Well, wonder no more. Here we have “From Van Gogh to Vettriano – Hidden Gems From Private Collections,” Aberdeen Art Gallery’s newest exhibition, which opened last week, and it is one of the finest I’ve seen in the city.  Its curator, Jennifer Melville and her colleagues are to be congratulated not only on cultivating their relationships with the city’s more prosperous collectors, persuading them to loan their treasures for this prestigious exhibition, but also for their choice of works which they’ve brought together.

Here we have pieces from the late nineteenth century to the late twentieth, from France, Scotland and the rest of the UK, and beyond. The popular and familiar schools are well represented it is true: the  impressionists;  The Glasgow boys; the Scottish Colourists;  but the exhibition is much wider than that -  and it is that breadth of scope, mixing less-well known names with the familiar that gives this real appeal. Nor does not lack depth either: half a dozen Joan Eardleys; two excellent Stanley Spencers; three darkly-humorous  Edward Burras; three Peploes and so on.

We enter to find a  piece by Van Gogh, who lends him name to the exhibition, here represented by a chalk and pencil double portrait of 1882, and close by we see works by Monet, Pisarro amd Matisse. The curators are to be congratulated by their taking advantage of the gallery’s own holdings to show pieces beside items from the collection.

Beside these in the first room of three, we find some striking late 19th century Scottish and UK works: two fine pieces by Sir George Clausen, two striking portraits of young boys by Edward Stott and Walter Langley, a fine portrait in pastels by EA Walton, and two exceptional pictures by artists to whose works I had not been previously much exposed: Alexander Mann (The Gleaners) and  Albert Chevallier Tayler (Quiet Moments), both from 1889. The former retains a vitality which belies its age,  and in its tonality and use of colour somehow exudes a contemporary air.

Hung beside two excellent paintings by EA Hornel, one of which I believe I’ve seen before, there are two others by one of my favourite Scottish Artists – John Quinton  Pringle; one a portrait and one a pastoral scene. These are wonderful examples of his fine craft and his highly individual approach. It would have been nice to place his “Curing Station, Whalsay Shetland” of 1921, from the permanent collection next to these for comparison.

As we move to the second room of the exhibition we find a number of works by the Scottish Colourists: three  still lifes by Peploes – all of high quality – and two by JD Fergusson including a very fine small expressive french townscape, “Boulevard St Michel” (1907)  almost certainly an alla prima piece painted on a panel to fit his pochade (one example of which is to be found in the Fergusson Gallery.  In “Beach at Largo” by George L Hunter we find another small jewel of plein aire painting – with strong colours and a sense of rapidly-applied fluid strokes of paint. Finally, we find a magnificent Iona Landscape by Caddell – as fine as anything in the solo exhibition currently on in Edinburgh (until 18th March 2012).

Here, too you will find two small still life works by Georges Braque – from either end of his working life, and the splendid group portrait by Henri Matisse:” Le Lecon Du Piano” (1923) which is similar to the work “Pianist and Checker Players”  in the National Gallery of Art Washington.  “Le Lecon Du Piano”  has been on loan to Aberdeen Art Gallery for a few months, so regular visitors may already be familiar with it.

However, the four standout pieces, for me, in this room are from perhaps generally less well-known artists.

• Sir Stanley Cursiter’s “Sensation of Crossing The Street” painted in Edinburgh in 1913 in the Vorticist style, full of dynamic movement, 45 degree angles and strong patterns, is an exceptional piece which requires close and prolonged viewing to absorb the energy and dynamism of the painting.
• Mark Gertler’s “Portrait of Natalie Denny” (1928) which  is used for the exhibition’s posters the catalogue cover, is splendid portrait: sensuous, soft and rich in its depiction of the sitter and her surroundings.
• Bernard Meninsky’s “Lovers on a Beach” c.1947 is a simple pen and ink and body colour piece which uses elongated and distorted forms to depict the gentle embrace of the sailor and his lover on the foreshore. The forms are solid and their pose both tender and yet somehow sad.
• Tristram Hillier’s “December Sunset” (1946) is a small jewel  of a painting (only 16 x 25cm) depicting a tranquil landscape rendered flawlessly in oils with all the skill of a miniaturist. It hangs next to a fine tempera painting by Edward Wadsworth who was his mentor and from whom he learned his technique.

The final room of the exhibition opens with skillful drawing of 1944 by Lucien Freud, “Boy on a sofa”. While the painterly technique of later years may be absent, the scrutiny of the subject, the directness of the exchanged gazes and the capturing of the essence of  the sitter are all in evidence.

Nearby there hangs an early abstract piece by Patrick Heron, “Abstract: 1952 – August” when he was just starting out in his approach, and a striking portrait by Frank Auerbach, “Head of Helen Gillespie 1963-4″which with displays his trademark obsessive overpainting, resulting in a piece that is as much sculpture as oil painting.

Also worthy of attention are the portrait of Craigie Aitchison by Michael Andrews (1964-8), to me much more captivating than the work on display by Aitchison himself,  and the pastel portrait “Marynka Smoking”  (1980) by RB Kitaj.

However the room is dominated by the work of three artists:

•  Joan Eardley, is represented by half-dozen works, all of which are of high standard, but none more so than “Andrew With A Comic” (1955) and “Children in a Backstreet Glasgow” (1959) which with its dominant red hues shines out amongst the darker, gloomier representations of Glasgow street life.
• Peter Howson’s “The last Supper” (1999) towers above all other works, by its physical size alone. Like many of Howson’s works it demonstrates both humour and grotesque qualities. Originally painted as a commission for the National Portrait Gallery, it depicts Jeremy Isaacs as the central  ‘Jesus’ figure surrounded by twelve disciples. The work was rejected and bought by an Aberdeen collector. I recall its display in the Carby Art Gallery in Aberdeen shortly after its purchase, amongst a large group of works by Howson.
• Lastly, “The Singing Butler” by Jack Vettriano (1992) concludes the exhibition, and gives the exhibition its title.  Vettriano’s work splits the opinions of art lovers like no other.  That he has enjoyed such commercial success has, I feel, shown how loved his work is by the general public yet has made him an outsider to the art establishment.  While I would not say that I am a fan of his work, I do appreciate the skill in his figurative painting, and his original approach and view of the world he paints.

In conclusion this is an exhibition not to be missed. It offers a unique insight into the private collections of Aberdeen’s collectors which, as far as I know, is unparalleled in recent years. If I could spirit one away to hang on my own walls which would it be? I think it would have to be the Cursiter for its originality, and freshness, or perhaps one of the smallest pictures – the Fergusson “Boulevard St Michel” as a perfect example of both plein aire painting and that artist’s economy of approach in capturing a street scene.

That Aberdeen Art Gallery attracted 6,000 visitors to this in its first week is a great achievement and can only serve to heighten art appreciation (and buying) in the North East.

(c) Ian Watt

Feb 2011

 The exhibition runs to 14th April 2012

Since I retired from my job as a Primary School Head Teacher my skills and enthusiasm have improved considerably and I have been lucky enough to sell about a dozen of my works although I have never yet exhibited. I have also been given two commissions by people who have seen my work in my home.

Like many amateur artists I started painting with watercolours and still return to those for sheer pleasure. At a portrait painting workshop in the Art Gallery with Kelly Anne Cairns I discovered the joys of oil painting and for a while this became my preferred medium. I am now trying to develop a much looser style of working using mixed media and am enjoying being more expressive.

I enjoy experimenting in all media. I particularly like working in oil and acrylic, applying the paint with large brushes, pallette knives or whatever else comes to hand. I aim for a loose, semi-abstract result in landscape and still life.

I also enjoy working in pen and ink and try to balance the control of that medium with a free, painterly style.

Earlier this year the committee and members of Forecourt Art Group were elated when they found out that they’d secured partial funding from Aberdeen City Council to run an exhibition of works by their members and invited guests.

After some research they hit on using a vacant shopping unit in the Academy Shopping Centre as a city centre location for the show. After negotiations with Apardion Management Limited, who run the centre, their written booking was accepted. Apardion’s representative confirmed to the group in several telephone conversations that it had been granted the use of the unit for a week in November.

Ian Watt, President of Forecourt said, “The members were excited. 31 of them signed up to take part – which is the most anyone can remember exhibiting at a single show – and they were all busy painting new pictures, and preparing and framing their works to go on sale. We also had contacted potential guest artists – professionals who were keen to support the group and show their works with us. We anticipated there being over 200 works on display during the week.”

Then the group received the devastating news that their booking was not to be honoured. Just five weeks before they were due to move in, Apardion contacted the club to say that landlords of the shopping centre had negotiated a five year lease on three units in the centre and that short term leases, even those previously confirmed, were not to be honoured.

“This was a bombshell. Not only did we outlay money for insurance (which Academy insisted be in place before we submitted the booking form) but we spent hundreds of pounds on refurbishing our exhibition stands” said Ian Watt. “We feel let down by The Academy’s actions. Morally, this was a terrible way to act. We’ve invoiced them for our outlays – and if they don’t pay up we may have to take legal action. Meantime we also have to move and on look for an alternative exhibition space.”

Now the group are left looking again for a premises in which to exhibit. While they’d like that to happen this year, they accept that it may be the spring before they can mount a new show. By that point they’ll have missed the Christmas market that they were targeting with their exhibition.

Can you help? Do you know of a high street shop unit that the club could use? If so please contact Forecourt Art Group via their website: http://www.forecourt.org.uk/contact

I have worked in watercolours and oils but get most enjoyment out of working in acrylics and mixed media, where the use of collage can be used to create texture and form. I tend to use strong colours in my paintings, which can range from moody, moonlight blue studies to bright, almost fluorescent summer days. My present style of painting has gradually evolved from an early more precise, representational approach to my present less inhibited style.

As I try to create a personal, emotional response to what I see around me, my painting has evolved from the precision of small brush strokes and detail to a looser, more imaginative response using palette knives, larger brushes and, basically, anything that makes an interesting mark. I try to balance an imaginative response with a sense of place and a recognition of familiar images.

I exhibit regularly in the north-east, with paintings presently in the Milton Gallery at Crathes. I also take part in as many workshops and training opportunities as possible, always on the look out for new ideas and techniques.

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I’m largely self-taught and have been drawing and painting as long as I can remember.  I’m partial to acrylics, mixed media and most recently watercolour, and am told I have a particular eye for colour and texture.

Although never too far from my paints and easel, I graduated from the University of California Berkeley in 2002 with a psychology honours degree and am soon to begin postgraduate studies at the University of Aberdeen in psychology once more.  Science appeals to my desire to search for rigorous truths, while art gives me freedom to explore the beauties and more intangible aspects of life – I don’t think I could ever choose just one or the other, and each informs the other for me.

My art is inspired by anything that interests me – the science, mythology, history, travel, memories, the local scenery… but rich colour is always the common thread.

Portfolio site: http://www.gcseh.com

Blog: http://summoningmuse.wordpress.com

Etsy Shop: http://genevievecseh.etsy.com

Folksy Shop: http://www.folksy.com/shops/gcseh

RedBubble Shop: http://www.redbubble.com/people/gcsehart

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gcseh.art

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/gcsehart

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At one time, I was predominantly interested in making portraits & surrounding them with pattern & decoration.  I would often make little drawings of film or rock stars for my friends as presents.  I now occasionally draw or paint portraits of people or pets – in my own style – if I am asked to.

Currently, I enjoy creating pictures that look like book illustrations, using pen & watercolour in the main.  Ballpoint pens are my ideal drawing tools because they create clean, slender lines.  I frequently return to symbols that mean something to me or are relevant to the pictures I am making, sometimes making patterns from those symbols.

My artwork is characterised by pattern, decorative but controlled lines & a very limited colour range.  I have always admired other artists who have mastered these elements.

I draw inspiration from the natural world, architecture, superstitions, stained glass, music, stories & the city of Aberdeen.

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I was born in Aberdeenshire, and studied art and design at Aberdeen College from 1991 to 1994. I have subsequently carved out a career as a graphic designer, retaining painting as an enjoyable sideline.

My work mixes elements of pop art and cubism, and I’d cite Stuart Davis, Patrick Caulfield, Piet Mondrian and the still life and genre paintings of the Dutch Golden Age as major influences.

I find the vibrancy of acrylics best suited to the bright, colourful statements I want the paintings to make, which are a mixture of abstract and loosely figurative work. On occasions I also work in pen and ink.

In previous years I have exhibited my work in shows both at John Lewis and the Belmont Cinema in Aberdeen. I also contributed to shows at the Marischal Gallery (Aberdeen) and Art in the Park (Banchory).

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Map

The Forecourt Art Group is a not for profit organisation which organises exhibitions throughout the year for artists living and working in the North East of Scotland.

The Exhibition will showcase original works by a wide variety of artists, including  new members who have not exhibited with is at Peterculter before.

All artwork is available for sale and to take away at the time of purchase. Artists replace sold works on a daily basis, so the exhibition always provides new work throughout the month.

Framed Originals, Unframed Originals, Prints and Art Cards will all be available at a range of prices to suit every pocket..

Here are some suggested books and DVDs to help you with your painting study at home.