Charles Smith maritime painter extraordinaire

Charles Smith (1913-2003) was a maritime painter who was a member of the Royal Society of Artists and The Wapping Group of Artists of whom he was president between 1987-1992. The group was formed in 1946 and continues to be one of the oldest working groups of artists in the country. Originally set up to illustrate London's vibrant docklands this has extended to include the length and breadth of the Thames and the land surrounding it. Further information about this group can be found on their website at:

 http://thewappinggroupofartists.co.uk/index.php

The paintings I have seen of Smith are almost exclusively of a maritime nature. He had a studio in Sussex and painted well into his 80's. This painting was completed in 1999 so was one of his later works. What we like so much about this painting is its impressionistic nature and yet it retains a sense of realism. This picture is a 'sea' of blue and though the water remains calm the viewer is drawn to the clouds as they move across the sky bringing drama to an otherwise tranquil scene.

Speelman Mahlangu

This is a fascinating picture by Speelman Mahlangu (1958-2004) who was a black South African artist. It's a picture that you can see something different in each time you look at it and seems able to evoke both the ancient and the futuristic at the same time.

It conjures up feelings of life, evolution of birth and re-birth. Which came first the chicken or the egg?

'Speelman’s painting incorporate symbols and patterns from Ndebele murals and Egyptian hieroglyphics. They often describe things that one cannot see but can only feel. His themes include an exploration and spiritual mythical ideas of the world to come.' (www.henrytaylorgallery.co.za/artists/81-speelman-mahlangu.html)

Speelman Mahlangu 1993

Jerzy Faczynski

Picked up this painting recently by Jerzy Faczynski (1917-1995) a Polish born British based artist who lived and worked for a time in Liverpool and painted and sketched street scenes including churches using a variety of media. He also designed book covers for Penguin notably Pnin by Nabakov in 1960.

What we love about this picture is that it has a spooky, magical story type feel to it straight out of the Brothers Grimm. What's in those woods and where is that path going? You can imagine it in a story book or as a still from an animated film. Fabulous.

Jerzy Faczynski

Artists prints 2

Historically many artists have provided original prints to illustrate books. Known as book plates and often originating from etchings, engravings, wood and lino cuts they have become very collectable works of art in their own right. We have examples from the 1930's by two artists who were renowned for their book plates.

Clare Leighton (1898-1989) worked in wood and is generally regarded as being one of the finest exponents of wood engraving/wood cuts of the 20th century. She also used to write books as well as illustrating them and is particularly known for her work depicting rural life and the harsh nature of the work that men and women often had to endure. One of her most famous and enduring works is a book from 1935 entitled Four Hedges-A Gardener's Chronicle which she wrote and illustrated with prints from wood engravings. Perhaps the most well known of Leighton's images, this picture is of women collecting apples. What stands out is the sense of movement but also of how hard the work is as illustrated by the woman carrying the apples in her apron. 

Clare Leighton from Four Hedges - 1935

A similar picture is this one of women picking fruit. Again she depicts how physical this work can be but also of their total concentration on the matter in hand. In both pictures the faces of the workers cannot be seen and there is no communication between them. A desire to 'do a good job' or the dehumanising nature of work?

Clare Leighton from Four Hedges - 1935

A second artist known for his book plates is Australian artist George David Perrottet (1890-1971) who signed his work GDP. He worked in lino cutting and etching and was known for illustrating  an early version of the novel The Blue Lagoon. Our print is a lino cut believed to be from the 1930's entitled Past the Park and is of a limited edition of 75. It is unclear if this was a book plate or stand alone print but the picture conjures up an image of a developing suburbia with the straight lines of the houses, walls and fences bringing both a modern look and neatness to the scene.

Artists prints 1

One of the most fascinating aspects of collecting art is discovering the many different techniques used by artists to create pictures and in particular the methods used to create prints. By prints I don't mean the mass-produced reproductions of Van Gogh's and Monet's that adorn many a wall but those pictures that have been printed by the artist from their own design whether etched onto a metal plate, drawn onto a stone or carved from wood or lino. 

Don't get me wrong reproductions have their place and it's right to see these wonderful paintings being replicated for a wide audience to get to know and appreciate and important that they are remembered and enjoyed by new generations of people for whom it will be their first introduction to art. But it is the craft of the artist as printer that is so captivating. That the picture you see in front of you started life with a piece of lino, stone or metal and has gone through a whole range of techniques to produce a work of art that is a revelation and one every bit as enthralling as the ceation of an oil or watercolour.

Indeed many artists known primarily for their painting from Rembrandt to Picasso have also produced prints. Sometimes the artist will work with somebody who is a printing specialist but for many they undertake the whole process from conception to the end product.

Usually the artist will produce a limited number of these prints, which makes them very collectable. The fewer in the edition the more sought after and valuable they are. Sometimes the edition can be as few as 10 or 25 but more often between 100 and 250. What is intriguing about these prints is that although they are printed from the same original piece, be it a plate or piece of wood, no two prints are exactly the same as each time ink is re-applied there can be a variation in the colour. 

Joan Hodgkiss does her own printing from etching onto a metal plate and produces colourful pictures of landscapes, trees, bird and flowers influenced by her Suffolk surroundings. Her website gives a fascinating insight into the etching and printing process and can be found at www.joanhodgkiss.com We have a print of hers entitled Benacre from a print run of 50 she produced in 1983 that really depicts the intricacies and creativity of the natural world she portrays.   

Benacre by Joan Hodgkiss 1983

Another artist who was known for his printing was Stan Rosenthal who died in 2012. His work was characterised by wonderfully bright colours particularly of the South Wales and Sussex coastlines. He employed a number of printing techniques but the print we have is a screen print (or serigraph) of Porthgain Harbour in Pembrokeshire, South Wales from an edition of 250. A screen print uses a screen usually of silk or nylon through which ink is pushed onto the paper with stencils used to block out the ink. This can then be applied several times with different colours and stencils to build up the picture. 

Porthgain Harbour by Stan Rosenthal

What we love about this picture is the vividness of the colours and the contrast this produces particularly of the sun soaked sky and blue sea. 

The third example and another favourite again due to its vivid colours is Le Printemps a lithographic print  by French artist Andre Minaux (1923-1986). Minaux was a renowned lithographer and this print is from an edition of 150 believed to be from the 1970's.

Lithography is a process where the artist draws an image on a flat stone or metal plate with a greasy or oily substance that the ink, when applied, will stick to whereas the other areas repel the ink. 

Le Printemps by Andre Minaux

Like the previous print we love this picture because of the striking colours that burst into the picture like the arrival of the Spring that it portrays.
           

Japanese wood block prints

One of the fascinating things about collecting art is the different media artists use to express themselves. We have become very fond of different types of prints that artists have created from lino to etchings and screen to woodblock or woodcut prints. Japanese artists have a tradition of woodblock printing and we have collected several from different periods. The oldest is from the late 19th century by Toshikata and is a hand-coloured print called 'A spring walk' from a series entitled 36 elegant beauties. 

Toshikata

The picture is quite delicate as often the prints were on very fine paper like rice paper but the colours that are hand painted remain really vivid and stand out against the black and white background. 

The Heron Girl by Suzuki Harunobu is an example of Nishiki-e, which is multi-coloured woodblock printing. Previously printing was in black and white with hand colouring but this new method saw woodblocks developed for each colour that allowed them to be overlaid.

   

Heron Girl bySuzuki Harunobu

Although the artist created the image in the 18th century this print is more recent however it is unclear when it was created as woodblocks are often re-carved from time to time with a series printed. Nevertheless the colours in this print are stand out and true to his original intention particularly the use of red that characterises his work. 

   

Painting of Sitges by Spanish artist Angel Badia Camps

Picked up this fabulous little oil painting yesterday of Sitges near Barcelona. Painted on canvas and signed Camps we believe its by Spanish artist Angel Badia Camps who was well known in the 1960's as an illustrator for comic books. More can be found on this work at;

http://todaysinspiration.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/angel-badia-camps-without-doubt-top.html

Sitges by Angel Badia Camps

The colours on this painting are wonderful and evoke the fishing village Sitges must have been in the 1960's. At the time it was a place that attracted many artists and writers and became a focus for the counter culture against Franco's dictatorship. A marvellous find.