2010 has got off to an energetic start.The snow on the peaks opposite my studio has prompted a series of 5 large canvasses. I prepared each with a background of black acrylic before starting work with the oils and have kept to the very limited palette I promised myself at the end of last year. I wanted a stark, rugged quality to each piece, concentrating on the summits of the mountains where the snow etches each crag and fissure. I deliberately kept the skies a very dark blue black so that the mountains themselves are the focus of attention.
From here, where I look at the range of the Pyrenees across the valley of the Tet river, the mountains are picture postcard sculptural, stretching away across the horizon for 30 kilometres or more. Up close they can be dark and brooding at times, with that latent power that echoes their original thrust up through the surface of the earth. I wanted to capture some of that power in the work.
So here are two of the finished pieces - one measuring 100 x 80cms and the other 100 x 100cms.
And this one below is a work in progress of the peak of the Canigou mountain opposite my home:
After this I may have to go back to an orgy of colour ! In the meantime, one patient dog has spent long hours in that basket under my desk in the studio!
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