As I have been looking at Lowryâs work which is based around the North of England, I decided to visit an art gallery in a small northern town called Spennymoor and check out some of the local art. I looked at two artists work, and actually got to meet them both and talk about their work with them. The first artist I spoke with was Derek Slater. He had two full rooms in the exhibition full of his work. He mainly works with oil paints on canvas, but some of his pencil sketches were displayed. Most of the work he was exhibiting belonged to a collection based on colliery and mining, which ties in perfectly with the industrial northern England theme Iâm exploring. When asked what his work was about, Slater said âMy work is inspired by my time working in collieries remembering the hazards miners faced while working underground. My ecological paintings come from my concerns about the plight of our planet and the creatures whose existence is treated by man.â. I think the fact that Slater has experienced first hand what life was like working in the mines will definitely bring a sense of depth and real meaning to his work. I certainly think this shows in his work as it strikes an emotional chord upon looking at it.
- âBait Timeâ - Derek Slater
This was one of my favourite paintings of Slaters. Itâs oil on canvas. I have noticed that the colours Slater uses are a ongoing theme throughout this collection, and they tend to be very vibrant which I wouldnât of expected considering the theme of this work. The colours in this painting are mainly shades of a turquoise-blue and a touch of red. These colours are only used in the foreground of the picture, which work well in contrast to the more dull browny colour used in the background. Although the background is duller than the front of the painting, it still has colourful brushstrokes blended in to the brown, the same blue is used, also hits of purple, green and orange. I donât know how Slater managed to make this work as itâs such an odd use of colour but I really feel like itâs a spectacular use of colour, it almost works as shading. I wouldnât say there is much organisation to the colour, mainly because on the wooden panels in the background it seems that random colours have been added into it, and the blue featured on the apparel of the men is loosely blended with other shades. But this is not to say I donât admire his use of colour, as I think the colour in this painting is one of its best features. I think the use of bold colour and the thick brushstrokes compliment each other, and it probably wouldnât have been so effective without one another. I think Slater has the balance between the two spot on, and not many artists tend to use bright colours with thick brushstrokes as it can be a bit over powering, but he seems to have perfected that combination in this painting.
One of the things I like most about this painting is the texture. There is so much going on in this painting with colour and brushstrokes and tone, and the smooth texture finishes it all off perfectly. I think if the surface of the painting was rough it would take the attention away from all the important elements. The texture is very smooth and lustre, and I think this compliments the thick brush strokes quite well, in the sense that it makes the brush strokes look soft, almost like they melt into each other. It creates a lovely, dreamy effect.
I think this is a very atmospheric painting. The colours and the meaning behind the painting all contribute to creating a melancholy effect. Looking at this painting made me feel rather sombre, as I had never given much thought to how life must have been working in the mines, mainly because Iâm of an age that means I was too young to see how it affected people. I was told by my dad when we visited the gallery that my grandfather actually worked in the mines for a while when he was young, which I didnât previously know, so I think it hit home for me a bit when I imagined my grandfather working in mines. He had said to my dad that working in the mines was the worst experience of his life, and my grandfather was a pretty tough cookie so it really made me realise how bad it was. Itâs an unsettling thought to imagine people working in mines in such conditions. I love when a painting can bring you to such deep thought so I really appreciated seeing Derek Slaterâs work and hearing first hand from him what it was like to work in a colliery. I feel as though I learnt a lot from visiting this exhibition.
The second artists work I looked at was Tim Sutherlandâs. His work includes a lot of paintings, and some photography. The topic of his exhibition was dramatically different from Derek Slaters and I enjoyed the contrast between the two. I want to attach a few photos of his work underneath as I just loved all of his work and I canât seem to narrow it down to one painting that I favoured the most.
- âEternity Callingâ - Tim SutherlandÂ
- âMorven-Caithnessâ -Â Tim Sutherland
 - âWe Simply Cannot Stayâ - Tim Sutherland
- âNight Gardenâ-Â Tim Sutherland
This was my favourite painting of Timâs in the exhibition. Itâs an acrylic on canvas. The mood of the painting drew me in straight away. I love how the painting is clearly set at night time and the colours used reflect this perfectly. Itâs almost as if the house in the centre is aglow in contrast to the dark sky and surroundings. I think the use of colour over all in this painting is great, the only colours used are blue, and a touch of red. The different shades of blue ranging from a pale blue/white to a dark midnight blue/black fade into each other wonderfully. There are also hints of a grey-blue included in places. I like the shapes in this painting as they are not 100% realistic, the house is more of a naive shape than life like, which brings a certain sense of playfulness and comfort to the painting in my opinion. It reminds me of a dream land that I just want to step into and explore. Although the colours in this painting are very much cold colours, I think the painting has a real sense of warmth to it, it seems welcoming, like a place I could envision myself in. I love the use of red in this painting. Itâs a very scarce and subtle use of red, as itâs only on the deer, and a few flowers. I think it definitely finishes the painting off nicely, and when I thought about it, I couldn't imagine another colour which would have went as well as red does. Itâs a lovely finishing touch, and I love how the deer is made to stand out against the background setting.
In terms of shapes, I notice a lot of circles and curves. Mainly in the trees, but even the little white balls of glowing sky in the background. I can see more curves in the grass in the bottom left, and the shading of the painting on the house, and the hedge in front of the house. Also in the sky above. There are a few circular boulder looking objects at the front of the other building in the painting. To me, the circles tie in with the softness and warmth of the painting. There are no harsh edges on circles, and they are a very smooth shape, where as if there were a lot of square or triangle shapes, it would seem a lot harsher due to the sharp edges. The use of circles also reminds me of planet earth, and I think this painting is a perfect representation of humans and nature at work together to create perfect harmony and beauty. I remember this painting being quite big, which I enjoyed because I got to explore the paintings details more than I would if it were a small canvas.
As I got to meet Tim at the exhibition, I was able to ask him a few questions about his work. The thing that has seemed to stick with me the most is about this painting. He told me that this is a real house, and itâs a family members house that he had visited and decided to paint. It amazes me that this is a real place, this painting creates more of an abstract place, like a dreamland, when in fact itâs a real house that exists somewhere in the world. I love how Tim decided to portray this setting, he made it look magical.
I love being able to meet artists and ask them about their work, and just get a chance to talk to them. Artists are always very inspiring people who have a lot of advice and time for people aspiring to be creative. The artists I met at this exhibition were all lovely people who took the time to talk to me and answer my questions which I really appreciated, and I certainly loved all the work I had seen.
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