Dave King ~ Art
2014 - 2020
The shapes and objects within my paintings are a result of improvised drawing - playing with and manipulating linear elements until a satisfactory composition is arrived at. The subject matter is recognisably a landscape or still life but I deal with the internal elements purely in terms of shape and colour, as geometric/abstract forms combining to form a coherent whole.
The shape of the paintings and the way the internal composition adheres to the outer edges of the 'canvas' reinforces a notion that these are essentially flat sculptures that portray elements of a remembered or imagined reality.
The first series of works. Begun in 2014 they are a response to my retiring from teaching and moving away from Bude to a very different environment.
Memories of the sea front, harbours, boats, Cornish towns, the view from a cafe. Predominant Blues.
Living in middle of the Devon countryside has a profound effect on the work.
Green is everywhere and previously very rarely used!
The shapes, colours and textures of fields, hills, roads. The way a village or town will appear nestled into the shape of the countryside.
This series of paintings seems to have evolved so naturally - the 'studio' being sited right next to a cow field with all the smells, sights and natural sounds that produces.
These works follow on from the last of the Devon Series but are now wholly developed from drawings that begin with geometric shapes of various kinds, jigsawing and overlapping before being developed into the familiar landscapes and interiors of previous work. The internal geometry is also beginning to influence the outer shape of the final piece in some cases
A large part of 2019 was spent making a series of smaller circular paintings.
Made on bread-boards with a 'natural' frame they are sized at 30cm diam. and 20cm diam.
The circular format often influences decisions which are made concerning the combination of shapes in the interior of the painting.
As with all my work I regard to surface and shape of the 'canvas' as an "arena" in which the action of drawing and painting (and all the decisions that have to be made) happen. Just like solving a crossword puzzle, the solutions to my self-devised problem lie entirely within the work itself.