Newsletter #5
Laocoön Torso in Venetian Red, 2024, oil on copper, 10 x 15 cm
Hello,
I recently released a series of new paintings on copper plates. An interesting surface to work on, the copper is smooth, yet absorbent to work on. A somewhat unconventional support, it has been used for centuries; the Getty’s Rembrandt Laughing (1628), is a perfect example of the texture that the metal imparts. This mini-series was an enjoyable tangent from the main body of work I am currently working on.
My interest in ancient and classical sculpture motivated these small-scale paintings. As a figurative painter, sculpture of the human form always appeals to me, but it’s also the visible age of these objects that I find compelling. They’ve survived millenniums, empires falling and rising, the effects of time, ransacking, improper restoration, destruction and neglect. They carry a weight of time and history in their appearance, an effect which perfectly resonates with the mythological stories that these sculptures often recall. I love this sense of deep, ancient history, one that feels quite beautiful, yet haunting.
Thinking of art inspired by antiquity, I cannot resist the urge to quote from one of my favourite books, The Secret History by Donna Tartt.
“It's a very Greek idea, and a very profound one. Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it”.
This notion is so inspiring. I definitely do not make the claim that my art does this, but it is an ideal that I strive for, and I sincerely hope that I can achieve it eventually in at least one painting that I do.
Running with the classical theme, I’ve also been obsessed with Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo. I simply cannot get it out of my head. It is intoxicating. For me this music achieves what Tartt describes – a beauty that is painful. It is the perfect soundtrack to classical sculpture and ideas of fate, luck and destiny. That despite everything we do, there seems to be this underlying oscillation between good and bad fortunes.
The main collection is progressing, I’m reticent to reveal more at this stage because the painting is going well, and I don’t want to break my current streak. I’m very keen to show them once I’ve finished. It has been an enormous learning curve.
I hope you are all doing well out there, thanks for your support and kind words. If you think anyone would enjoy this newsletter, please let them know, that would be a great help to me.
Also, you now have homework! Please check out the Rembrandt, Monteverdi's music and a couple of ancient sculptures!
Jackson
