Brian Wood ceramic (3)

Brian Wood jug

The painting of Brian Wood's ceramic jug has gone through many iterations (see two of them below). I tried putting several items in the picture with the jug but none of them worked. The jug sat there throughout, surviving the several over-paintings. It is a very determined jug.

Finally I decided to make the painting a colour study and now I rather like it.

I painted some pink Hibiscus flowers in a vase with similar colours. I like using a similar colour combination over two or more paintings as they look good on the wall together. 

The vase with Hibiscus flowers originally sat on a draped white cloth and there were two nectarines in the picture. Once again the nectarines didn't survive the painting process.

Vase of pink Hibiscus flowers.

In the meantime the nectarines have all been consumed but they are still in season so today I bought some more.

The next painting is going to be of a plate of nectarines.

Brian Wood jug

Brian Wood jug.

My painting of the Brian Wood jug is morphing. I painted it first with a bowl of nectarines and a jug of lavender but it was unbalanced, the jug got lost, the lavender didn't fit and the nectarines took over. That was a long list of deficiencies and although I had spent a long time painting the nectarines (so delicious they looked too) in the end I couldn't retain them and painted the whole lot out.

At the moment the jug stands on its own on a back background. I am not sure what the next step will be. Painting is a battle, as one of the art school tutors said. At the time I had not believed him, but increasingly, I do.

'Brian Wood' jug with nectarines

White ceramic 'Brian Wood' jug with nectarines
Acrylic on Canvas
30 x 40 cm

The Otago Art School in  Dunedin  (NZ) has an excellent ceramics department with original and inspiring teachers including, when I was there, Jim Cooper and Maddie Child.

The white jug in this painting was made by Brian Wood who was a ceramic expert and curator even before he was an art school student. I bought it at a final-year student sale.

It has an unusual and graceful form and although it is not completely waterproof  I have kept it and admired it ever since. It is an art object but I use it as an  utilitarian object - I keep my paintbrushes in it. (Eat your heart out, Peter Voulkos.)

Jug with brushes