30 May 2020
Red, White and Blue
Chilly nights are here but happily, the days have been warm and full of colour. There is a small moon which doesn’t appear to impede the ‘Bloom’.
Australia is opening up and the beach is full of people, and like everywhere it seems they’re out and about, socialising as if the pandemic never existed. But the virus is still around, and I suppose the tourists will apparently make sure it stays around for a while longer. Honestly, it’s become such a political and social divide that I’ve learned to keep my mouth shut. But happily, I’ve still been able to avoid it so far.
From two nights ago came this study which brought me much joy. It was the second of two and yes, in a way, there is a strong verisimilitude to it, but if so, it’s purely by chance because as is always the case, it only came together in the last few moments. Nothing is ever planned out in advance in these quick studies, the final act always comes to me as a surprise.
This quick way of working creates the right space for spontaneity and it also allows me to find an unambiguous response to a specific instance during this hour when the sky seems so full of charged energy.
At this beach a painter can (and should) ask what it is they are after in these skies. In fact a painter should even ask why indeed they are painting the sky at all? Let’s be honest, it’s a dangerous subject for anyone. One can fall down too easily in front of so much potential kitsch. But hey! It’s fun. Isn’t that enough?
Anyway, because I can be such homebody, I’m always after anything that pushes me outside of my boundaries and painting is a great vehicle and built for speed. There are periods when the sky can often ressemble photo copies of itself even at the twilight hour. On certain evenings the sky can follow its usual colour format giving off the impression that all twilight skies are pretty similar, but of course they’re not. One thing for sure is that similar or not, I will always paint them differently. This is because I’m both anxious and spontaneous, and I see new possibilities everywhere. At the same time, I’m always after a very particular instant. The trick for me is to capture a spontaneous sky and turn it into something both fixed but eternal too. I am not very good at making duplicates of any experience. So, I like this study of a fairly standard-looking twilight sky around here just because I enjoyed painting it so much.
This week I watched Three Colours Trilogy, (Blue, White and Red) by Krzysztof Kieslowski which I’ve seen several times over the years. I first saw them out of order, but then in order, and now back to the order in which I first saw them; Red, Blue White. In all aspects of life I seem to have penchant for being loyal to my mistakes, the big, the small, and the stupid. But no matter, what a cinematic adventure are these three stories! Tonight, I am still a little hungover from all the nostalgia it evoked in me for Europe.
