Hat, camera, Saint-Exupéry

*

Hat, Camera, oil on card, 13 x 11.8 cm

There's an element in this field of quase-abstraction which I am pursuing, which is involved with visual puzzles, the relationship between titles and images, and our credibility. 

These aspects of picture making are delightfully conveyed by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's famous picture of an elephant being swallowed by a Boa Constrictor, from Le Petit Prince. The picture at first appears to the narrator's childhood interlocutors to be a hat:

From Le Petit Prince, 1945

*

A tin box

*

A tin box, oil on card, 14 x 12.5 cm

This was painted a couple of weeks ago.

It would be nice, I think to be able to apply this method of depiction to the description of landscape, using fat black lines to delineate motifs, but the flat light of Brazil seems to invalidate such an approach.

Much of these simple pictures is about the enjoyment of gesture. It's a very simple approach and I like it: it refreshens.

*

Pochades from a cruise to Buenos Aires

*

 Santos- a ship, oil on card, 12 x 15 cm   SOLD

 Santos- the port, oil on card, 18.5 x 22 cm   SOLD

Santos, oil on card, 16 x 22 cm   SOLD

These were painted on a somewhat exhausting boat trip down to Buenos Aires (which has a fine collection of pictures).

The most successful were from Santos, in Brazil, which is full of splendid ships. I painted from the deck of the ship which gave excellent views. I could happily have spent a week working there.

*

Many thanks to John Collins for his generous hospitality. Collins is a fine companion. 

Myself and the redoubtable John Collins.

*

Blocks, Coney Island- framed

*

Blocks, Coney Island - framed

*

Kensington Gardens framed

*

Kensington Gardens, Winter, 14 x 13 cm Framed       SOLD

*

La Paz, shops- framed

*

La Paz, shops- framed       SOLD

The painting has been framed to include the carrier. 

The effect is interesting and elegant, I think.

*

A little brush

*

A little brush, oil on card, 10.3 x 11 cm -  -unavailable

Everyday objects can give tremendous reassurance, especially those which, like treen, seem to be crafted for the express pleasure of being held. Such items gain a patina form their users, and with this act as biographies.

Transferal of such objects from one owner to another is, consequently, something to be undertaken with care, as the object will carry with it both positive and negative forces. This is why wearing second-hand clothing, especially shoes and hats, can be dangerous as this can lead to profound personality changes.

*