George Rowlett: In the Midst of It, Abbey Walk Gallery, Grimsby.

Yet another excellent exhibition curated by Abbey Walk Gallery owners Gill Hadwin and Elaine Munsen: In The Midst Of It; George Rowlett.

 Born in Scotland in 1941, George Rowlett attended Grimsby School of Art and then both Camberwell and the Royal Academy Schools. He was taught by Frank Auerbach and Euan Uglow, but his earliest influence was Van Gogh, and it still shows. The way the paint has been moulded on the picture surface is reminiscent of Van Gogh’s restless brushwork. Rowlett applies his oils incredibly thickly with brush, decorating spatulas and even his fingers. Tubes of oil paint are not for Rowlett; he uses it by the bucketful.  He paints his vibrant images on board in situ and not only can figerprints be found in them but pieces of grass blown there by the wind.  He works in the most amazing conditions of weather and carries all of his equipment on his trusty bicycle.  Among other places he has worked on Uist, his now native, River Thames and the Humber Estuary.The similarity to Van Gogh is most obvious in his flower paintings, but it’s also there in his series of Canaletto’s Views of Greenwich, where sky, buildings and river flow into each other in swirls and ripples, reflecting and echoing each other.  His painting are amazing: big bold, paint thickly applied producing wonderful textures and rich vibrant colours.  He can be found on a fascinating YouTube clip and when painting on Uist he holds his wallpaper scrapers loaded with paint and appears to be conducting the waves.

Fishing boats drawn up on the beach.

 During October and November 2013, George Rowlett returned to North East Lincolnshire and produced several paintings of the Humber Estuary.  These are now part of another exhibition at Grimsby's Fishing Heritage Centre, Behind The Land, alongside two other artists: poet Harriet Tarlo and artist Judith Tucker.

The Humber Estuary from 'The Fittes'.

Although I had not seen any of the work by these artists when I was working on Assignment 3, they would have been great influences and they will inform my work in the future.  I was particularly inspired by the idea of combining my photography with poetry and writing, something which has always appealed to me.