Page 112 - ART POOL : 11 Contemporary Art Profiles

TIMOTHY JOHn | AUsTrAliA
www.timothyjohn.com.au

Most artists paint landscapes because they are ‘ inspired’ by the what he sees before him but what he sees within him.” Obviously,
beauty they are witness to. Other artists find religious meanings in no single work can hope to distil the complex spirit of a landscape,
views of nature and try to communicate this significance through so, many times in order to capture this richness, I work in series,
their pictures. Rather than re-creating a landscape, I aim to express on a large number of paintings concurrently. This allows me to
its essence, and my emotional response to that essence. My transport strong elements and effective techniques from one piece
paintings are not snapshots or souvenirs of particular places, what to the next, with each rendering sharing some information with the
I hope is that they present a recognisible image, and an illusion of other works in the series. This overlap of elements enhances each
space, combining distance with atmospheric softness, hopefully individual expression and intensifies the cohesion within the body
evoking a metaphysical stillness, and even more importantly, that of work. Ultimately, each piece depicts some element or ‘ feeling’ of
they evoke a mood of meditation and quiet introspection. I want the the landscape’s influence, until the larger body of work coalesce to
works, rather than being ‘ site specific’ as such, to be work that has articulate what I hope to be its “ truth”…or more accurately “ my”
a universality about it. Many have said that my landscape inspired truth. As I get older I feel an increase in elements of abstraction,
works are more commentaries on the beauty of nature emptied entering my works. where there was once a discernable physical
of intrusion, and that as real as they may seem, the landscapes element of landscape, there is now a smudge, or a scrape or some
are personal spaces that have a resonance of spirit. Especially other gesture that replaces it, allowing the viewer more freedom
fascinating to me at the present are the horizon and shore, and to interpret the piece in their own way.
where land, sea, and sky come together. In a sense, these are This is a magical discovery for me, allowing myself a looseness
expectant and hopeful places. The horizon is a symbol of hope, of technique that enhances not only the physical act of painting,
and undiscovered possibilities, a symbol I find most appealing in but also enriches the experience of the viewer. I would like for
these times of world uncertainty. As Danish artist Caspar David people to find their own space in my work, a place of clarity and
Friedrich is quoted to have said: “... the artist should paint not only contentment. [excerpt]

| noCTUrne, 2005 oil on CAnvAs 47x47 in. | 120x120 Cm.
| dAysend, 2005 oil on CAnvAs 47x47 in. | 120x120 Cm.
| evAnesCe, 2005 oil on CAnvAs 47x47 in. | 120x120 Cm.
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