Abstractions

This exhibition will makes clear exactly where the idea for Nick Schlee’s abstract paintings come from. Looking closely at small areas of the brushwork in his oil landscapes he has enlarged them some ten times to become the basis of big, dramatic abstractions. It provides an unusual opportunity to compare the original inspiration with the final painting.

Nick Schlee explains:
“I  never really did trust abstract pictures. Thy were often seductive in their colour and composition. But they played on my  senses  without revealing exactly  where they were coming from. Like some music, they  did not have a ‘story line’ that would help me navigate my senses safely through the colour and lines, tones and textures that were their weapons of attack.” ‘Field edge abstract’  Oil  107  X 122 cm

“I have selected portions of the painting that when seen in close up seem to have sufficiently powerful brushstrokes, rhythm and pattern to qualify them for becoming the subject of a large canvas. Sometimes I have turned them on their side to deny the viewer the possibility of seeing too readily the reality from which they were derived. Even, in some cases, the colour or tones have been altered to  enhance their attraction.”‘Field edge’   Oil on board   60 x 74 cm