscape, Tretio, 1969. 486 × 711 mm
Apart from a whole bunch of styles, he worked in many different media. I didn't know his work until now, so thanks to whoever suggested him!
Edited
by Martin Cooke
Posted
Terence Clarke is a British contemporary landscape and still life artist. Born in 1953 he studied Fine Art at Lancaster Polytechnic, followed by a Masters Degree at the Royal College of Art.
His bold, colourful work is inspired by Matisse, Cezanne and the Scottish Colourists and often depicts brightly lit Mediterranean landscapes influenced by the time he spends working in France.
I first came across his work in a demo. he’d done for one of the art magazines, and like it for its bold style, especially the use of black to outline, and the use of colour.
Edited
by Jenny Harris
Posted
This is how he described his artistic vision in an interview:
"In a sense I am a painter of light. I use colour as a way of emphasising the drama of light. Vivid colour is a metaphor for light itself and often this sense of light is the underlying subject of my paintings. I like my paintings to be painterly so that although the image is clear and readable the paint itself has a rich and sensuous life of its own letting the viewer enjoy the way the paint works."
He rarely paints portraits, so, for the sake of variety, I will add one of the few portraits made by him that I could find:
Posted
I am not a devotee of the 'Scottish Colourists', though may lump the older practitioners in with a couple of younger ones whose work makes me cringe - the "colour hugs" woman in particular; also Scott Naismith.
However, this artist is not of their kidney, while at the same time being slightly less representational in colour terms than I should like: for me, some of his work trembles on the edge of brash; but I realize modernity and I are not on the closest of terms. Paintings two, four and five down appeal to me more than the others; the portrait is at least lively, and attractive.
I certainly see the Cézanne influence - not so sure I can find the influence of Matisse: but I think that's the better place to look for his influences, i.e. the French, rather than the Scottish: though Scottish colourists can cover a very wide field. A very different painter is Andrew Tozer, but I don't know - I find Tozer a livelier painter, on the whole. Would recommend a look at it, as a contrast and also a plucking of the same harp strings .... e.g. the use of strong colour.
Can't really please Jones when you drag him into the 21st century..... but there's no doubt in my mind that Clarke is a fine painter; and at only three years younger than I am, I doubt that he was in any way influenced by those few younger painters I so loathe..... Is he an oil painter primarily, or does he work in acrylic?
Edited
by Robert Jones, NAPA
Posted
Robert, he works in both oil and acrylic, but mainly oil I believe - the paintings shown above (although not sure about the still life with chair) are oil paintings.
Agree that the influence of Matisse doesn’t appear to be obvious, but can see the influence of the Scottish Colourists, especially Samuel Peploe - this is one of Peploe’s paintings.
Edited
by Jenny Harris
Posted
I do like his work very much Jenny, thanks for the intro. There is a familiar look to his style, maybe because of the Cezanne influence. For some reason, not really sure why, I especially like the one of flowers on the chair next to an open window.
I will look him up later. It’s good to see painting with a sunny feel good factor!