Artists Blog – Joe Hendry

Last night fellow artistGillian Orr and I attended an exhibition at the “Tall Ship” on the River Clyde in Glasgow.

It was one of those nights when you don’t know what to expect but it was a great hoot: but then, most nights out with Gil are.

Sometimes I am not keen on these things because I detest art snobbery, although I love a good argument with an art snob! I wanted to go to this because I knew one of the organisers and he is a fab chap. I also felt guilty that I had never visited the Tall Ship.

We were a tiny bit disappointed that the event was not hosted on the ship.

This was all turned around though when the head of the trust who was an septegenarian sea expert invited whoever wanted for a guided tour of the “Glenlee”. It really was amazing walking around this ship which had been built around 150 years ago. Well worth a visit, especially to the “poop deck” (yes it did raise a titter) and there was even some nautical art hanging from the walls.

I feel that I might be building up to some water related art.

Working in studios with other artists as well as photographers and framers has exposed me to things which I would never have seen otherwise.

Last week when I was in the framers, the art restorer from the studio next to me was in looking for a frame for a painting which he was working on. The painting was a Joan Eardley original worth over 150k. It was painted on hardboard and I just loved being able to look at it. I remember a teacher at school talking about Joan Eardley and her paintings of Glasgow “weans” but I never really paid that much attention to her landscapes for some reason. The internet is at it’s best when it does that whole “library in your home” thing and I have had a great time being blown away by some of her landscapes. They are some of the most emotive I have seen and there is that tinge of sadness when you look at them as she died young.

Today I passed Brian the restorer as I went to clean my brushes. He was working on a huge canvas of an unknown fishing village on the east coast of Scotland painted at the turn of the last century. The figures in the painting were incredible, I absolutely loved it and Brian was pointing out the Pentimento to me. I had not noticed this until it had been pointed out and then it was very obvious. There are many terms in painting which people don’t know and if you do, you sometimes forget: unless that is you studied the Italian language. Pentimento is when an artist paints over his work and this can later be seen on inspection, sometimes only with x-ray.

When he used this word though, he followed it up with another,sfumato and I was immediately transported back to my art lecturer, George Devlin, who used these words but with a broad Glasgow accent. His best, which reduced most of us to tears (not that anyone was brave enough to get caught by George !) was “Chiarascuro”.

Jeely Piece anyone?

I know a few artists who repeatedly paint over artwork which they have created and it really annoys me! To think that someone took the time to create something and then destroys it in a couple of minutes with a large brush and a pot of black paint just seems wrong.

I have done it myself a couple of times and no more. I have painted a couple of paices in the past few months which have not sold. This is no big deal in the art world and especially not in a recession. I am grateful that I have not really had much of a recesion but I know some other artists have had a really tough time. It’s not necesarily a measure of the artwork. I know some painters whose work is outstanding but they may just not be so great at getting it “out there”

I have been quite harsh with myself but I think it’s because I have painted a couple of pieces which i was very happy with and 3 months on, I still have them. So, today, my painting “Cocktails”, rather than being whitewashed or turned into a blackboard got some additional work on top.

I have some meandering ideas in my head but we will see where she heads….