The Pre-Raphaelite collection at Birmingham's Museum and Art Gallery offered a safe haven whilst I was growing up. The narrative aspect of the paintings heavily influenced me, even though they were thought of as being somewhat "naff" by most of my teachers and, later on, lecturers.
"Last of the Washing" owes its existence to Henry Wallis's "The Stonebreaker". "The Stonebreaker" is painted with looser brushwork than Wallis's most famous piece "The Death of Chatterton". Depicting a labourer seemingly at rest in the evening sunset. Although Wallis never confirmed one way or another, closer inspection the dramatic truth is seemingly revealed as a stoat inspects the man, unafraid.
Last of the Washing (2021)
Medium: Oil on canvas (740 x 1040 mm)
In "Last of the Washing" a hedgehog plays the role of the stoat. Although the old lady could just be sleeping, the hedgehog is not scared of her as it investigates the fallen mug near her person. In the ground floor window, a cat patiently waits to be fed.
For the twilight I was heavily influenced by René Magritte's "Empire of the Light". A fantastic surrealist work depicting a house at night but with a daytime sky. It always seemed to me, however, that save the clouds - the tone of the sky worked very well for that magic, luminous moment that bookends the night. The vibrant turquoise of the night sky in "Last of the Washing" is a reflection on Magritte's slightly more muted palette. The foreground has a deep ultramarine wash to suggest the beginning or the end of the night.
The work has been framed by Kingswood Framing.
DRM