Julia Francese

copyright 2012

'Afterwards' by Thomas Hardy

When the Present has latched it's postern behind my tremulous stay, and the May month flaps it's glad green leaves like wings, delicate-filmed as new spun silk; will the neighbours say, 'He was a man who used to notice Such things.'

If it be in the dusk when, like an eyelid's soundless blink, the dewfall-hawk comes crossing the shades to alight upon the wind-warped upland thorn; a gazer may think, 'To him this must have been a familiar sight'.

If I pass during some nocturnal blackness, mothy and warm, when the hedgehog travels furtively over the lawn, one may say, 'He strove that such innocent creatures should come to no harm, But he could do little for them; and now he is gone.'

If, when hearing that I have been stilled at last, they stand at the door, Watching the full-starred heavens that winter sees, will his thought rise on those who will meet my face no more, 'He was one who had an eye for such mysteries'. And will any say when my bell of quittance is heard in the gloom, and a crossing breeze cuts a pause in it's outrollings till they rise again as they were a new bell's boom, 'He hears it not now, but used to notice such things.'

'Afterwards', Oil, 152x100cm, 2009- 2011

The narrative and composition as in 'Afterwards' is sometimes not known until the painting is finished. I'm not an artist who does sketches on paper beforehand, working out it's composition and then the painting from that. I find this an un-natural process and places me in a frame of mind that is copying albeit it is my work - rather than creating at that instant. This process moves with your mood and thoughts at the time and there is a key or range of thoughts that I tend to get into in order for me to paint. Working in this way is unpredictable in terms of those times to paint.

There are a number of panels in the painting which has allowed the narrative to change and may continue to as I intend to paint further panels. When I came across the poem by Thomas Hardy it gave the painting it's narrative. The painting is a gentle portrayal of an angel whose wing strectches out into a past world - a world that has now been lost.

The painting like my other work, draws on experience, learnt and invented techniques, motifs, and design. It is an example of the traditional method of development in painting practice. To learn to paint from still life, landscape and the figure teaches you about space, form, colour and composition. It is no different from a musician learning his instrument from continual practice and reciting. There is also another less spoken about but important attribute this course of learning gives the individual. The space to think quietly in a solitary bubble. Here now there are two kernels which make up creativity. If I can liken it to two lines, the first represents free thinking and the other is learnt technique. The motivation comes from the first, but then both mutually help each other and as such intrinsically linked, one cannot do without the other.

Snapshot

1963 Born in Victoria, Australia

1985-87 BA Fine Arts, Monash University- Melbourne

1991 - Eltham Group Show - Victoria

1993 Italy - 3 month Studio practice, Castellina in Chianti

1993 - 1998 - Resided in Boskoop, The Netherlands

1995 - Invitation to show at Gallery Albrecht, Delft Rotterdam

1996 - Invitation to show at Gallery Van Rijlaarsdam, NuiewKoop

1997 - Exhibition at Stuart Gertsman Galleries, Melbourne

1997 - Exhibition at Amis De Artes, Cours Mirabeau, Aix en Provence, France

1998 Commissioned Wall Murals, Bart Holland Classic Car Showroom, Boskoop

1998 - To date residing in Brixton, London, England

2011 - Retrospective Exhibition 'Person to Person' Menier Gallery, Southwark, London.

Press release

Contact: FRANCESE8@aol.co.uk

 

'He Strove But Could Do Little For Them', Oil, 100x30cm, 2009-2011

The Australian bush, in eastern Victoria where I grew up, as you stand in amongst it, has a synthesis of grey to which on close inspection small pockets of beautiful intense colour is revealed. Tiny bush flowers that precariously lay on the ground, colours of violet, yellow, crimson seem to be related in proportion to the small colourful wrens and robins that inhabit low lying scrub. The proportions are kept when you then look up into the trees and see in amongst the branches of different greens a red rosella parrot. At first you miss it but then your eye latches onto it. It's marvellous to be confronted with such a surprise and this part of the Australian bush is like that. The backdrop is a variation of sublety with hidden nuances of colour. It doesn't shout out to tell you but with slow, careful, looking you become aware of more. This proportion of colour and the need to look carefully, in some ways is a good allegory to life which is appealing, and is one of those subtleties which has had an influence on my work.

'He Strove' is a continuation on the theme from 'Afterwards' and thus from Thomas Hardy's poem. The structure is made up of strong flat colour and tonality is restricted to the faces. It's a bold composition with the white of the wing taking up the central position. It's used as a point of rest and contrast to the intricate black line which is weaving in, out, through and over. There are references to nature with animal, branch and watery motifs, this line was picked up on when I used to paint still life. The line around the tops, the side the base of cups, glasses and around as well as inside the form of fruit etc. were a consequence of this and many other imaginative interpretations. The reference to nature addresses the loss of her as highlighted quite often in poetry.

'Lost Time', Oil, 130x40cm, 2012

'Simple Forms and Shapes' Oil, 51x36cm, 1995

This still life offered up unconsciously a number of creative developments which gave meaning to future work. Intellectually, I was interested in combining objects that we understood with objects that were less identifiable in reality; i.e. that were just shapes. And with this combination could I produce a picture that would give more interest. It worked on the aesthetic principle of 'essence'. Take out what you don't need, but don't take out too much, and conversely, put in as much as you can but don't put in too much. Relationships where objects in distance and angle sat from one another would not be ignored but consciously considered. Placing high regard to such principles of design, these small paintings for me were important as they allowed you to concertrate on a small area and to get it right. How you got it right was by moving things around and feeling the 'weight' of the composition. The painting emphasises 'line' and 'texture' variation. Just a few angles creates the space and depth and to take them out the remaining objects would float. To make something float is less difficult than to make something sit.

'Spaces Formed' Oil, 114x40cm, 1995

This painting furthers on in development from 'Simple Forms'. It's an example of identifying applications and invented images 'motifs' that become the individual's library of visual imagery. It's the process that takes you away from relying on reality or non objective universal forms. It's these inventions that describe the artist and goes one step further than an artist's pallette within an already recognised style. For me this is the only access to originality and grows like a tree...slowly. This painting is elongated in width. As such it reduces the impact of the objects taken from 'Simple Forms'. The decision not to increase the size of these shapes in order to fill up the space is to do with maximising the illusion of what space is there. The composition becomes a division or planes, something I used in the late 80's when painting interior narratives. Having a space that was one point perspective I found very limiting, so I looked at depth attributed to: through, in, under, around, over, behind, outward, left, right, up, down, back and forth. The center peice, a large cross divides the painting into thirds and within this cross an ambiguous space -one of unidentifiable distance is created. The outline of the cross, is repeated along the top of the painting as a way of blending it in and taking away what otherwise is a powerful shape. Echoing it's line softens it's dominance. That central area, provided a branch into the next painting called 'Spatial Awareness'. This space is more conventional, used to evoke an atmosphere. It's width is divided in thirds, but the division is made using tonal variation. The juxtoposition of a few flat Viridian shapes, with some more rounded forms that could be oranges is being explored. The relationships in size, colour and form compliment each other due to their opposing characteristics. And the idea of how much is enough or not enough is ever present in it's culmination.

'Spatial Awareness' Oil, 34x78cm 1995

The following paintings are variations of the subject matter already mentioned and expanded on. The picture directly below 'Hidden Depth' was reinterpreted as late as 2011. It explempifies the idea of acquiring a personal visual library of patterns, spatial formats, various line configurations and colours that have been chosen to my liking. By looking at art, a wide variety of all types, it can have an affect of defining what it is that appeals and that helps you when you are painting. As an artist it is natural that looking at painting maybe different from an average audience. For instance textures and how it's applied will be observed, i..e.the size and shape of the brush, the length and direction of the strokes made in relation to the size of it's shape. There are numerous subtle points of interest that are there to mine out. Generally, I find the best examples of technical applications and compositional design resting in national collections, they have everything.

'Hidden Depth' Oil, 82x36cm, 1996

'To Notice Such Things' Oil, 160x120cm, 2009-2011

'Still Life with Oranges', Oil, 1995 SOLD

'Windmills', Oil, 1996, SOLD

'Still Life in a Landscape' Oil, 1995, SOLD

'Blue Hands' Oil, 40x60cm, 1992, SOLD

'At Aunty Rose's, Oil, 28x41cm, 1991, SOLD

'De Roemer', Conte, 140x68cm, 1993, SOLD

Intermission:

The few small pictures following are painted in gouache and approximatey A4 size due to lack of spreading power this very fast drying paint has. The pictures are light hearted and usually stay as scribble, but if there is time, they're converted into colourful illustrations.

'Fixing the Billy Carts'

'Freedom'

'Hoppy'

'The Gold Bug'

'Super Girl'

'One, Two, Three'

Mixing it up...

And on different occasions a couple of young art students quietly came over and asked what was art? Then a number of mature artists approached me and expressed their disfavour for art that was 'derivative' of recognised subjects. And then quite a number of people appeared to be astonished to see the variety of different paintings in the exhibition had been painted by the same artist. As did the well spoken silver haired english man, who said . 'And which one is yours?' not quite looking at me so as to turn back his head to survey the pictures. I replied 'All of them'. He then turned back and said 'What?', and I repeated, 'All of them'. He looked again back at the paintings then back at me and said as if he had not heard 'What, all of them?' And I said 'Yes'.

It was mid term summer in 1987 Melbourne, and the results were out for third year art students. They were pinned up behind glass in the corridor of the art studios for all of us to see. As usual due to a lack of attention, I was the last to look at the print out. When I got there, with a little apprehension my eyes lined up my subject 'Painting' double major and followed to see my mark. It read 'F'. 'Mmm great result, at least I'm at the extreme end of something.' I looked at my peer's results and saw those that got high distinctions, distinctions, credits, passes and poor passes. Peter got a credit. The last time I saw him was saying goodbye two years after our studies had finished. He went into a monestary somewhere in Italy and have not heard from him since. Peter had been my painting buddy and we hit it off in a number of common ways, both of us liked to go out and paint landscapes and used to frequent Beumaris, Lichfield and Lower Templestow along the Yarra River. I liked the Heidelberg School and he kept things simple, preferring to use large brushes. We also used to fruit pick during the summer vacation, which was gruelling work. But very special as it threw up chance associations that were sometimes risky and experiences that made you think.

'Railway Line Embankment', Oil, 1989

'Lost' Oil, 1995, Copied From Fred McCubbin - Heidelberg School/Australian Impressionism, SOLD

Unlike me, he was a professional picker and used to go back to the same orchard in south australia every season. I used to rove around victoria and with it met some savoury characters as well as some very knowledgeable and polite people from Europe who were roughing it, as we all did. I still have some photo's of those days. One being a night time shot. I was with a group of isreali and dutch university students and we were sat around a small fire on an unusually white sandy river bank not far from cobram. I can't remember the name of the river now. The stars were out, and it was cold. Out of nowhere came 5 little fluffy ducklings. In an instant we were filled with joy, a pleasure to see these small vulnerable creatures come out of the black quacking away so fresh with excitement. Their wings looked like leaves flappling in the breeze. I suppose it was the warmth and light of the fire that got them in a sought of transfixed state. As they jumped and whistled ever closer, in a moment, we mutually switched from a feeling of joy to horror as one of the poor little blighters jumped right into it and with it the others too, but for our scrabbling.

I met a war veteran named Bill,

Right in the sky of a Dartmoor chill. 

He lost some buttons along with some teeth,

And was a little dirty, so not very neat. 

The words he spoke were from outside the square,

And I listened with a curious stare. 

He said. 'Dartmoor Prison, just over the Tor,

Was built by prisoners from the Napoleonic War. 

And have you heard of a fellow called ‘Moondyne’ Joe? 

He was arrested in 1848 outside a place called Chepstow. 

Stole some bread, bacon, cheese and other stuff, 

And got 10 years of penal servitude which was a bit rough!’. 

Bill paused and looked down at his shirt to brush off some grit. 

Then went on to say 'Joe got sent onto Australia as a convict'.

He mentioned 'irons, horse stealing, 10 more years of hard labour. 

Breaking stone, and chains and periods of good behaviour. 

Old Moondyne Joe finally was let free from jail,

And went gold digging at a place called Karridale.

On the first Sunday of May in the little town called Toodyay,

There's a festival now called Moondyne Joe.

It celebrates with street stalls, and theatre it's really a fabulous show. 

There’s a scrabble board full of riddle, 

Always a beginning that is in the middle. 

Right of centre it begins to crowd,

With little words like ‘deprive’ and ‘endow’. 

A triple word score that is vermilion red,

Attracts the eye of the greedily bred. 

Its effect curtails the potential space,

Making it all an unfair race.  

By the time we had some tea  and scones,

The warm haze over the moors had been and gone.   

I thanked him for his words and waved goodbye

As I watched  him turtle away, under that sinking light blue sky.

'Carving Up The Future,' Oil, 165x78cm, 1989

 

TBC