My Participation in the 8th Beijing International Art Biennale 2019 , Part Three: Landscape Painting

View of the distant lake, ink on paper

As part of my series of articles on the 8th Beijing International Art Biennale, I'm posting some ink paintings I made in the Chinese landscape on September 1st. 

To my delight I was invited to go on a painting trip to a village called Shuiyucun not far from the mountains with about 30 other artists, a mix of Chinese participants and others from around the world. As I'd found out about this trip before I went to China I packed my ink (bought in Beijing in 2017) and calligraphy brushes and bought paper while in Beijing.

Mountain View, ink on paper

Mountain View, ink on paper

View from the tower I painted from

The journey out of Beijing and into the verdant landscape took about an hour and then we were divided in to groups when we reached Shuiyucun. Some of us were taken down to a small river to paint but I think that possibly artists had specific ideas they wanted to work from because no one wanted to work from the river. (If I had had longer time I would have been happy to paint there as it was quite interesting.) Consequently we split up to seek out other places of inspiration.

Since my first glimpse of distant mountains I knew I wanted to paint them.  Two of the guides took me up a hill to a wooden tower where I was able to paint alone for about 90 minutes. The view was incredible; a panorama that stretched on two sides (north and west) to mountains, and then the land fell away in to undulating pastures and areas of trees to the east, and to the south I could see a lake and far beyond the hazy outline of Beijing. It was very hot and once my eyes acclimatised to the bright sunlight, an array of many greens spilled out from the land. 

I had deliberately taken only ink as my aim was to catch some shapes and lines I might extend back in the UK.

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I painted mostly North, West and South, and made 12 ink paintings. One of the guides had her small daughter with her and I was quite surprised when she looked at a small ink - quite abstract with few marks - and exclaimed 'It's a whole picture yet with so little brush work!'

View of the Lake,, ink on paper

View of the Lake, ink on paper

Though I initially concentrated on the mountains, I soon became quite intrigued by the distant lake because I knew we would be painting there in a few hours. The sun being in front of me cast deep shadows in some areas while other elements faded in to a shimmery haze.

The guides took me back to the village where I met up with the other artists and we had a huge lunch which consisted of many different dishes brought to us freshly cooked from the kitchen. 

Tables being set for us in the village

The table I shared with friends

The amazing dining area

Not long after our meal, we were taken to lake Quilong where everyone set up next to the rippling expanse of water dotted with islands of lotus leaves. There were floating water lilies with small yellow flowers and I became mesmerised by the swaying water as I sat on large rocks to paint.

Ripples on the lake, ink on paper

Artists painting by the lake, ink on paper

I was also intrigued by the distant mountains which seemed to echo the shapes of the tangled lotus leaves....

Lotus Leaves and Mountains

Lake Quilong

Artists at work

The lake and nearby houses

Some of the artists (I am the 3rd from the right)

Finally, we all went back to Shuiyucun to have a discussion with the leaders of the village and the Chinese artists. It was wonderful to have this exchange and to share our ideas. There were several photographers and we were filmed as well. I was invited to say something because they had seen my speech the previous day and I mentioned how much I had loved the experience of being able to paint in the landscape and that I would love to stay for several weeks! I felt really lucky to have been offered this chance and to have had a glimpse in to aspects of village life. 

Everyone was so friendly and wanted to know how we felt about the trip and what ideas we had to extend or improve it for the future.

The leaders of Shuiyucun starting the discussion

Some of the artists

How Important is Knowing an Artist's Intention When Looking at a Painting? (part 2)

'Lost Paradise: Tears For Burrswood,' acrylic on canvas, 50 x 60 cm

I'm posting 2 new paintings and one work in progress. They have a message behind them which I feel it might be important for viewers to know. I don't believe it will spoil their enjoyment of the paintings, if they had attached a different meaning to them, but as the impetus for the first 2 paintings has a highly personal meaning, it seems to be an integral part of the image.

The first one, above, is about a place I loved and which has now gone in to receivership. I first went to Burrswood when I was 17 as my father had just got a job as Public Relations Officer there. It was at that time being promoted as a faith healing centre and my sister had a miraculous healing from Leukaemia there.  Some years later the place became a place for people to stay, as respite for ill people or just to enjoy the peace of the huge grounds, forests and lakes. There is also a beautiful church and I often used to sit in it feeling the quietness. Often I would go to the cafe which had a view down to the lake and distant hills.

I painted there every week over an 8 year period, seeing the trees grow, seeing the change of the seasons with their minute differences from year to year, breathing in all the scents, and always loving the wild orchids that grew near one of the lakes. 

I found out about a month ago that this place, which has occupied much of my life in one way or another, has now closed. My painting is about remembering paths, seasons, flowers, the lakes, and my deep sorrow. It was about wondering what will happen now? Will it all be destroyed as money dictates that flats should be built on the land? The church also destroyed?

It has been a heavily reworked painting and as I seemed to feel there was so much to say, the best thing is now to start another painting. While working on this, I was also exploring my ongoing ideas about colour, composition, (how much to include, where to include it, what could be left out), and how to make an image that respects paint as well as the initial inspiration. Once I start to paint, I walk a line between the original inspiration and what the paint is pushing me to say.

'Spartans Shields Returning Home in the Rain,' acrylic on canvas, 40 x 50 cm

This second painting, which was painted over an older work, is a bit of a strange one! My inspiration was the thought that people's lives often pass through many struggles with courage that is unseen. I thought of the Spartans and their saying 'Return with your shield or on it,' Their shields were emblems of courage and honour and this is why my abstract landscape - which has elements from my 14 years in Cyprus - includes shields. It was quite an intense painting with all kinds of thoughts going through my head at the time and also I wanted the paint to show the traces of my feelings through the brush marks. It is also about the passage of life, the certainty that you can not go back only forwards.

'Throwing Pebbles in the Lake While the Moon Rises,' acrylic on canvas, 50 x 60 cm

The final painting I am posting is one from my moon series. It grew out of my imaginings of being by a lake, usually with pine trees and distant views of mountains, and having the time to sit and throw pebbles in the rippling water while the moon rises. This is imagery I visualise when I'm falling asleep, it's where I would like to be! I liked the idea of the moon changing through different colours, as it does in Cyprus, and I don't feel that the composition is yet there. 

I don't believe all paintings need to be explained. They should greet the viewer with a certain kind of completeness, but when there is an intense message behind them, it can enhance any interested viewer's appreciation of the work to find out more.

How Important is Knowing an Artist's intention to Understanding a Painting?

'We Threw Pebbles in to the River as the Turquoise Moon Descended.'  acrylic on canvas, 50 x 60 cm

This question came up during a conversation with an artist at an exhibition recently. Is it really necessary to know why an artist painted a painting you are viewing at an exhibition or possibly thinking about buying?  While most buyers will purchase purely because they like something, recognise something in the painting, find joy or beauty in the colours, or follow and collect that particular artist's work, I personally believe it is essential to have an understanding of an artist's intention and ideas. It can enrich our viewing and enjoyment of the artwork and reveal things that are not immediately apparent.

At the same time, some artist's work needs less explanation than others. One well known website which sells artists' artwork advises that an explanation can often help sell artwork. As I scroll through paintings, I often find that some call out for the reading of their descriptions because the artwork may either be quite striking and unusual, or challenging.

The artist's personal statement is really important to gaining insights into their sources of inspiration, their methods and why they choose those methods, and how they find inspiration and interpret their ideas. The creative 'process' is incredibly interesting and much can be written on this and its mystery, but artists often feel the need to verbalise their intentions. Some paintings are easier to 'read' and others do need the message behind them explained, though generally it is assumed that a painting should speak clearly to the viewer. Ultimately, painting is a language and learning about painting is very rewarding and enriching.

In relation to my own work, when I'm painting I don't want to know exactly what I'm doing. I'd never paint if it was simply a case of filling in spaces I've calculated in advance. But there is always a demanding and passionate idea that generates the impetus to make the image. Ideas bounce off one another, jumping in to my mind in the middle of the night, or I see some shapes on TV or in a magazine that just seem to give an answer to a difficult passage in a painting. It could be a word, an idea could pop in to my mind while cleaning the house. Anything can inspire or give clues when your mind is buzzing with imagery and that creative passion is pushing at you to unveil a demanding, all encompassing and emotional theme.

My painting 'We Threw Pebbles in to the River as the Turquoise Moon Descended,' pushed at me for days to paint it. The theme is the transience of life and a desire to sit by a river (a metaphor for the passage of life) and have time to throw pebbles until the moon appears. It is about reflection, the desire to be awake, to feel life in all its aspects, to have the time to feel oneself in relation to the world. 

I've seen the moon rise in Cyprus in many colours and somehow turquoise fitted my feelings. I feel that in my work I 'surf' on meanings, pushing at the paint in a dogged way, making many erasures until I pull that image in to reality. It doesn't always work, of course, and the painting may take days to consider if I need to do more work on it. When dealing with unknown factors, you ultimately have to learn to read your own work and to absorb new elements in order to move forwards, which is why I let work sit for a while in order to be able to 'see' it afresh.

This next painting, 'Beyond the Black Lake' has just been finished a year after I thought it was finished. As my ideas for the translating of my ongoing themes keep being tweaked and the language extends, sometimes I see things that are irrelevant. 

If I'm asked to explain its meanings, it comes down to very personal feelings as with much of my work. The lake is the darkness in life. There is movement in the landscape, the movement of daily life, the tracks of passage across the land, brightness amongst the darkness. Possibly the turquoise shape above the lake could be a house and a suggestion of security. I like to enter meanings the painting suggests and follow those clues. I go in to another place entirely.

'Beyond the Black Lake,' acrylic on canvas, 35 x 45 cm

When I write about my work, or speak to people, I find that my intention is quite important to explain. My work is a reflection on the passage of life, personal journeys, and finding a way to translate these in to paint while exploring what paint can do and suggest. I let the paint direct me as much as possible and try to learn from the process of painting. It is always open to the potential for something new and exciting.

To be continued.