Expressive landscape

Throughout part 4 of the Painting 1Module I have been collecting views of the landscape around my village in sketchbooks and via photos. This together with my research into other artist's work and associated gallery visits have provided a wealth of images and memories from which I could draw on for this exercise. I was pleased that I had left this exercise until after painting a rural landscape and the exercise with using photos and sketches because I had been able to expand my awareness of landscapes and their representation by other artists.

I was inspired by two artists whose works were displayed in the Tate Britain exhibition "Looking at the view", i.e. Spenser Gore (The Beanfield, Letchworth 1912) and John Nash (The Cornfield 1918). These together with works by David Hockney I had viewed at his exhibition at the RA were in my mind as I approached this exercise.

Whilst preparing sketch studies based on local views, I was introduced to the work of Ton Schulten by my wife through her interest in textiles. Although not directly inspired by Schulten, I was interested in his use of colour, imaginative approach and simplification/abstraction of shapes. 

Going through my sketchbook images I selected two that provided most inspiration for my work on expressive landscapes. One image is a view looking away from Friendless Wood to the NW and one looking back in a SE direction towards Friendless Wood with power lines in the distance. 

I wanted to express the curvaceous and bright nature of my local landscape. Even though it was winter-time, new crops were starting to sprout green and chalk lightened ploughed fields reflected the weak winter sun. I began by experimenting with a series of thumbnail sketches trying out different degrees of curvaceousness and some colour variations.

In order to encourage a simplified approached focused on principal shapes, I prepared a study in collage using blocks of colour cut from old magazines.

I transferred this concept onto an acrylic paper support exaggerating the curves of the fields either side of the valley. I added some colour variation to express both tonal and vegetational differences. I was quite pleased with the finished effect although I did add more detail than originally intended principally in the form of the tree in the middle distance and texture in the foreground. By lightening and cooling the hues as they expressed areas that receded into the distance I believe I managed to create a feeling of perspective whilst the style was more relaxed and expressive than my perspectives of street scenes in earlier exercises.