Artist's Statement & CV
My paintings, sketches & drawings convey
and reflect a personal experience I feel, both visually and emotionally
from various landscape locations
Artist’s statement – August 2022
I mostly paint landscape subjects depicting the countryside from places I have visited and my local area.
Those who find this subject interesting might expect my pictures to be wide-open views featuring fields, meadows and hills, which I describe to some degree. Although this may be regarded as the norm, my understanding of ‘landscape’ has recently had a broader interpretation.
I have now become more aware of how much light and weather can manipulate subjects, making features within a landscape more about colours, shadows and patterns within a topic. Considering these aspects more closely has led me to a way of working using three keywords that act as my guide, ‘Place, Pattern & Presence’
My subjects tend to be of places I visit, and when an image or view has impressed me, this becomes the reason I want to share that experience. The word pattern is a term that may seem unusual regarding landscape, but when examining a subject, certain forms and boundaries often become visually exciting patterns. Lastly, the sense of presence when considering a topic becomes the ‘life of a painting’, giving the viewer a shared experience of what a picture is trying to express.
With these guiding principles in mind, I use them as a starting point of a picture, developing the structure of a painting with ‘loose’ rendered paint marks, which are then worked up as the painting progresses, revealing links to the observed location.
I use underlying core colours to set the fundamental tone of paintings, often applying contrasting colours to emphasise form and pattern, providing vibrancy and balance within the composition. Most of my pictures are a square shape rather than a landscape format, and this is to encourage the viewer to ponder what may lie outside the boundaries of this restricted form.
Acrylic and occasionally oil paint are my chosen mediums, with the additional use of pastel crayon for underdrawing. Most of my work is on prepared plyboard, which supports heavy mark-making and thick impasto and provides a firm base ideal for scraping back or revealing underpainting.
Painters that have influenced my work are mainly from the pre-and post-war Cornish School and the mid-career work of Richard Diebenkorn. More recently, I have admired the work of Barbara Rae and American artists Wolf Khan and Brian Rutenberg.
Examples of my work can be found on Instagram – @clivepatterson Facebook clive@clivepatterson.com Web: www.clivepatterson.com
Comment on abstraction
“An artist needs to be fluent in the languages of realism and abstraction.
“By realism I mean the formal aspects of art—the painting techniques and drawing skills we develop over time through experience.
“Abstraction is the other side of the coin, the visual language that frees us to paint and draw what is going on inside our heads. It means that I may be looking at a tree, but I want to paint power, life, majesty, and wisdom. The tree becomes a vessel for my message, not the message itself.”
— Courtney Jordan, Editor – Artist Daily
C.V.
Past Exhibitions
2022
- The Collective Gallery – Colour & Form with the London Painters & Sculptors Group – St Albans
- Ayot St Lawrence – Open Submission Show – 2022
2021
- Linden Hall Gallery –‘Winter Show’ – Deal, Kent 2021
- The Collective Gallery – Principles of Art – St Albans
- Childwickbury Arts Fair – Harpenden (participating artist 2021)
- Ayot St Lawrence – Open Submission Show – 2021
2020
- The Royal Institute of Oil Painters 2020 – annual exhibition at the Mall Galleries – London
- Linden Hall Gallery –‘Winter Show’ – Deal, Kent 2020
- Linden Hall Gallery –‘Lockdown Series’ – Deal, Kent 2020
2019
- Camden Image Gallery – London 2019
- Hertford Open Exhibition – 2019
2018
- Linden Hall Gallery – Winter Open Show – Deal, Kent 2018
- Royal Institute of Marine Artists – Mall Galleries, London 2018
- Iona House Gallery – Woodstock 2018
- Camden Image Gallery – London 2018
- (show with the North London Artists & Sculptors Group)
- Childwickbury Arts Fair – Harpenden (participating artist 2018)
- Ayot St Lawrence – Open Submission Show – 2018
- Nude Tin Can Gallery – St Albans – 2018 (Solo show)
2017
- The Strand Gallery – London (Group show with the North London Artists & Sculptors Group)
- Childwickbury Arts Fair – Harpenden (participating artist 2017)
- Tinca Gallery – Portishead (North Somerset Arts week)2017
- Art Dialogues, Espacio Gallery
- Childwickbury Arts Fair
- Somerset Arts Week, Tinca Gallery,Portishead
- Colour & Form, The Strand Gallery, London
2016
- Royal Institute of Oil Painters, Mall Gallery
- Childwickbury Arts Fair
- Joint showing, Tinca Gallery, Portishead
2015
- Royal Institute of Oil Painters, Mall Gallery
- Place & Space, Espacio Gallery, London
- Horizon, Nude Tin Can Gallery, St Albans
- Hertford Open Exhibition
- Landscape & City, Camden Image Gallery, London
2014
- Making Seen, Espacio Gallery, London
- Mixed Show, Camden Image Gallery, London
- Points of View, Espacio Gallery, London
- Material Matters, Espacio Gallery, London
- Hertford Open Exhibition
- Tudor House Gallery, Sawbridgeworth
2013
- St Albans Art Society, Best in Show
- Hertford Open Exhibition
- New Artists Fair, Candid Gallery, Islington, London
2012
- Short listed for Royal Institute of Oil Painters Open
- Short listed for NEAC Open
- Cork Street Open Exhibition
- Short listed for the ING Discerning Eye
- Hertford Open Exhibition
2011
- St Albans Art Society Summer Exhibition
2010
- Hertfordshire Visual Art Forum Open Exhibition
- University of Hertfordshire Open Exhibition
- St Albans Art Society Summer Exhibition
2009
- University of Hertfordshire Open Exhibition
- St Albans Art Society Summer Exhibition, Commended
Selected Work
2010
- Painting selected for display in the St Albans Crown Court of Justice