SECTION HEADING
The Pink Shawl Canvas edition of 25 Image 32" x 24" £725
says. Gail is sometimes depicted as warm and beguiling, sometimes aloof and distant, a femme fatale draped in a mound of fabric, or seductively naked save for an intricate belt – each painting reinterpreting the clas- sical female nude. Blakely who comes from a creative
and theatrical background says that it was something of an epiphany for him when he made the transition from the mono- chrome world of drawing to the exciting landscape of paint and colour. “Drawing was my original expression. I would draw an awful lot, trying to emulate other artists, to understand how they created what they did and it was a while before I found the mettle to use colour.” He has a gift for making complex poses appear effortlessly natural, and he approaches each canvas without sketching or defi ning outline. “I don't even draw or plot out the composition before painting which is risky, but it's a habit I've got myself into. It encourages spontaneity and generally resolves itself on the canvas.” He starts by cutting and stretching his
Maiden Canvas edition of 25 Image 24" x 24" £599
Zingara Canvas edition of 25 Image 24" x 24" £599
canvas which he fi nds both soothing and exciting. Working with quick-drying acryl- ics he piles on black pigment and builds up layers and a textured surface with a broad brush. “This is part of the 'look' I want the work to have - it is almost like trying to paint on rock and this gives the image an assortment of surfaces,” explains Blakely, who likes the fi nished painting to look truly ‘painted’ and not simply airbrushed and perfected beyond reality. In the six paintings in the Washington
Hamish Blakeley with his wife and muse, Gail, photographed at his Preview show in Harrods, London
Green collection there is a sense of individuality in each painting as well as the connecting thread in the ever present fi gure of Gail. In 'The Pink Shawl' Gail’s face is only half seen, her steady gaze focused somewhere in the middle distance. There is a relaxed feel to this pose, featuring the fresh blue of the chaise longue, the warmth of the shawl and the crisp folds of the cloth, which creates a clear, invigorating feeling. In 'Maiden' the demure and gentle side of her is highlighted, as a softness is achieved with the gentle, harmonious colour scheme jux- taposed with her back, which is shimmering and contracted as if she has not yet settled, or is about to move, creating a depth to the stillness of the image. In 'Inamorata' Blakely explores Gail’s form as a dynamic, potent image of a wom-
22 FINE ART COLLECTOR SPRING 2011
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