Jon Rowland
Art Themes
Take a look at the art themes that inspire Jon’s work, including colour, movement, places and spaces.
“Painting is a journey. The picture takes on a life of its own, sometimes going with your flow, sometimes challenging you. Chance and opportunity are the travelling companions, but the art is to know when the journey is complete.”
Archive
Journeys to south west Scotland have also provided an environment that continually changes, hour by hour with the weather and the tides. Hot sands in high summer, winter rains at high tide, and peaty streams as the snows melt form part.
Colouration
Colour is central to Jon’s paintings, whether exploring the juxtaposition of hue or depth of colour. This changes depending on location. In Scotland, the day-to-day, and hour-by-hour changes in weather provided the opportunity to enhance an otherwise muted palette.
The new exhibitions will continue to explore the importance of 'place' in my 'grounded' abstracts. It is a celebration of particular spaces that mean a lot to me, whether during the Covid period, when we were not able to move out of our houses, or in particular regions, which I visited after the lockdowns were abandoned.
During the pandemic, the emotional response to ‘lockdown’ and the internal domestic environment produced further opportunities for abstraction.
In the Studio
Movement & Stillness
Sensuality can be applied to the gentle slopes of landscape as well as the human body. His approach to nudes, both male and female is to reflect the tactile features of the body. Recent work at Ruskin School of Art and elsewhere, exemplifies this.
New works
“I have been very excited about discovering new ways of expressing ideas that are more abstract and reflect emotions as well as a regard to some figurative idea. The conscious need to relate to something real often has to be challenged.”
Places and Spaces
A number of locations have influenced ideas on abstraction. Many pictures are painted ‘en plein air’, whether in Cuba, Provence, Devon, or the Scottish Coast - where the environment continually changes. In some cases he explores space, light, and colour. Hot sands in high summer, winter rains at high tide, peaty streams as the snow melts are part of this theme. Painting at the edge of water requires the ability to capture the essence of the moment before it’s lost. He draws on influences from both west coast America and the new English landscape scene.
Progression and adventure
Thinking on paper and canvas has led to a mix of media. Oil, acrylic, ink, charcoal, crayon, and more recently spray paint have become more common. Collage has always been part of his vocabulary and recent works using this more complex medium, have led to exciting explorations.
