THE ART OF DOUGLAS EWEN
| OIL PAINTINGS - TABLEAUX A L'HUILE |
Every painting by Douglas Ewen is both a romance and a powerful statement of time and place.
In the Lubéron series the main influence is that of time. Objects found or observed in the landscape speak of the
ancient character of this place. The paintings have an unmistakable medieval aspect which resonates of the ancient
land of Gaul. Indeed, some of the objects which became the initial motifs
for some of the paintings may well have lain where they were eventually found by the artist since those ancient days.
There is a great difference between sight and vision. In our daily lives we use our sense of sight merely for the purpose
of recognition. We do not look penetratingly of the visual qualities of objects after we have identified them as familiar
things. As Gertrude Stein used to say- 'A rose is a rose, is a rose, is a rose'. The visual artist, however, has a different
relationship with his sense of sight. This rose is definitely not that rose and that rose is like no other. Everything has
unique qualities in his eyes. This is why a visual object, whether it be a stone, the face of a lover, or an expansive
scene can be so evocative and compel an irresistible creative impulse.
In the Roussillon series the influence changes to that of place. The time is now, or rather it is the time that a particular
phenomenon of place impinged on the retina of the artist and remained there, like an afterimage, while he revealed
not just its forms but its qualities of 'earthspace' on canvas. These paintings are about what it is like to be in an open
environment at a particular brief moment of time. To see intently. To select. Then to evoke, much as a poet might
evoke using words or as a composer would using music.
With this in mind, perhaps it is not entirely coincidental that much of Douglas Ewen's work has a resonance with the
music of that most visual of composers, Claude Debussy.
Eric Robinson, Granada, Spain 2007
In the Lubéron series the main influence is that of time. Objects found or observed in the landscape speak of the
ancient character of this place. The paintings have an unmistakable medieval aspect which resonates of the ancient
land of Gaul. Indeed, some of the objects which became the initial motifs
for some of the paintings may well have lain where they were eventually found by the artist since those ancient days.
There is a great difference between sight and vision. In our daily lives we use our sense of sight merely for the purpose
of recognition. We do not look penetratingly of the visual qualities of objects after we have identified them as familiar
things. As Gertrude Stein used to say- 'A rose is a rose, is a rose, is a rose'. The visual artist, however, has a different
relationship with his sense of sight. This rose is definitely not that rose and that rose is like no other. Everything has
unique qualities in his eyes. This is why a visual object, whether it be a stone, the face of a lover, or an expansive
scene can be so evocative and compel an irresistible creative impulse.
In the Roussillon series the influence changes to that of place. The time is now, or rather it is the time that a particular
phenomenon of place impinged on the retina of the artist and remained there, like an afterimage, while he revealed
not just its forms but its qualities of 'earthspace' on canvas. These paintings are about what it is like to be in an open
environment at a particular brief moment of time. To see intently. To select. Then to evoke, much as a poet might
evoke using words or as a composer would using music.
With this in mind, perhaps it is not entirely coincidental that much of Douglas Ewen's work has a resonance with the
music of that most visual of composers, Claude Debussy.
Eric Robinson, Granada, Spain 2007