Category: texture

Posted by Peter Corr on in abstract, Abstraction, Art, art gallery, art materials, art technique, artist, Contemporary abstract painter, fenland, Landscape Painting, paint, painter, painting, texture

Land
oil painting on canvas, landscape, abstraction
60 x 60 cm on Canvas

I took the opportunity during my Fine Art degree course at Manchester Art College to work in the print room. I really loved the process of etching, preparing the copper sheets, drawing into the wax surface, revealing the bare metal and immersing the plate in sulphuric acid. The depth of line being controlled by time and the concentration of the acid solution. It is always a magical process and difficult to predict the outcome. I guess in many ways I have come full circle; that was over 40 years ago and I’m still drawing, scoring into surfaces and creating marks.

This series of paintings use tar, oil paint and cold wax and to some extent they can be manipulated to echo the qualities found in intaglio etching. Many artists say they begin a work without preconceptions and just allow the image to emerge and take form.

One of the assumptions about this technique is that it leaves open the opportunity for the spontaneous and unexpected to arise as the work progresses. This may be the case with particular pieces and you may occasionally ‘get lucky’. I prefer to think that this approach is often quite calculated and measured. It is about generating visual ideas through accident and chance, then looking carefully and reflecting on what has been produced and intervening to strengthen those qualities.

The ‘detail’ images shown below will give you some indication of the nature of the marks and the subtlety of the wax and tar surface. Beeswax is a beautiful medium to work with; selective burnishing enhances reflective qualities and a sense of depth and texture.

‘Land’ Detail
‘Land’ Detail
‘Land’ Detail
Posted by Peter Corr on in abstract, Art, art exhibition, art gallery, art materials, art technique, artist, Contemporary abstract painter, Landscape Painting, new forest, paint, painter, painting, texture

New Forest Painting

I have just been working on a commission based on one of my recent New Forest paintings. It has taken over two months from start to completion and I am genuinely pleased with final outcome. For those of you who have worked on a commission before you will know that they can sometimes be problematic. I think it is extremely important to be clear about the nature of the painting process and to communicate this through discussion with the other party.

Each painting is inevitably unique and few artists would be able to recreate an existing painting or exact copy unless the style owed more to photographic realism and/or geometric precision. You will see from the close up details that this painting has been developed through the application of successive layers of oil paint and cold wax medium. The raised surface and tactile nature of the work embodies the textural qualities of the subject matter.

Landscape painting of a forest, heavy impasto and texture

Posted by Peter Corr on in abstract, Abstraction, Art, art gallery, art materials, art technique, artist, Contemporary abstract painter, paint, painter, painting, texture, UK

Arcadia by Peter Corr

P1110145.JPG
‘Arcadia’ by Peter Corr 122 x 92cm

This is a large oil painting on a 122 x 92 cm canvas. It is semi abstract and expressionistic in terms of technique and approach. It is however, based indirectly on nature and more specifically on the hedgerows of the fenland in East Anglia. Trees, brambles and woody shrubs such as hawthorn, blackthorn and field maple create an exuberant entanglement of chaotic growth.

The material and paint I have used is applied with a variety of tools including brushes, palette knives and assorted scrapers. As you will see, the surface is built up in heavy impasto layers and translucent glazes accumulating over a period of time. I have been working on this piece for a couple of years now and it has undergone numerous changes; that is just part of my process. Some of you will no doubt see the influence of the contemporary artists Anselm Kiefer and Gerhardt Richter.

 

P1110147
Detail of ‘Arcadia’

…..And what you thought you came for
Is only a shell, a husk of meaning
From which the purpose breaks only when it is fulfilled
If at all.
Either you had no purpose
Or the purpose is beyond the end you figured
And is altered in fulfilment.
There are other places
Which also are the world’s end, some at the sea jaws,
Or over a dark lake, in a desert or a city—
But this is the nearest, in place and time,
Now and in England.

From a poem by T.S. Eloit

Posted by Peter Corr on in abstract, Abstraction, agriculture, Art, art materials, art technique, artist, cambridgeshire, fenland, Landscape Painting, paint, painting, texture, UK

‘Till’ A landscape painting by Peter Corr

 

Abstract Landscape Peter Corr-39
‘Till’ by Peter Corr 60 x 60 cm

The Fenlands are highly productive agricultural land and at this time of year, farmers can be seen ploughing and tilling the earth in readiness for the next year. The tilling blades comb the topsoil, mixing and aerating as they are dragged across the fields. I have used plaster, oil and cold wax medium, alternately scoring and layering the materials to recreate the furrowed surface. The late evening light at this time of year has a warm soft glow that I have tried to capture with gold iridescent paint.

Abstract Landscape Peter Corr-52
Detail of ‘Till’ by Peter Corr

Abstract Landscape Peter Corr-47.jpg
Detail of ‘Till’ by Peter Corr

Posted by Peter Corr on in Abstraction, Art, artist, cambridgeshire, fenland, Landscape Painting, painter, painting, texture, UK

How should you title an abstract painting?

‘The Three Realms’ by Peter Corr

The Third Realm.jpg
‘The Three Realms’ by Peter Corr

For me, a title is an important element in the creation of a painting. I know that many abstract painters use numerical systems to identify and classify their work. I prefer to title each image and through the invention of the title, try to enhance the life, associations and potential relevance of the work. In this instance, I really wanted a title that would express in a very direct way, the inspiration and the key components of this painting which of course relate to landscape. The title of this painting therefore is relatively straightforward; it refers to the three realms of earth, sky and water. I wasn’t aware until later that ‘The Three Realms’ has other, in many ways more interesting connotations. In Nichiren Buddhism ‘The Three Realms’ are, according to Quora:

(1) the realm of the five components

(2) the realm of living beings

(3) the realm of the environment.

These could be thought of simply as, from the standpoint of a human being, the person, society and the environment.

The Third Realm (2)
Detail of ‘The Three Realms’ by Peter Corr

The materials used in this painting include oil paint, pumice stone and cold wax medium. The heavy impasto creates an almost rough hewn marble like surface pitted and marked with successive layers of cold wax and oil paint.

Posted by Peter Corr on in Abstraction, Art, artist, cambridgeshire, fenland, Landscape Painting, painter, painting, texture, UK

After the Rain: Peter Corr

bitumen paintings_165.jpg

‘After the Rain’ 80 x 80 cm on canvas by Peter Corr

‘After the Rain’  could be seen as a departure from the tonality and minimalist approach I have been using recently, but even so, this painting remains firmly in the realm of abstraction.

The weather here in England is a a limitless topic of conversation for all of us and we have just experienced one of the hottest Summers on record. However, the wind and rain is never far away and this painting reflects my experience of cycling though the Fenland landscape, experiencing alternate moments of warm sun, showers and gusts of wind.  In Cambridgeshire, the wind either carries you along on your cycle or stops you in your tracks. I can travel the same journey in half or double the time depending on the prevailing wind direction. I am increasingly convinced that the weather here in this part of the world is a living entity, a whimsical creature, a chameleon.

bitumen paintings_171

Detail from ‘After the Rain’ by Peter Corr

In ‘After the Rain’ I have tried to convey a sense of movement and changing light, using angular shapes, a kaleidoscope of colour and dissolving  forms. You may detect the spatial devices of overlap, fragmentation and multiple viewpoints employed by the Cubists and later on, the Italian Futurists.

“……..Nobody would affirm that the tree grows its crown in the image of its root. Between above and below can be no mirrored reflection. It is obvious that different functions expanding in different elements must produce divergences”.

Paul Klee

 

Posted by Peter Corr on in Abstraction, agriculture, Art, artist, colour field painting, Landscape Painting, new forest, painter, painting, texture, UK

Landford, New Forest

bitumen paintings_604-Edit.jpg
‘Landford, New Forest’ 122 x 92 cm

This is a large mixed media painting on a 122cm x 92cm on a canvas frame. It was produced from studies created during my residency in the New Forest; the work is partly expressionistic and impressionistic in terms of technique and style. The key medium is cold wax and oil paint applied with a variety of tools including brushes and palette knives. The surface is built up in heavy impasto and scored, etched and systematically redrawn over a period of time.  The detail insert (below) should provide some indication of the rich tactile qualities encrusting the surface of the painting. My working method allows for various incarnations of the painting to present themselves before the final image crystallises. This work in particular has undergone numerous transformations. I originally had in mind a view of the forest infused with intense light and colour, but it has progressively mutated towards a more poetic and subdued interpretation of dusk in the forest.

I have been influenced by the contemporary artists Anselm Kiefer and Gerhardt Richter. If you have a moment, take a closer look at the detailed photographs to gain a more tangible sense of the textural qualities in this work.

bitumen paintings_628-Edit
Detail from ‘Landford, New Forest’

Posted by Peter Corr on in Abstraction, Art, artist, cambridgeshire, fenland, Landscape Painting, painter, painting, texture, UK

Residual Cross

Cross Painting_277
‘Residual Cross’ 60 x 60 cm

This is one of a new series of paintings continuing and extending my interest in less conventional art materials. I have drawn inspiration from the raw and unadorned nature of the Fenland landscape and tried to reflect the rich tactile qualities of the earth  fusing tar, bitumen, hessian, oil paint and cold wax medium. My approach is gradually becoming more instinctive and physical, often working directly on the floor, scraping, dissolving and burning materials until unpredictable and unexpected transformations take place. When I reach a point were the image really begins to surprise and engage me, I have found a resolution.

The grid like imagery refers obliquely to the patchwork quilt of fields and enclosures as if rendered from an aerial perspective. The gouges, marks and striations echo the relentless impact of man and farming on the natural world.

Cross Painting_286
Detail from ‘Residual Cross’

Posted by Peter Corr on in Abstraction, Art, art exhibition, artist, cambridgeshire, fenland, Landscape Painting, painter, painting, texture, UK

The Kingdom of Mercia
Kingdom of Mercia 2
‘The Kingdom of Mercia’ 80 x 80 cm by Peter Corr
This painting is currently on show at The Old Fire Engine House in Ely, Cambridgshire, UK. The materials used include oil, cold wax, bitumen, pumice stone and plaster scrim. The title is essentially poetic and does not refer to a specific place or location; my recent landscape paintings are a reflection of my understanding and experience of the Fenland landscape of Cambridgeshire. I am interested in the evocative power of abstract imagery to engage us and to challenge our need to find meaning and purpose in what may appear to be arbitrary shapes, marks, tones and textures.    
Kingdom of Mercia.jpg
Detail:  ‘The Kingdom of Mercia’ by Peter Corr
Posted by Peter Corr on in Abstraction, Art, art exhibition, artist, cambridgeshire, colour field painting, fenland, Landscape Painting, new forest, painter, painting, texture, trees, UK

Cradle

Abstract Landscape painting on canvas
‘Cradle’ 122 x 92 cm

This is a large mixed media painting on a 122cm x 92cm professional quality canvas. It was produced from studies created during my recent residency in the New Forest; the work is partly expressionistic and impressionistic in terms of technique and style. The medium is cold wax and oil paint applied with a variety of tools including brushes , scalpels and palette knives. The surface is built up in heavy impasto and alternately glazed and scored over a period of time.

I have been influenced by the contemporary artists Anselm Kiefer and Gerhardt Richter. If you have a moment, take a closer look at the detailed photographs to gain a more tangible sense of the textural qualities in this work.

This painting is currently on exhibition at The Old Fire Engine House in Ely until 28th October along with work from the artists Paul Janssens and Caroline Forward.

Posted by Peter Corr on in Abstraction, Art, cambridgeshire, fenland, Landscape Painting, painter, painting, texture, UK

The River Great Ouse

This is a mixed-media landscape painting on a 100 x 75 cm deep edge canvas. Semi abstract and expressionistic in terms of technique and style, it is based on my day to day experience of living in the dramatic Fenland landscape of East Cambridgeshire in England. The heavy texture of the painting combines gesso, sand, plaster, bitumen and iridescent metallic paint. I wanted to create a work that was almost tangible in terms of its physicality and weight, a painting that could be seen as a piece of sculpture or stoneware ceramic. The materials used are applied with a variety of tools including brushes, palette knives, assorted scrapers and cards. The surface impasto is witness to an extended process of accumulation and sedimentation, very much akin to the layering of earth over time. I have been influenced by the contemporary artists Anselm Kiefer and Gerhardt Richter.

 

landscape painting river texture impasto contemporary
The River Great Ouse

heavy impasto contemporary landscape painting based on the cambridgeshire Fenlands
Detail of The River Great Ouse