James King

New Work

2010-09-20T14:56:00.006+02:00

Despite the prolonged inactivity on this blog I've not been idle over the last few months. There are many canvases underway, and an abundance of ideas waiting to be addressed. Here are two paintings from the current series on the theme of transformation through costume.

Malgré l'inactivité prolongé de ce blog, je ne chôme pas à l'atelier. Plusieurs toiles sont entamées, avec une pléthore d'idées en attente. Voici deux tableaux de la série en cours, sur le thème de la transformation par le costume.

La Guerrière, oil on canvas, huile sur toile, 162 x 114 cm

Le Shaman, oil on canvas, huile sur toile, 162 x 97 cm

Exposition à Marseille

2010-07-03T09:47:00.006+02:00

Mon Oeil (My Eye) : huile sur panneau, oil on board. 12,5 x 12,5 cm

Le Fossoyeur d'Elseneur (The Gravedigger of Elsinore): huile sur toile, oil on canvas. 162 x 114 cm

Ca fait longtemps que je n'ai rien affiché sur ce blog. Pourtant le travail continue bon train à l'atelier. J'expose actuellement au Songe d'Icare. C'est une nouvelle galerie, dirigée par M. Nicolas Mettra, au 21 rue Edmond Rostand dans le sixième arrondissement à Marseille. L'exposition continue jusqu'au 5 août.

Diptyque: Scènes de la vie de la vierge et de la passion.

2010-02-27T20:47:00.006+01:00

Diptyque: Scènes de la vie de la vierge et de la passion.

Paris, vers 1330 - 1350. Ivoire.
Musée du Louvre
Aile Richelieu, 1er étage, Salle 3, vitrine 22

L'autre jour au Louvre j'ai eu l'immense bonheur de passer quelques temps en compagnie d'un artiste anonyme du 14e siècle qui nous a laissé cette petite oeuvre sculptée, ne mesurant pas plus que 25cm de haut, mais qui est à même de nous fournir des leçons formidables en matière de composition et de finesse narrative. Le diptyque raconte en six bandes de bas-relief une quinzaine d'épisodes de la vie de la Vierge et de la Passion. J'ai été frappé par la diversité d'ambiance à travers les histoires, comme les épisodes d'un bon film, où le metteur en scène prend soin de varier le rythme du narratif et l'atmosphère de chaque scène pour créer un tout harmonieux. Les détails dans cette sculpture sont les produits d'une admirable sensibilité poétique.

At the Louvre the other day, I had the pleasure of spending a while in the company of an anonymous 14th century artist, who has left us this small work of sculpture, no more than 25cm high, but crammed with valuable lessons in composition and narrative finesse. The diptych presents fifteen episodes from the life of the virgin and the passion of Christ, carved in six bands of bas-relief. I was struck by the diversity of atmosphere in the separate stories, like the structure of a good film, where the director takes care to vary the pace of the narrative and the atmosphere of each scene. The details in this sculpture are the work of an admirable poetic sensibility.

Prenons comme exemple l'épisode de l'enfant Jésus chez les docteurs:

Let's take, for example, the scene of the child Jesus and the doctors:

Le sculpteur a réussi, par les gestes des mains, les positions des corps et des drapés, à contraster l'attitude désinvolte et spontanée de l'enfant avec l'angoisse proche de la colère de sa mère. Marie, qui vient de passer par l'épreuve d'avoir perdu de vue son fils, le tire vers elle par le poignet, de manière presque agressive, et non par la main comme elle ferait sans doute en temps normal. Jésus, lui, se retourne pour saluer une dernière fois les docteurs d'un geste que l'on pourrait interpréter à la fois comme une bénédiction et comme un mignon petit au revoir.
Je penserai à ce chef d'oeuvre lorsque je songe à peindre des toiles monumentales. Je les peindrai tout de même, mais en sachant que la taille n'est pas toujours équivalente à la grandeur.

The sculptor has managed, through the gestures of the hands, the physical postures and the draperies, to contrast the nonchalance of the child with the anxiety bordering on anger of the mother. Having just suffered the anguish of losing sight of her son, Mary pulls him towards her, not by the hand as she might normally do, but by the wrist. Jesus meanwhile turns back in mid step to make a gesture with his hand which can be interpreted both as a parting benediction and a charming cheerio.
I'll bear this masterpiece in mind next time I consider painting a monumental canvas. I'll paint it all the same, but in the full knowledge that gigantism is no short-cut to greatness.

Décès de Raymond Mason

2010-02-26T18:04:00.007+01:00

"Départ des fruits et légumes du coeur de Paris, le 28 février 1969"

Hier soir j'ai appris la disparition de mon ami Raymond Mason. C'était un des rares artistes qui osait encore revendiquer sa place dans la continuité de l'art occidental, et plus particulièrement dans la tradition du narratif anglais. Sa grande science du dessin, des couleurs et de la composition lui permettait de composer ses scènes de manière divertissante au premier abord, puis envoûtante, à mesure que l'on sondait leur profondeur formelle et philosophique. Ainsi, Raymond a réussit l'exploit de construire une oeuvre à la fois populiste et raffinée.

J'ai eu la chance d'être invité à lui prêter main-forte sur plusieurs projets, notamment sa sculpture des Tours Jumelles, où j'ai appris bien plus en trois jours qu'en autant d'années aux Beaux Arts. J'ai passé beaucoup d'heures agréables dans son salon, rue Monsieur Le Prince, à parler de notre métier autour d'un verre de whisky et d'une tasse de thé Orange Pekoe. Raconteur hors paire, il était au sujet de son art érudit, lucide et totalement dépourvu de prétention. Son oeuvre restera comme un phare inébranlable pour les générations d'artistes à venir.

Lire l'article paru dans le New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/25/arts/design/25mason.html?scp=1&sq=raymond%20Mason&st=cse

Lire l'article paru sur La Règle du Jeu: http://laregledujeu.org/hertzog/2010/02/17/34/raymond-mason-est-mort/

La Déposition du Christ, d'après Ribera

2010-02-10T17:03:00.023+01:00

Juseppe de Ribera: La Déposition du Christ

http://cartelfr.louvre.fr/cartelfr/visite?srv=car_not_frame&idNotice=613

Ce matin j'ai commencé une copie d'après La Déposition du Christ de Juseppe de Ribera au Louvre. Pour cette copie j'étudies une manière de peindre qui me servira bien à l'atelier, notamment dans la réalisation des versions à l'huile de Diane et Actéon, et Jacob et ses fils (voir ci-dessous).
Pour cette première séance de travail, d'à peu prés deux heures et demie, il s'agit d'un dessin au fusain sur une toile en lin, 146 x 114 cm, preparée d'un fond gris neutre.

This morning I started a copy from Juseppe de Ribera's Deposition of Christ in the Louvre. For this copy I'm studying techniques which will serve me well in the studio, notably for the oil versions of Diane and Actaeon and Joseph and his Sons (see blog entries below). This first session, of around two and a half hours, is a drawing in charcoal on a linen canvas, 146 x 114 cm, prepared with a neutral grey ground.

Première séance: 2,5 heures
First session: 2.5 hours

*****

Ci-dessous:La deuxième séance. 3,5 heures. Début de la grisaille. En cas normale je fixerais le dessin avant de peindre, mais pour des raisons évidents le fixatif est interdit au Louvre. Ainsi, il a fallu sacrifier le dessin, si j'ose me servir du mot dans ce contexte, pour reprendre les contours à l'huile, couleur terre d'ombre naturelle, dilué à la térébenthine. Le fond sombre est brossé très librement afin de créer un mouvement , quasi-imperceptible, en dessous des couches qui suivront. Pour le tissu blanc, j'ai attaqué intrépidement, après avoir examiné de prés les traces de pinceau sur l'original qui me réconfortent dans mon idée que Ribera, comme le plupart des peintres de son époque, peignait très vite. Même si je commet des erreurs en essayant de l'imiter dans ce domaine, je reste convaincu que cet effort portera des fruits par la suite. Après tout, je ne suis pas là que pour m'amuser.
Néanmoins j'avoue que je prends mon pied.

Second session. 3.5 hours. Beginning the grisaille. Normally I would fix the drawing before continuing, but for obvious reasons, fixative is prohibited in the Louvre. It was therefore necessary to sacrifice the drawing, if I dare use the word in this context, to rework the contours in raw umber oil colour diluted with turpentine. The darker zones are brushed very liberally so as to create a certain movement beneath the successive layers. I attacked the white cloth quite fearlessly, after a close examination of the brushwork on the original which reaffirms my opinion that Ribera, along with most painters of that period, painted very rapidly. Whatever errors I might commit in attempting to imitate him in this respect, I'm still convinced that my efforts will bear fruit in due course. After all, I'm not here just for the fun of it.
Although, I must admit, it's a blast.

******

Troisième séance. 3,5 heures. Continuation de la grisaille. Comme à l'atelier, je me sers des pinceaux les plus grands possibles pour éviter la tentation de la sur finition. Aujourd'hui je me suis rendu compte que, pour avoir les effets que je cherche dans cette copie, il faut aussi choisir les pinceaux les moins fin possibles. Vues de prés, les traces de pinceaux de Ribera sont vivaces et enlevées, produites sans doute par des pinceaux bien faits, mais sans aller jusqu'à nos poils de martre et autres produits de luxe.

Third session. 3.5 hours. Continuation of the grisaille. I'm using, as I do in the studio, the biggest brush possible for each given manoeuvre on the canvas. This is to avoid the temptation of preciousness. Today I realised that, to achieve the effects I'm looking for, it is also necessary to choose the roughest brush possible. Seen in close-up, Ribera's brushwork is fluid and dynamic - undoubtedly the product of well-made brushes, but certainly not the kind of luxurious squirrel hair brushes we tend to covet nowadays.

*****

Quatrième séance. 3,5 heures. Continuation de la grisaille.
Fourth session. 3.5 hours. Continuation of the grisaille.

*****

Cinquième séance. Peaufiner la grisaille et placer les couleurs vives. Le rouge du drapé à droite et le bleu du voile de Marie seront atténués par des glacis. Dans la composition originale, derrière l'épaule de Joseph d'Arimathie, il y a un personnage que j'ai toujours trouvé un peu maladroit. Au risque de commettre un crime de lèse majesté, je me suis permis de l'ôter de ma copie. Maintenant je dois laisser le tableau sécher un peu avant de travailler les glacis. Je ne sais pas combien de temps Ribera aurait laissé entre grisaille et glacis. Probablement assez longtemps.

Titien, un des pionniers de cette technique au siécle précédent, était connu pour avoir toujours des toiles en cours tournées face au mur. Il a du faire ça en partie pour éviter la tentation de les reprendre trop tôt. En effet, c'est une tentation redoutable: l'application des glacis est tout aussi jouissive que la création de la grisaille. Là réside la clef un peu paradoxale de cette technique. A chaque étape il faut bien prévoir son coup afin de préserver la spontanéité de la touche. En retournant ses toiles au mur après la grisaille, Titien a pu aussi garder l'oeil neuf pour le moment où il était temps d'appliquer les glacis.

Fifth session; Refining the grisaille and applying the intense colours. The red of the robe on the right and the blue of Mary's veil will be softened by later glazing. In the original composition, behind Joseph of Arimathea there is a character who I've always found a little clumsy. At the risk of lèse majesté I've taken the liberty of excluding him from my copy. Now I have to let the paint dry a while before working the glazes. I don't know how long Ribera would have waited between the grisaille and the glazes. Let's just say it was quite some time.

The Venetian painter Titian, one of the pioneers of this technique in the preceding century, is known to have kept his work in progress turned to the wall. One reason for this may have been to avoid the temptation to apply the glazes too early. This is indeed a formidable temptation: the application of the glazes is just as satisfying as the creation of the grisaille. This is the paradox at the heart of the technique, that in carefully planning each step in advance one is able to maintain a dynamic spontaneity of touch throughout. By turning his paintings to the wall, Titian would also have kept a fresh vision of them for when the time came to apply the glazes.

*****

Sixième séance: Premiers glacis carnations.

Sixth session: First flesh-tone glazes.

*****

Septième séance: à partir d'ici il me reste une ou deux séances pour régler la luminosité par moyen de glacis et ainsi transmettre l'espace entre les personnages.

Seventh session: I'll need one or two more sessions to refine the luminosity with some judicious glazes and thus express the space between the characters.

Jacob et ses fils

2010-02-09T21:59:00.000+01:00

Un dessin au fusain en cours d'exécution, 97 x 130 cm, au sujet de Jacob et ses fils, du livre du Genèse. Rodion Pawlowsky a posé pour Jacob, et son fils Elwynn pour les fils.

A charcoal drawing in progress, 97 x 130 cm, on the subject of Jacob and his sons, from the book of Genesis. Rodion Pawlowsky posed for Jacob, and his son Elwynn for the sons.

Diane et Actaeon

2010-02-03T20:59:00.017+01:00

Une série inspirée de 'Diane et Actéon' par Giuseppe Cesari au Louvre.
A series based on Diana and Actaeon by Giuseppe Cesari in the Louvre.
http://cartelfr.louvre.fr/cartelfr/visite?srv=car_not_frame&idNotice=1675

Ci-dessus: un simple exercice de style, libre interprétation, de mémoire. Aquarelle. 50 x 65 cm

Above: a simple pastiche freely interpreted from memory. Watercolour. 50 x 65 cm

Une version plus élaborée, au fusain. 97 x 130cm. Suivi d'études avec Stéphanie, modèle. 50 x 65 cm

A more elaborate version in charcoal. 97 x 130 cm. Followed by two studies from the life model - Stéphanie. 50 x 65 cm

Ci-dessous:Travail sur le panneau central d'un triptyque. Actéon sera sur le panneau de droite, avec une nymphe sur le panneau de gauche. 97 x 130 cm

Below: Work on the central panel of what will become a triptych. Actaeon will appear on the right hand panel, with the left hand panel occupied by one of Diane's handmaidens. 97 x 130 cm

Le panneau de gauche en cours:

The left hand panel in progress:

Tous les trois panneaux du triptyque en cours. Je compte raffiner cette image avec d'avantage de travail d'après modèle.

All three panels of the triptych in progress. I plan to refine this image with further studies from the model.

......à suivre......

Trés contemporain, trés ephémère!

2009-12-18T22:48:00.004+01:00

Comme j'aime bien expérimenter de nouvelles techniques...........

My experiment in the technique of snow sculpture.

Vive les Mariés

2009-10-02T21:04:00.001+02:00

Charcoal on paper. 195 x 130 cm.

Book End

2009-10-02T21:00:00.002+02:00

A small sculpture quoting a painting in the Louvre. Anybody recognise this character?

Copy:' Portrait of a Young Woman' by Rubens

2009-03-24T11:48:00.022+01:00

This painting was previously considered to be a portrait of the artist's sister in law, Suzanne Fourment. It's painted on a solid wood panel.

For the copy I've used a panel of hardboard measuring 65 x 54 cm, braced behind with a wood frame. This is slightly larger than the original as required by the museum regulations.

First session: 2 hours

Two coats of Talens Universal Primer, thinned with about 20% water. One coat of animal skin size (one part granulated size to 25 parts water) with some powdered pigment (terre verte antique by Sennelier) to give an off-white surface. Drawing in charcoal, taking care to proceed with a light touch so as not to scratch the primed surface.

Second session: 3 hours

Grisaille in two colours: Orange de Chine by Sennelier and Gris Chaud by Old Holland.

Third session: 4 hours

Colours used, in addition to those already cited: Mars black, Naples Yellow, Vermillion, Flake White.

I'm deliberately proceeding at a fast pace. Firstly because it comes naturally and secondly, because it is necessary to do so in order to emulate the virtuosity of the original. I'm sure that Rubens created the original with even greater dispatch. The more I look into the work of this man, the more I admire him. It is a commonplace to say that every painting can be considered a self-portrait of the artist, but it seems particularly appropriate in the case of Rubens. I get a profound sense of joie-de-vivre from him which is having a salutary effect on my own personal work.

Fourth session: 4 hours

The red glaze on the background drapery is primarily alizarin crimson with a little chinese orange and mars black. It's still a little too bright, but that will be dealt with at the proper time. A key to Rubens' technique is careful method, combined with dynamic and spontaneous brushwork.

Once it has dried I'll be able to calm the red down, perhaps by applying a semi-transparent layer of black and chinese orange. The lace collar was fun to paint. I'm making the jewellery a little fatter and more chunky than the original. I suppose the same can be said for my treatment of the model!

Fifth session: 4 hours

This session primarily devoted to the jewellery and gold thread of the costume.

Sixth session: 4 hours

Pomegranate

2009-03-02T18:48:00.011+01:00

Philippe de Champaigne: 'Le Christ au Tombeau'

2009-01-26T17:36:00.028+01:00

For the past few days I've been turning up at the Louvre museum every morning at 9 o'clock in order to make a copy of Le Christ au Tombeau by Philippe de Champaigne. Here's a step-by-step of the progress so far. Each day represents four hours work:

Day one: Hardboard on a wooden frame, 54 x 157 cm. Primed with white gesso followed by a grey-tinted rabbitskin glue size. The preliminary drawing was then made in charcoal.

The charcoal drawing was reworked using oil paint (raw umber) diluted in turpentine.

Day Two: From here on I used a medium consisting of linseed oil, turpentine and Flemish gel medium combined .

Day three:

Day four:

Day five:

Although the work has proceeded quite rapidly, it is beginning to slow down now as I enter the home stretch. At this stage I estimate a further three days applying glazes and semi-transparent 'veils' to achieve something approaching the poignant atmosphere of this painting. This might seem like fast work, but I very much doubt that the original took even half the time. The kind of training received by painters back then gave them a degree of virtuosity almost inaccessible to us today. I say 'almost' because I insist on aspiring to it myself, hence the decision to make this copy.

A rather dark reproduction of the original can be viewed at the following address:

http://cartelfr.louvre.fr/cartelfr/visite?srv=car_not_frame&idNotice=8756

DAYS SIX AND SEVEN:

self portrait I7th January 09

2009-01-17T19:01:00.003+01:00

A new self-portrait using the Flemish medium. I've made a special effort this time to make myself look my age (45) and no prettier than the mirror tells me.

The Emperor's New Suit

2009-01-13T22:04:00.003+01:00

The final version in oils on linen canvas. Completed today. Same dimensions as the drawing.

The Emperor's New Suit

2009-01-05T22:36:00.005+01:00

130 x 81 cm. Charcoal on Canson paper. For those not familiar with the story, it can be found translated into English at the following link:

http://hca.gilead.org.il/emperor.html

I put the two con artists into city suits, which gives the story a nice contemporary feel. It's an appropriate subject for this period of crisis, I think. Oil version to be posted shortly.

The Master of Falerii

2008-11-11T11:58:00.006+01:00

Inspired by Poussin’s Le Maître de Faléries currently on show in the Mantegna exhibition at the Louvre. The story is taken from The History of Rome by Titus Livy. I’ve tried to include enough visual material so that the observer can construct a narrative for himself without necessarily having recourse to the original, but I’ve taken fewer liberties with the source than I usually do in the treatment of my chosen themes. An english translation of the story can be seen at the following address, scrolling down to section XXVII:
http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/1754/92575/2071401%20on%202008-11-11
with a version in french at: http://www.insecula.com/oeuvre/O0016964.html

HAMLET drawing step-by-step.

2008-11-03T20:52:00.015+01:00

Charcoal on paper, 130 x 97 cm

The absolute final version is hanging in the exhibition organised by Carnets-Livres at the Halle St. Pierre, rue Ronsard, Paris 18 until November 20th.

Hamlet

2008-11-03T20:27:00.003+01:00

This is Shakespeare's classic transposed into the idiom of the Flemish masters. I was looking closely at the work of Rogier Van Der Weyden, Pieter Breugel the Elder and Hans Memling; particularly at the painting 'The Seven Joys of the Virgin' at the Munich Pinakothek.
http://www.pinakothek.de/alte-pinakothek/sammlung/kuenstler/kuenstler_inc_en.php?inc=kuenstler&which=2421
I wanted to create a multi-faceted, gem-like image, in homage to this timeless jewel of english literature. I had the most enormous fun doing it, although it required three months of intensive labour, from the first sketches to the finished painting.

Legend of the Whale

2008-05-17T20:32:00.006+02:00

Approximate size: 110 x 80 cm. Charcoal on paper. Inspired by conversations on the subject of Jonah, combined with the story of St. Brendan as seen in the church of St. Maclou in Pontoise, with shades also of Captain Ahab. I'd be very interested in any other whale legends that visitors to this blog might be aware of.

Aux Galeries

2008-04-22T18:02:00.010+02:00

Here's a step-by-step journey through a recent drawing. It records a visit to a certain Parisian department store during the sales. I made the sketches for it on the spot, which required a more than usual amount of nerve.

Djemaa el-Fna

2008-04-17T09:07:00.005+02:00

116 x 89 cm. This drawing derived from sketches made on Djemaa el-Fna, the main square in the Marrakesh medina. Although it's one of the world's more colorful places, I think the medium of charcoal is particularly appropriate to the atmosphere of Marrakesh on a warm evening.

Going With The Flow

2008-04-15T09:23:00.004+02:00

Crucifixion

2008-04-14T23:41:00.004+02:00

195 x 130cm. Call it a study in the banality of evil. These subjects may appear overtly biblical, but I am treating them as myths and legends - common property, beyond any precise dogmatic content. I'm deliberately mining the rich source of iconography that so inspires me in the Louvre. By tackling these subjects I feel that I'm finally facing up to the challenge of the masters, and thus entering into a longed for communion with them. The characters in these drawings are made using life models in the studio (for the above piece my thanks to Eric Stevenot and Nilton Oliveira). When I don't have models to hand I'll either make it up as best I can from my slowly acquired knowledge of anatomy, or take the pose myself in one of the bank of mirrors I have about the place. That may sound narcissistic, but hey, how many of you reading this have ever spent three hours straight looking at yourself in the mirror? It takes a painter to do such a thing. My crowned self-portrait,visible on my website, was made between midnight and 3am during an attack of insomnia. Believe me, by the end of the three hours narcissism was very far from my thoughts.

The Extended Family

2008-04-13T17:09:00.002+02:00

A manically detailed drawing, 50 X 65 cm, made last year immediately after returning from a month in Italy. As usual, all of the characters can be found in the pages of my sketchbooks, a selection from which has been published by Carnets-Livres in Paris (see links).

Supper

2008-04-13T16:52:00.003+02:00

Flagellation

2008-04-13T16:46:00.003+02:00

Celestial City

2008-04-13T16:25:00.004+02:00

This image is derived from my frequent vivid dreams of cities. It contains details inspired by the many cities I've visited, but I was particularly thinking of Genoa. The characters in the foreground are me and my brother Dan.

Deposition

2008-04-11T18:41:00.002+02:00

Justice

2008-04-11T18:29:00.002+02:00