Because Covid restricted the amount of time artist Rod Kitson could go out to sketch he began creating art from within his own mind using, as a starting point, old sketches he had made at a life drawing class in less infectious times, writes Michael Holland.
The artist painted directly on to the sketches with oil paint, working them up in to larger artworks. Imagination was now his inspiration.
Initially, when seeing the resulting works in his current exhibition, Blue Lotus, you see paintings full of flowing movement, comic book fantasies of life and death that may be replete with mythical metaphor or a window into Kitson’s imaginative brain.
But it is when you get to talk to him about his work that what may seem a small, inconsequential detail in a picture will actually be a major moment in his life. The South Coast landmark Durdle Door becomes a portal to the past and tales of his mother, who features a lot in this new artwork. A man with a pram leads to the story of the stranger who burgled houses to steal red items. Innocent artworks that delve into childhood memories hold hidden secrets and nothing is as it appears.
As we, hopefully, emerge from the Covid-restrictions, Rod Kitson rejoices in this different way of working within the parameters set by others and he enjoyed the new process: ‘I loved making these pictures, They developed so naturally and the process felt very intuitive and direct. The ink seemed to take on a life of its own, and took me wherever it wanted to go.’
When I visited I could see that several of the works had been sold.
The Art of Isolation, 2nd Floor Surrey Quays Shopping Centre, SE16 7LL until November 7th.