As minimum art practice, Robert paints two small (A5) images every day - one in a sketchbook, the other separately on paper.
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At the start of the first lockdown in 2020, Robert began taking daily exercise in Hyde Park and became interested in the marked individuality of the trees. More ....
As minimum art practice, Robert paints two small (A5) images every day - one in a sketchbook, the other separately on paper. The former make up an ever-growing collection of books, while the latter are presented singly or in groups of any size (sometimes as complete installations) based on a module of 14.8 x 21 cm. They might also form the basis for larger paintings in oil.
Individually, the images are, in essence, quick statements of the moment, varying in modality between the figurative, representational or abstract. All explore the use of line, shape and/or colour. Together, they are a celebration of life, and collected over time, represent a visual journal of feelings, thoughts and reactions. Sometimes, more recently, a theme is followed or developed over a few days, or a month so the month’s collection also forms a unified whole or grid. Thus making a day painting for every day.
Robert is also interested in the way parts come together to form wholes, which in turn form parts of a larger whole, just as days become weeks become months become years. The word “Holon,” first coined by Arthur Koestler describes this and, in a sense, also describes Robert’s Day Paintings as “Holons,” while it references aspects of time and memory.
The context of this work has surrealist parallels - in the automatic, uncensored way in which images are generated, in the reference to the unconscious, and in the way images contrast and conflict with each other when brought together in unexpected juxtapositions in the collections. The use of colour and distortion has its roots in Expressionism and Fauvism. The works therefore function on Surrealist, Expressionist, Fauvist, Abstract and (with “Holons,” time, and memory) Conceptual levels.
At the start of the first lockdown in 2020, Robert began taking daily exercise in Hyde Park and became interested in the marked individuality of the trees. He came to identify them with names as they became like friends, and made them the subjects of Day Paintings. These, as “Lockdown Trees,” are dedicated to the trees and wardens of Hyde Park.
This project has continued for more than a year now. He continues to visit “my friends,” deriving fun, enjoyment and comfort from them.
"The seeds of a project grew...
...from a few drawings sketched during a lockdown walk in Hyde Park...
...to a year-long project exploring the myriad textures, colours and personalities of the thousands of trees..."