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| Grand River 2018 acrylic on canvas 100 x 100 cm |
The final two large paintings were resolved over several days whilst working on the series as a whole. I felt intense involvement at this stage of the project and felt instinctively as it progressed, that the work had gone somewhere. Whether that remains to be seen is of course another matter as only time can tell if a painting is worth anything at all. I knew when I started this series and particularly the two larger paintings that I had again, whilst working on this residency, put myself at a place of unknown destination. Maybe it comes with a desire to make the best work one has ever made, exceed previous. When I started the residency and again when I began the paint studies, there is a trepidation; it is the unknown. This element of 'what on earth am I doing' has to be there otherwise you are not really painting anything worth while at all.
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| River Dream 2018 acrylic on canvas 75 x 100 cm |
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| detail River Dream 2018 acrylic on canvas 75 x 100 cm |
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| detail River Dream 2018 acrylic on canvas 75 x 100 cm |
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| detail River Dream 2018 acrylic on canvas 75 x 100 cm |
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| detail Grand River 2018 acrylic on canvas 100 x 100 cm |
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| detail Grand River 2018 acrylic on canvas 100 x 100 cm |
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| detail Grand River 2018 acrylic on canvas 100 x 100 cm |
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| Blanch Point 2018 acrylic on canvas 35 x 45.5 cm |
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| Ngankipari 2018 acrylic on canvas 35 x 45.5 cm |
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| Perkana 2018 acrylic on canvas 35 x 45.5 cm |
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| Blewit Springs 2018 acrylic on canvas 20.5 x 25.5 cm |
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| Willunga 2018 acrylic on canvas 20.5 x 25.5 cm |
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| Tuit Yellow2018 acrylic on canvas 20.5 x 25.5 cm |
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| Ngaltinga 2018 acrylic on canvas 20.5 x 25.5 cm |
Exhibition statement:
Light, Surface and Colour
Evolved in direct response to the Onkaparinga River
estuary, this series of ‘scape’ paintings explore through
colour, ways of seeing and recalling landscape.
In preparation for the Sauerbier House artist in residence program,
Smith arrived with a number of agendas. These included exploring
landscape and place, the use of acrylic paint and the possibilities of
joint creative intervention. Connections and contrasts to his home
region of North Wales and particularly the place of Llanfairfechen, the
original name of Sauerbier House, made for a potent mix of contexts
from which to embark.
Working at Sauerbier House for the focussed and uninterrupted
residency, the Ngangkiparri River and the Willunga Basin facilitated a
new departure in Smith’s painting. Visual exploration evolved from
‘looking at’ to a focused studio based enquiry, assimilating
experiences
of being on, moving over and thinking about place in relation to
making. Although familiar with a home national park landscape, the
challenge to respond to Sauerbier House and the surrounding areas
over three months has resolved new departures.
For Smith, this series of ‘scapes’, (involving multiple facets of
landscape) evolved through both exploratory studies, (an approach
which is different and challenging in terms of previous investigations)
and in the production of a definitive exhibition. The work developed
through specific stages; objective drawing on site, to look and
familiarise, larger charcoal studies of trees and rocks seen in the
Onkaparinga River National Park and finally, deconstruction of form to
get the essence of place. Materially, the study sheets (series of 9)
contributed to developing a greater understanding of the acrylic paint
colour systems. This in turn has led to a series of smaller paintings
produced on canvases brought across from Wales and the two larger
works painted on surfaces selected on site.
Crucial to the new series, Smith reached a point in his investigations
where he desired a greater flexibility in the handling of both paint
and
form. In embracing the Australian acrylic paint systems, varying in
viscosity, spectrum and value, inclusive of fluorescent hues and by
applying less overt geometry in the realisation of a work, this vision
was
accomplished. The final paintings on canvas demonstrate the shift of
Smith’s painting language to show new levels of vibrancy and
expressive application.
Painting small and large, on the floor and wall, and at all times in
series, (working on all paintings at the same time), the conclusive
‘scapes’ have evolved as a definitive statement on Smith's experience
of place through colour, surface and light.
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| Review of nine 35 x 45.5 cm paintings riverside veranda 26.11.18 |
Supported by an International Opportunities Fund Grant from Wales Arts International
