George Shaw
George Shaw’s realistic depictions of suburban scenes from his childhood in Coventry provide a gritty and interesting take on housing in England. Known for his use of enamels largely the provenance of model makers, this medium dries to a hard, glossy finish which adds a sometimes ghostly appearance to his often sombre paintings.
As well as his paintings he has done a series of Untitled etchings (2005) which often show paths disappearing into the distance. For my Part 4 Assignment I am going to paint a scene along the towpath next to where I work. Consequently Shaw’s compositions in these etchings are a rich source of inspiration.
http://visualarts.britishcouncil.org/collection/artists/shaw-george-1966
As well as these drawings, he has created a series called Scenes from the Passion. Two of the paintings in this series caught my eye; The Path to Pepys Corner and The Path on the Edge.
https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/search/actor:shaw-george-b-1966
It is the realism that I love in Shaw’s work and is something I aspire to. I find this is difficult on the small works that I have done for the exercises and am hoping that a larger canvas will allow more scope for trying this type of painting.
Brian Alfred
http://brianalfred.net/painting
A complete contrast to the work of Shaw, Brian Alfred, and American artist, paints with large, slick, flat areas of colour and yet there is still a level of detail that enables the viewer to understand the scene expressed. He manages to create distance and form using tone and temperature. I was particularly drawn to his Overpass painting. Looking a lot like Spaghetti Junction this will no doubt be a road system in America. As I was walking along the towpath I walked as far as a modern pedestrian bridge which is curved over the path very much like the overpass in Alfred’s painting. He removes a vast amount of superfluous information and yet still manages to capture a credible image.
John Walsom
Googling images of oil paintings of towpaths, I came across this by John Walsom called Molesey Towpath in 2019. I really like the approach that this artist uses. Large expressive brush strokes are used but the use of colour and light create a realistic scene. Another of his paintings which I particularly admire is of St Katharine Docks Reflections. I want to use reflections in the water of my painting and I like the way Walsom has treated them in this painting.
https://www.britishpleinairpainters.co.uk/johnwalsomwga
Reuben Colley
Colley is a British artist who, like George Shaw, paints urban landscapes in a realistic way. I feel that you can see that Shaw has very much influenced this artist. Again during my research I found a couple of paintings by this artist of canals, very much in the style I hope to achieve in my own work; Canal Side Snow and Canal Reflections.
Jan's OCA Painting 1 Blog 