Last week I visited a small exhibition in the south of
England, in a smaller town in Kent.
Based in the historic town of Rochester, the Francis Iles Galleries
sells and exhibits famous paintings from many artists; when I visited, the
exhibition on show was by a painter called Christopher Jarvis, a local artist
whose paintings are somewhat famous in the south east.
Jarvis is primarily a watercolour and oil painter; I found his paintings to be particularly
striking many of them being marvellous landscapes; the Gallery owner explained
that Jarvis had moved to a house that overlooked the river medway and this had
obviously had a distinct impact on his art – landscapes filled with country
scenes and trees quickly changing to waterfronts and detailed oil painted ships
reflecting his new home at the historic docks. His landscapes are incredibly
detailed, and his ability to draw water is astounding; it looks realistic with
the separation of light and distorted reflections, a technique that I admire
and would love to learn.
his other greatest passion is also reflected in his art;
being a former drummer himself, Jarvis shows a particular flair in his
portrayal of music and instruments in his art. His Oil paintings of musicians
are seemingly alive on the canvas, with broad strokes and streaky backgrounds
that bring the subject of the piece into sharp contrast. The paintings have
some genuine life to them, with his paintings of famous musicians looking as if
they were made mid concert; my favourite piece of his appears within this
category, an amazing oil painting of Jimi Hendrix mid solo – the painting is
amazing, with the lifelike expression on the subjects face and attention to
detail in his clothing and hair contrasting with the simplistic background that
gives the illusion of stage lighting; it is easy to see the artist put a lot of
work into this painting, as is the case for each of his exhibited pieces. Out of the exhibitions I have recently visited, I can easily say this has been
my favourite as of yet.
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