in the beginning there was...
During the final year at Corsham (Bath Academy of Art), I made abstract paintings that were limited by colour and content. They were mostly tricolour split-complements with compositions evocative of motion. Upon graduation and while teaching for the first time, my work was restricted to small sketches (gouache on paper and card) that I planned to develop at a later date.
Following emigration to Canada (1969), the invitation to produce a solo exhibition in London, Ontario (1970), brought a number of these sketches to life developing and expanding the theme of motion.
The exhibition at the London Public Library and Art Museum (1970) comprised ten large (up to 10 feet), multi-part, acrylic paintings that included 3D elements where canvas was stretched over wood frames. As source references, a selection of the earlier gouache and water colour sketches were included in the exhibit.
Following this exhibit, my work became distinctly three dimensional with some forms padded to create physical depth, thickness and softness. This new work was built for a co-operative show in which six London, Ontario artists collaborated around a desire to exhibit new work in downtown Toronto. The group comprised Don Bonham, Robert Bozak, Patterson Ewen, David Gordon, Steve Parzybok and me. Pie in the Sky (1971) was staged in a disused Chev-Olds dealership on Avenue Road. The building itself was scheduled for demolition thereby fulfilling our wish to exhibit in a non-precious space that had no previous or continuing connection to art. This approach was a nod to the innovative London Warehouse Co-op (1970) three members of which joined the Pie group. With live music from Downchild blues band we served fresh apple pie and cider to our visitors and opened the exhibition during a spring snowstorm.
After the fact and working from photographs, I documented Pie in the Sky in the form of a sixteen-panel watercolour that incorporated images of the preparation of the space, through installation of the work, to the opening followed by the clean up.
Next, and perhaps as the catalyst for a return to representational imagery, Liquorice Comfits became my muse for new work. In North America the closest thing to Comfits would be Goodies made by Y&S Candies. Apart from enjoying the taste of the liquorice, I like that Comfits/Goodies are brightly coloured, modular forms. This particular preoccupation generated drawings, paintings and sculptures. Materials used include acrylic paint, wood, aluminum, plexiglas and coloured tape. One piece - a 3D seated figure - was selected for inclusion in the international exhibition Chairs (1975) at the Art Gallery of Ontario.
Notwithstanding the representation of Comfits, my primary interest had been making work that, in essence, was abstract. However, the thread that connects the next period of activity is an incremental return to representational imagery starting with Roes For Your Toes. The 'Roes' in question is the Roes Stairs Company that, at the time, was based in a repurposed church that I passed each day on my way to work. The owner/operator permitted me to take photographs as a half-round staircase was being built. I never used those photographs but the building itself, together with the notion that staircases move us through space and time, became a catalyst for new work and fit well with earlier work that referenced motion.
Following emigration to Canada (1969), the invitation to produce a solo exhibition in London, Ontario (1970), brought a number of these sketches to life developing and expanding the theme of motion.
The exhibition at the London Public Library and Art Museum (1970) comprised ten large (up to 10 feet), multi-part, acrylic paintings that included 3D elements where canvas was stretched over wood frames. As source references, a selection of the earlier gouache and water colour sketches were included in the exhibit.
Following this exhibit, my work became distinctly three dimensional with some forms padded to create physical depth, thickness and softness. This new work was built for a co-operative show in which six London, Ontario artists collaborated around a desire to exhibit new work in downtown Toronto. The group comprised Don Bonham, Robert Bozak, Patterson Ewen, David Gordon, Steve Parzybok and me. Pie in the Sky (1971) was staged in a disused Chev-Olds dealership on Avenue Road. The building itself was scheduled for demolition thereby fulfilling our wish to exhibit in a non-precious space that had no previous or continuing connection to art. This approach was a nod to the innovative London Warehouse Co-op (1970) three members of which joined the Pie group. With live music from Downchild blues band we served fresh apple pie and cider to our visitors and opened the exhibition during a spring snowstorm.
After the fact and working from photographs, I documented Pie in the Sky in the form of a sixteen-panel watercolour that incorporated images of the preparation of the space, through installation of the work, to the opening followed by the clean up.
Next, and perhaps as the catalyst for a return to representational imagery, Liquorice Comfits became my muse for new work. In North America the closest thing to Comfits would be Goodies made by Y&S Candies. Apart from enjoying the taste of the liquorice, I like that Comfits/Goodies are brightly coloured, modular forms. This particular preoccupation generated drawings, paintings and sculptures. Materials used include acrylic paint, wood, aluminum, plexiglas and coloured tape. One piece - a 3D seated figure - was selected for inclusion in the international exhibition Chairs (1975) at the Art Gallery of Ontario.
Notwithstanding the representation of Comfits, my primary interest had been making work that, in essence, was abstract. However, the thread that connects the next period of activity is an incremental return to representational imagery starting with Roes For Your Toes. The 'Roes' in question is the Roes Stairs Company that, at the time, was based in a repurposed church that I passed each day on my way to work. The owner/operator permitted me to take photographs as a half-round staircase was being built. I never used those photographs but the building itself, together with the notion that staircases move us through space and time, became a catalyst for new work and fit well with earlier work that referenced motion.
