Wednesday 8 February 2012

From plaster to canvas

I have always known that I would never be able to afford a Picasso or a Constable. Consequently I have never been a connoisseur of art. We do have pictures and paintings in the cottage but nothing of any value. Most of our pictures were bought when we saw something that took our fancy or liked the look of. That has seemed to me to be the best way to buy pictures, as going out specifically to buy one does not seem to work. In the same way that I rarely seem to be able to go out and buy a particular item of clothing. Now we have acquired some of my mother's pictures which is rather nice and we will find a home for them in the cottage once they have been reframed.

So, I have been rather surprised to find myself drawn to the David Hockney exhibition at the Royal Academy in London.

The exhibition is a sell out and is so popular that they are having to consider extending the opening hours. The fact that most of this exhibition is of paintings of my native Yorkshire probably has something to do with my interest. I realise that most of his paintings are gaudy and very simple and look as if they could have been painted by a child, but Yorkshire is in essence a simple, no frills county. Parts of it are stunning. The fishing village of Whitby is as picturesque as any of the pretty Cornish fishing villages. The Yorkshire Moors admittedly can be bleak and wind swept, but when the heather is out are a match for the likes of Exmoor. The majority of paintings on show are landscapes of the area known as The Wolds which is an area of small hills in North and East Yorkshire.


However, there are also some paintings from his time spent in America when he was better known for his paintings of Californian swimmings pools than English landscapes. Some of his paintings were originally iPad sketches which he has transferred to canvas. One of his old lecturers from his days as a student in his home town of Bradford has described his work as  that of a decorator. I only wish that I could decorate half as well as him.

If you are interested there is a programme about the exhibition on Sky Arts 2 on Thursday February 9 at 6pm, but if like me you do not have that channel, amongst the 101 channels that you do have, this clip may be of interest to you.

We have at last finished decorating our kitchen. It seems to have taken us about three weeks whereas the first time that we decorated it, we seemed to get it done in about three days. When you decorate some rooms you can shut the door on them at the end of the day and forget about them, but you can not do that with a kitchen. It became a drag having to be constantly removing the clutter from the kitchen so that we could get on with the painting. So I decided that I would concentrate on the decorating and then the much needed cleaning. I have now cleaned everything that can be seen which just leaves the inside of the cupboards and the ovens - grhh!

22 comments:

A Brit in Tennessee said...

I love those paintings !
How splendid, I bet they look perfect hanging on your cottage wall, and not only that, but a reminder of things your mother treasured.
~Jo

Diane said...

I have to admit they are not to my taste, but it is a good job that we do not all think alike :) Diane

cheshire wife said...

Jo - yes Mum's paintings will look good, especially as one is a conventional painting of Flamborough Head which is the coastal end of The Wolds.

Food,Fun & Life - I like them but would not buy one even if I could afford one.

Akelamalu said...

David Hockney isn't to my taste but I too know little about art but know what I like. I love Monet but obviously would never be able to afford one.

We have spent the last five weeks decorating (well painting) all the downstairs rooms, the hall, stairs and landing and just finished the bathroom. Saying that we only spend one day on each room. What took the most time was moving all the stuff in each room. Only two bedrooms to paint now, the third is so full of books and MWM's junk that we're leaving it alone. LOL

Rosaria Williams said...

These are gorgeous!
Luminous!
Art is not a precise science, and so what you like may not be based on anything but your gut reaction.

cheshire wife said...

Akelamalu - I also like Monet and we have several of his prints around the cottage.

You have been busy decorating. We try to do about two rooms a year.

rosaria - I know what you mean.

GaynorB said...

Well done for pressing on with, and finishing the decorating.

I like all sorts of different works of art but couldn't pin myself down to an artist or a style. As Rosaria says it is a gut reaction, either I like something or I don't!

Sandi McBride said...

I especially love the "patchwork quilt" look. Thanks so much for sharing!
Sandi

cheshire wife said...

GaynorB - I know it when I see it.

Sandi - yes, that picture almost looks like a tapestry.

Rob-bear said...

The art work is interesting, and probably more technically complicated than anything a Bear could do.

Well done on the kitchen! Now the tough question. Will the repair work on the rest of the cottage be done before you do the kitchen for a third time?

Gill - That British Woman said...

I love those paintings also,

Gill in Canada

Maggie May said...

I love David Hockney art and feel that it is so fresh and bright and uplifting. Yes, I am quite a fan.

Could we see some of your Mum's paintings?
Maggie X

Nuts in May

cheshire wife said...

Rob - I would hope that the renovation of the cottage will be finished later this year.

Gill - I am pleased that you like them.

Maggie May - when I mentioned my mother's paintings, they were ones that she had owned, not painted herself.

the fly in the web said...

I didn't think I liked Hockney, but I liked these...and that treatment of the hedge reminded me of another painter who did tumps, trees and whatnot...he has one of a tennis match - and I can't remember his name! This will drive me nuts for days and then when I abandon it it might pop up!

The Men are renovating in the house in San Jose without the benefit of my presence - so I hope I like what they've been up to!

debsdigest.com said...

You're making me feel guilty. I haven't cleaned the cooker for absolutely ages!

cheshire wife said...

fly - you are very brave leaving the workmen to renovate the house in your absence.

Deb - neither have I!

Hilary said...

I love the colours in these paintings but I subscribe to your method of buying art. Whatever catches my fancy.. and it's rarely all that fancy. ;)

LindyLouMac said...

If I had been in London I certainly would have wanted to visit the RA Exhibition and I enjoy his work, although not a personal favourite style of painting.
Fortunately we can have a break from decorating now we have finished the renovations here.
You are right about the snow, it looked beautiful in the sunshine today and so preferable to rain!

cheshire wife said...

Hilary - good pictures are hard to find.

LindyLouMac - Hockney's paintings are cheerful if nothing else.

imbeingheldhostage said...

I love Hockney's paintings of British country side & totally fascinated to learn that he's painting on the iPad. That's so cool :)

Catharine Withenay said...

I love those pictures. I grew up in a village not far from where he lived and painted and feel a great affinity with him too. Hopefully the exhibition will come near us some day soon!

cheshire wife said...

imbeingheldhostage - he's keeping himself up to date.

Catharine - an exhibition up north would be good.