Jo Hunter
Students who are on a process of discovery that reflects their passions and interests generally produce good sketchbooks and the work of OCA student Jo Hunter is no exception.
When confronted by the every day – and there is many an artist who has painted their kitchen sink – we see Jo creating a dramatic interior with the use of the simplest of means; light and shade, pencil and watercolour. Outdoors she has used pen and ink to good effect in drawing and heightening with colour nearby sail lofts. These on the spot drawings will give good reference material for later paintings.
The humble pencil is used to explore the still life set up, the tones carefully numbered and analysed as a preliminary to realising the later painting where colour makes it debut – tentatively at first, as in the still life, and then busting into life out of doors in a double page spread of high keyed colour. The patio picture displays a tangle of branches and vines and foliage with a cobalt blue garden pot dominating the scene.
Sketchbooks are also for experimentation and the woodland of Beth Chatto’s Wildlife Garden is recorded with precise ink and watercolour notations to be used later in a sequence of subtle and seductively atmospheric watercolours. The depiction of the woodland with its dappled light and sudden explosion of exotic plants sits happily within the sketchbook together with an initial drawing and photograph kept for reference purposes. Here the human eye and hand can be seen to improving not only on the snapshot but also on nature itself through the decision-making process and skill of the artist.
Sketchbooks can be an invaluable tool in recording and keeping ideas for future paintings as well as recording the artist progress through the course. They can provide vital information to assessors, who can identify the intuitive and conceptual leaps necessary for progression.
Excellent work- really inspiring. Congrulations on your feature.
Thank you really inspiring and helpful, I love the style
Two things strike me as making these drawings and paintings successful. Firstly,Jo has not seen object and ‘background’ as two separate things. She has seen a pattern of shape and negative space, which gives the work rhythm. Secondly, she has not become a slave to every tone, choosing instead to see tonal design across the whole surface. Linking darks and allowing edges to dissolve in shadow, as well as considering where the strongest lights are, has helped create a more dynamic atmosphere. Well done.