Oil Monotypes

Whilst I staying with my 'Irish' contingent in Southern Ireland my son-in-law gave me a book to read.  I took it back to my hotel and became so enthralled that I read and made notes until the early hours of the morning. The full content of the notes are on file.  The quote below is by Mike Koostachin, Cree, Cunack, taken from the book titled "We Are One - A Celebration of Tribal Peoples" created and edited by Joanna Eede (2009).

"The trees hold a very special meaning and purpose to all living things.  They have provided medicines for our sick and the material to build our homes. They feed our fires so that we could cook our food and warm our children.  They shade us from the sun, shelter the small animals and birds and most importantly purify the air we breathe and the water we drink.  In return they must be treated with kindness and respect".

This is just one of of many quotes that reiterate and reinforce the importance, significance in relation to indigenous cultures who have survived over millennia on the basis of harmony with nature and its society.  The earth is our foundation, the source of our spirituality as well as our historian and educator.

"I do not think the measure of civilisation is how tall its buildings of concrete are, but rather how well its people have learnt to relate to their environment and fellow man"

Sun Bear, Chippea, USA.

Another day in the studio at home producing three hand lifted oil monotypes, two on Japanese Sumi paper and one on Japanese rice paper.  Introduced my wonderful variegated wooden comb to make marks on the first image.  This is often a spontaneous gesture that once implemented would be difficult to remove.  A good variety of marks in all images.  In the second image focus was on mark making without strong contrast to create a light, more airy interpretation. 

Although the marks are no made purely by chance there still remains elements as one cannot predict the outcome.  There are so many factors involved, consistency of oil, amount of turps used, strength of marks made, pressure applied, reaction of paper - all elements of 'chance' which I feel are both important and relevant in my approach to work, if not crucial. I acknowledge the decorative elements within the images, but is not nature decorative, does it not embellish and provide a rich tapestry if you have the heart to feel and the eyes to see?  It remains a rich typography of the spirit.

This stylised form of the oak tree fascinates me.  It echoes an element of the Japanese sun design and I feel that I have created some perspective in this image.  The tree in the foreground was added after the print was lifted and I had reservations initially as the brush and hand produce a strong contrast to the printed area which often appears at odds and isolated.  Initially, I perceived it as a failure, but on revisiting I consider it works! The image portrays the varying shapes of oak trees which is dictated by their environment and exposure to light.  I have seen oak trees in the woods near Longleat, Wiltshire which present themselves like tall pine trees as they grow long trunks whilst reaching for the light.

I have now produced sufficient 'painterly' monotypes to experiment with presentation concepts in the Flexi Space at Dartmouth Avenue next weekend. These will be recorded and placed on file for reference.