This weeks work...

Amidst the back breaking building site work I have been able to complete a new work which I present below.

I have two further pieces on the go and I hope to have these completed soon as well as a feature on two excellent Sculptors.

Thanks again for all the support and feedback - this keeps me going during the long days of wheelbarrow loads and digging!!!

'Storm Coming In'
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On the wall today

Thank you to all my customers who have made the start to 2011 an excellent one and for the positive feedback regarding my new blogsite.

Some of you are aware that to support my desire to paint full time I have been working on a construction site for a friend to subsidise this desire and due to the elongated muscles - aches and pains I have had a barren 10 days regarding producing new work!!!

However I now have some time to devote to my passion and I present a new piece 'Sea Break'. I continue to try new styles to keep up my development and again I thank those who have sent me positive and encouraging words.

Sea Break - after a trip to Bempton Cliffs - East Yorkshire
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The Six Bells memorial statue

Every now and again you discover something which is exceptional that is the product of a creative genius.

Whilst watching BBC Four a few weeks ago we found ourselves viewing a programme which turned out to be an absolute gem albeit that the background to the documentary was one of profound tragedy.

The programme recorded during the early part of 2010 featured renowned sculptor Sebastian Boyesen who was commissioned to design and build the new Six Bells Miners Memorial to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the 1960 Six Bells Colliery disaster. It covered the assembly of the final piece both at his workshop studio and at its final resting place at the site of the Arael Griffin pit at the Six Bells Colliery.

The images below are to introduce you to the 12 metre high memorial statue and I suggest you click on the link  below them to learn more about the disaster and the statue which I hope you will agree is a stunningly appropriate memorial to the 45 men killed by an explosion at the mine on the 28th of June 1960

http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/arts/sites/six-bells-miners-memorial/



Margaret Mellis...'simply too good to burn'

Margaret Mellis, who died aged 95 in 2009, was a pivotal figure in modernist British art - she led the migration to St Ives in Cornwall from 1939 and was later a mentor to the teenage Damien Hirst.

Since around 1978 she had been making remarkable assemblages from found wood such as parts of boats - beach huts and furniture. She described them as relief constructions and were more often than not the result of long and thoughtful meditation,guided by her preoccupation with colour and form.



Rust & Yellow 1990

Having only discovered her work which includes collage and paintings last year,I was immediately drawn to her abstract constructions and set out to emulate her approach. This fortunately coincided with my Father in Law demolishing his 30 year old timber garage and at once I was presented with a rich source of material.

Not only did it take time to understand the process that Mellis may have followed - one cannot just throw bits together and end up with a convincing piece - one does have to be prompted by the pieces and a notion of how they may interpret an idea.

For instance below is my current pile of found wood pieces which have been sitting in my studio for at least two months - I swear each time I look at them they tell me a different story - each time they either agree with my idea of what I want them to become or as they do at the moment they say nothing and revert back to - well just a pile of wood!



Help me Margaret!



Then suddenly something seems to happen and the pieces make sense and go together quickly. The pieces  I did complete last year were well received and now - well now as a friend of mine said "Richard,I walk past a skip and see firewood - you walk past and see art".

I find myself enjoying the process and also the challenge of bringing together material that as individual pieces would have just disappeared with time and give them a whole new lifespan and meaning which is a million miles away from their original purpose.

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For Sale - for details please click here

http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/richard-witham-art

 

 

For those who would like to find out more about Margaret Mellis please go to either of the following links 

 http://www.margaretmellis.com

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2009/mar/21/obituary-margaret-mellis

Peter Lanyon - Michael Canney and the dream........

When I started painting two years ago a legacy of my years in commerce was that I set myself a goal. This was a simple goal. One day, I said to myself,I would paint like Peter Lanyon and Michael Canney and sell my work through the Austin Desmond Gallery,Bloomsbury,London.



Coastal Evening - Richard Witham - SOLD





My Mother said 'well if you are going to have a dream may as well make it an impossible one'!

So here is my version of 'walking in the footsteps of giants'. Here in my blog I can present work by both Lanyon and Canney and also Richard Witham!

Peter Lanyon www.bookroomartpress.co.uk/biographies/artist/31

Here I bow to superior knowledge and refer you to the site above for more information regarding the artist   For my part it was only when I saw his paintings in real life that the impact of their size - colour -and movement hit me.





Headwind

                                                                                                             

Like most artwork although one can appreciate it via books and other media it will only resonate with you when you are able to stand in front of it. A little like a blind date - no matter how much you communicate on line or by phone - nothing prepares you for the truth that will reveal itself when you physically meet for the first time!

Sarascinesco Series

Unlike Peter Lanyon I have always felt that Michael Canney has perhaps not gained the befitting widespread recognition his work deserves. The work and the importance of the art of the Modern British artists is somewhat of a 'secret garden' affair and is missed by the wider less knowledgeable general public.



Michael Canney

Again I would refer you to a greater source of knowledge that you can find at this website http://www.michaelcanney.co.uk/ should you like to discover more about the man and his artwork.

Dark Coast

Since discovering Michael Canney's work I have found his work inspirational through its diversity which becomes apparent when you view his gallery of artwork on this site.

To view my own artwork please click here

http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/richard-witham-art