But first…
Dulltown, Europe: Today’s adjectives are: ‘gargantuan’, ‘docile’, ‘perky’ and ‘fecund’.
Please try to include at least two of these words in your conversation today.
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Here is another work from my small collection (only six so far) of, shall we call them, ‘cheap’ paintings? I have purchased them over the years from charity shops or from small local art shows in village halls. I suppose some people would call them ‘bad’ paintings or perhaps in a kinder way ‘naive’ paintings.
What attracts me to a piece for my collection is when I feel that the artist has spent some time, and taken care, in the execution of the work, and has not done it with a cynical attitude, but that they have put their heart into it and have done the best job that they can…
This one is in oil paint on board and is about 19″ x 11″in size. It is untitled and is not dated, but it is signed. It is by Fran Moore. It had a rather unflattering thin frame on it when I bought it, so I reframed it with some spare three-by-one, and some half-round moulding I happened to have in my workshop at the time.
When I first spotted this work I was immediately drawn to its strange and surreal mood, and also to the striking uneasiness of the composition – the way that church sneaks in on the right, as if sliding up the hill to try to get in the picture; I was also gripped by the way the (very nicely painted) water of the sea or river is piled up in a heap on the left, and seems to be frozen forever, but at the same time is about to crash down, engulf, and snatch away those vulnerable children…
I love the sky! Most amateur painters would favour a cheery blue sky, but Fran has chosen a restless overcast day for her little drama. I like her choice of colour too – that green and brown shoreline has the look of an Italian Renaissance painting about it. I also like the way she divides the canvas almost down the middle, between water and land, in a most unsettling manner. Is the crucifix on the end of the church deliberately echoed in the bright blue and white cross on the children’s kite? Am I reading too much into this?
This is a very strange and puzzling work – well done Fran Moore – I like it very much!
Dave Whatt 