Steve Slimm
A Renewed Love Affair with Prussian Blue and the Oil Glaze Allow me please to talk about colour for a change, instead of the usual thing about location and subject matter.
Prussian Blue is one of the strongest and most dramatic of the blues, and needs a little handling, if not even taming, if it's not going to dominate the whole painting! I've not worked with it for at least a decade now, but strangely, have returned to it for the oil glazes in this show.
Do I actually see Prussian Blue in my landscape world of dreamy reality? I'm not sure really. It is anecdoted that Turner was once challenged on his use of colour, “I don't ever see all those colours in a sunset!” to which he replied, “No, but don't you wish you could?” Does this mean that he actually saw them himself though? We tend to assume so, but all we actually know is that he used them to paint with.
For me, painting is a process that largely involves the application and the colour of paint. If a picture ends up bearing any relation to something I have experienced before, then it's more particularly through other aspects (content and form), than through colour. I really just enjoy colour for its own sake , as I'm sure many artists have done for at least the past two centuries.
Hopefully, for my viewers, a painting will open the eyes of the heart for them to experience a somewhat deeper connection to the world. If so, then I can feel I have accomplished my job. The intuitive and skilful use of colour by any artist plays a large part in this. So, I really hope you enjoy these colours I have brought together in symphony for this show.
Steve Slimm 2006
FEATURED EXHIBITIONS
1984
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2006
2006 |
Trelowarren House, nr Helston
Penlee House, Penzance
Blackman Harvey Gallery, London
Arts Centre and the Up-And-Above Gallery, Falmouth
Arts Centre, Falmouth
David Curzon Gallery, Thames Ditton
Picture House Gallery, Penryn
Penryn Fine Arts, Penryn
Eclipse Gallery, Penzance
Great Atlantic Mapworks, St Just
Pydar Gallery, Truro
Melanie Macdonald Gallery, Truro
Great Atlantic Mapworks, St Just
Vitreous Contemporary Art, Truro
Great Atlantic Gallery, Monmouth
Sims Gallery, St. Ives, Cornwall
Vitreous Contemporary Art, Truro |
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Steve is from The Black Country in West Midlands. He later lived in the Cotswolds and attended Cheltenham Grammar School. Moving to Cornwall in 1970, he joined an art group under John Miller for a brief period. Painting began to feature as a main interest in his life, with periodic encouragement from John through two decades.
Turner was an obvious influence during the early years. Many atmospheric watercolours found their way into collections worldwide. The Land remains the prime inspiration for his work, although the human form tends to creep in regularly, albeit often subliminally. His work is now far from realism, with an emotional intensity that is self-evident. His shows are always colourful, with most pieces hallmarked by a deep sense of mystery. |
