Memories:
A series of paintings reflecting on memories of myself and friends during childhood and adolescence. A time spent growing up in the countryside where the woods, fields, lanes and streams were our playground and larder
Abstract Landscapes - Beauty in the Ordinary:
A series of abstract landscapes based on the shapes and colours hidden in the bark of trees and the cracks and crevices in rocks and cliff faces
We travel. Got to see the world. The seven wonders - grand panoramas – mountains – forests – lakes – big cities – skyscrapers – towers – castles.
Look at the big picture
Impress our friends.
Ignore -
the boring drab grey-brown cliffs
the common grey-green tree trunk at the bottom of the garden
the decaying, rotting, derelict buildings, abandoned cars, discarded machinery
BUT – what if we look closer
The grey brown cliffs – broken, fractured sheets of Cornish slate. Exquisite, subtle earth colours – ochres, yellows, browns, slate blues, white flecks....... Closer still, see the patterns, pictures, hidden landscapes
Look into the trees – They give shelter from wind and rain, they glisten in the wet. Flat, drab and dull are the surfaces of the tree trunks from a distance. But, approach them and see the colours – reds, blues, greens and pinks – and such texture – deep cracks, large flakes – ravines, hills and plateaus to the insects. Even closer – more hidden landscapes – sky, hills and sea
The decay, the rot, the rust – throw it away, forget it, ignore it. Once it was pristine, faultless, glossy
now it’s
full of holes, blistered
full of natural colour - rust reds, oranges, blacks
full of patterns and textures
LOOK CLOSE AND SEE
BEAUTY IN THE ORDINARY
ROD PERKINS
JULY 2008