31. Phil Illingworth (23/6/2020), today i started by reading the artist’ / curator’s statement. Quotes “Phil Illingworth’s painting practice is almost entirely experimental. Respect for the long tradition of the craft of painting. At the same time I play games. I’m also trying to push the limit of what a painting can be”

My thoughts: I found the works challenging in a positive way. I enjoyed the clean lines, the gentle undulating shapes, the choice of materials and the combination of materials. There is an element of the future, sci-fi inhabiting the works. I can also see the humour and playfulness present in them. They sit on the cusp between painting and sculpture.

The piece I downloaded, Shangri La, see below, typifies Phil’s work. There is almost something living about this piece. Is the black polymer coming out of receding. It appears to be in a state of flux.

32. Linda Ingham, 26/6/2020 content includes a number of drawings with watercolour, silver point and ink. Mixture of topics and influences including abstract landscapes that capture a feeling of emptiness and loneliness, particularly her Far and Near series.

In her Artists statement she states that her process led practice is based on personal engagement with landscape and place. Increasingly involved with botany and folk histories of plants observed on location where she walks and her allotment. Pieces are often created using gathered plants and their traces within the layers.

The two paintings the I selected from her works are both interesting landscapes.

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33. Matthew Krishanu (30/6/2020) strapline which I presume is from a curator “Matthew Krishanu’s recent paintings construct narratives exploring themes from memory, childhood and art history.”

My thoughts, there seems to be a focus on reminiscing, a look back to childhood. The figures are roughly painted, nearly crude but have a warmth. Of the paintings my favourite was ‘House of Crows’ see below. It has a nostalgic feel to it invoking Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’ slightly menacing. I found ot later that the image that I was looking at was in installation view. This didn’t impact my enjoyment of it.

The paintings on the artists website, although belonging to the same style have more variation to them.

34. Bryan Lavelle, (5/7/2020) an investigation into the proerties of his chosen materials and the process of painting. No layers of hidden meaning or narrative waiting to be uncovered, nor does it elude to be anything that it isn’t, through making external references outside of the work itself. He sees his role as a facilitator, that is, he brings together, materials and process, (MDF, paint and gravity), and allows a dialogue to take place.

The works are all about the process and allowing the paint to do its work. I’m unsure as to how this process works, probably tipping. Interestingly I noted on the Degree art website where his paintings are for sale that the prices range from £400 to £1,250. Do I like them? Initially yes, but I feel that I would quickly become bored with them.

35. Andrew Litten (15/7/2020), first impressions were that the paintings had something of the Edvard Munch and Francis Bacon about them. Ghostly figures represented in multicoloured forms. Angry, agitated brushwork which indicates and then distorts features and form. The would seem to be an emotional input into the work.

Artists statement – Andrew’s work explores raw human existence. Like so many expressionist artists, Georg Baselitz comes to mind, in Andrew’s work the rawness is also the vulnerability. Andrew is searching for poetry, the poetry of living, loving, hurting and dying, the vulnerable, the powerful, the human.

36. David Lock (20/7/2020), my first impression was that the paintings suggested homo-eroticism. A number of the paintings of the paintings are titled ‘Misfits’. The figures are expressive and shown in various positions, often confrontational in demeanour, often posing. The painting relies on strong tonal variation. A collage effect is often employed which breaks the paintings down into sections with colour variations marking the tears in the work.

Artists statement: David Lock’s paintings explore men and masculinities in a process of becoming. the painting utilises a collage approach. In the process of creating his ‘Misfit’ paintings he makes collages culled from advertisements and imagery from mainstream magazines. In their making, the collages and subsequent paintings, have a performance quality.

37. Paula McArthur, (4/8/2020),

Paula describes her painting as contemporary interpretations of traditional memento mori and vanitas painting. I can certainly see this in much of her work. I was drawn to the fabric painting below which is not one of these. It had echoes of the work that I had completed during Part Three, Object as a stand in for the body. The fabric has not only taken on the aspect of the human form but it has also assumed a gesture of embrace. The title of the painting ‘To be next to you’ also helps to confirm this notion.

38. David Manley (19/8/2020), abstract artist who uses words / written text in his recent work. His comments on his recent works explain that he draws on a number of sources, observations of both land and seascapes, incidental details in them, basic geometry and in trying to complicate the structures within the pictures, often inspired by recent poetry, fifties interior design and 50’s – 60’s Jazz amongst other topics.

The painting below seems to be typical of his recent work. I was particularly drawn to the vibrant colours which contrast vividly against the pastel blues. The drips and drawn circles suggest droplets of water on a hard surface which gives the painting depth and and feeling of movement. The geometric shapes lay somewhere both on and beneath the surface of the painting. The words framing the picture add to the intrigue, they suggest rather than inform.

39. Enzo Marra, 27/8/2020 Figurative paintings that distil the image down to simple lines and sparse colours. The paintings initially appear to be naïve but on closer inspection reveal considered compositions. The proportions are well observed and executed. I noted from looking at his earlier works that they were grander in conception and design than his current works. This is supported by the comments of the artist himself who refers to this by stating that he has been attempting to further reduce the detail within the finished images. This can be seen from the two paintings reproduced below. Current work first.

40. Monica Metsers, 28/8/2020 Surreal fantasy paintings created by layering and building up oil paint. The paintings are sometime based on actual places, as in the example below, or are imagined scenes. Lots of melding of the paint to create soft flowing shapes and patterns. a number of the paintings reminded me of the album cover artwork of 70’s Prog bands, think Yes, Genesis etc (Roger Dean). On the whole the paintings didn’t appeal to me although I know that I have tried to paint similar work in the past. To me it is the lack of grit, feeling of reality that I found with the paintings that disappointed. They seemed to be closer to fairy tale images than I would like. The example below is a case in point. what could have been a gritty, melancholic painting has been softened so that it now appear to be more akin to a photograph taken on a long shutter exposure time.

• Exhibitions