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"Entwined"(Time
Immemorial)(From our "Quarterly
Magazine")Time immemorial - a time in the
past, so long ago that even the Artist may have no
surviving knowledge or memory of it and this piece,
created a very long time ago, was brought back into the
light, resurrected, enlivened, repossessed."Time immemorial" is
a phrase generally taken to mean a time extending beyond
the reach of memory, record, or tradition, indefinitely
ancient, "ancient beyond memory or record" but what do
you call a time where, yes, it was a long time ago, and
you may not even recall when, but not so long ago that
one could term it "ancient"?This painting dates
from an era where, being very, very young, the Artist
had no concept of classical painting terms or techniques
and may even have its roots in school religious lessons
where talk of Adam and Eve were, even then, beginning to
mix with the Artist's interest in exploring ancient
scripts and myths, much of which was very hard to
research in the era of zero internet and just reliance
on the local area public library. And so, even back
then, the struggle began, to bring LIGHT to a dark place
(one's own lack of any formal art training or knowledge) and it was,
certainly, just an unconscious urge, to "have something
more illuminating" in any one day, though the Artist was
approaching the stage where, as he got a bit older, of
becoming aware that by the 15th/16th centuries
Renaissance artists such as Leonardo used
"chiaroscuro" in their works (though chalk was
never a technique the Artist liked personally) and the
way forward was opening up for him with - Oil Paint! Certainly,
as chronicled elsewhere, the young artist, younger than
twelve years old, spent many a Sunday studying classical
art at London's Tate Gallery and National Gallery,
roaming the halls, observing the surface textures and
passages of paint and brushwork, nose almost pressed
against the surface of the canvas pondering "how did
they do that?" and spending the late afternoons back
home trying to create the effects he'd observed earlier
in the day.And
so, it was an interesting challenge for the Artist,
to enliven this ancient piece, to use all the
accumulated painting skills and creative knowledge
(be it of Chiaroscuro, glazing, dry brush and more)
to bring it to contemporary standards yet
retain the simple, fresh and honest vision of the
piece created so long ago in an era scant of such
knowledge and skill. And
- it was a "very pleasurable" experience for the
Artist, discovering that in uniting the unknowing
desire of so long ago with his contemporary ability
if so desired to override, modify, or even
obliterate his past brush work, it proved pleasantly
unnecessary."To
my utter surprise, I found I had to do very, very
little indeed, to bring it to a level I consider
"contemporary" and that was really needed was to
survey and re-varnish any areas that had dulled or
become scuffed, in fact, virtually nothing."Could
this mean, that raw talent and skill take precedence
over accumulated learned skills, and that output
caused by a strong urge to create will survive
beyond later knowledge that is grafted on to the
basic urge, whatever its cause, to "create"?Deborah
Susan Jones,
Writer.
