Summertime 2019 oil on canvas 62”x 48”
www.charlesrodwellarts.com
Charles Rodwell
Southern Colour and Northern Nudes 18-22 February 2020
Piers Feetham Gallery , 475 Fulham Rod, London SW6 1HL
The Northern Nudes
Since my student days spent painting in the Life Rooms at the Slade in the 1970s I have always returned to painting the Nude. These works are not paintings from life but are experiments with design, form, line and colour worked up from life drawings and memory in the studio. They are painterly experiments using a limited cool Northern palette.
In this article I will try to explain the route taken over the years since those early student days in the Life Rooms painting Nudes in a style strongly based on the tradition of the Euston Road School.
I was fortunate to spend 3 weeks on a life painting course with Sir William Coldstream, who had just retired as Slade Professor and he introduced me to the mysteries of trying to capture skin tones, poses and the human spirit through careful looking, measuring and loose brush strokes of muted colours reflecting the cool North facing studio windows. The ever present electric heaters, to keep the models warm, used to intrude menacingly but added a certain tension to the space.
Life Painting 1978 oil on canvas 18�x 36�
Charles Rodwell
Southern Colour and Northern Nudes 18-22 February 2020
Piers Feetham Gallery , 475 Fulham Rod, London SW6 1HL
A visiting artist Victor Willing set a pose for the model between blocks of Manganese Blue and Lime Green which livened up the otherwise rather drab cavernous studio with it’s white walls, heater and storage racks. The model seemed almost rosey in complexion, this was a different experience altogether, and this in retrospect probably set me on my journey trying to paint the Nude.
Slade Model 1978 oil on canvas 36” x 24” Charles Rodwell
Southern Colour and Northern Nudes 18-22 February 2020
Piers Feetham Gallery , 475 Fulham Rod, London SW6 1HL
There was then a gap of 15 years, travelling and family life, before I started to draw the model again in the early 1990s. It was at this point that I started to use the drawings to try and create paintings in the studio. I found painting the model too subjective and nearly always failed. I started to teach regular Life Drawing courses and accumulated a collection of quick linear drawings that I found I could sometimes capture the spark of the model and pose. Some paintings were quick and some have taken years to resolve. Thick encrustations of Flake White coagulated on boards and slowly reached completion
Reclining Model 1994 oil on board 24”x 26”
Between Two Squares 1999 oil on board16”x 24” Charles Rodwell
Southern Colour and Northern Nudes 18-22 February 2020
Piers Feetham Gallery , 475 Fulham Rod, London SW6 1HL
I used the motif of the figure to experiment with paint and colour, abstracting and fragmenting compositions while still trying to keep the human touch.
Seated Model 1994 oil o n board 13”x 11”
Crossed 1997 oil on board 17”x 14”
Sunlight 1998 oil on canvas 12”x 12” Leaning 1997 oil onboard 18”x 15”
Charles Rodwell
Southern Colour and Northern Nudes 18-22 February 2020
Piers Feetham Gallery , 475 Fulham Rod, London SW6 1HL
Rainbow Figure 1997 oil on board12”x 7”
Prancing Figure 2003 oil on canvas 16”x 8”
Figure Lying on Grey 1996 oil on board 6”x 12” Charles Rodwell
Southern Colour and Northern Nudes 18-22 February 2020
Piers Feetham Gallery , 475 Fulham Rod, London SW6 1HL
Simplifying and multiplying the figure lead to some interesting results.
Crouched Nude 2000 oil on canvas 18”x 18”
Trio Pose 2000 oil on canvas 18”x 48”
Charles Rodwell
Southern Colour and Northern Nudes 18-22 February 2020
Piers Feetham Gallery , 475 Fulham Rod, London SW6 1HL
Evening light brought out some moody convolutions and I found freedom, increasingly breaking away from a visual record of reality.
Evening Light 1999 oil on board 16”x 16”
Stretched Legs 1999 oil on canvas 24”x 36” Charles Rodwell
Southern Colour and Northern Nudes 18-22 February 2020
Piers Feetham Gallery , 475 Fulham Rod, London SW6 1HL
A fascination with the infinite shapes that the human figure could offer opened up a huge assortment of designs on which I could experiment with paint and colour harmonies.
Orange Hair 1999 oil on canvas 16”x 16”
Charles Rodwell
Southern Colour and Northern Nudes 18-22 February 2020
Piers Feetham Gallery , 475 Fulham Rod, London SW6 1HL
Colour Harmonies 1998 oil on canvas 36”x 30”
Charles Rodwell
Southern Colour and Northern Nudes 18-22 February 2020
Piers Feetham Gallery , 475 Fulham Rod, London SW6 1HL
On a Point 2000 oil on canvas 40”x 36”
Seated Figure 2000 oil on board 20”x 24” Charles Rodwell
Southern Colour and Northern Nudes 18-22 February 2020
Piers Feetham Gallery , 475 Fulham Rod, London SW6 1HL
The colours became richer, the paint thicker and looser.
Seated Figure 2000 oil on canvas 40�x 36�
Charles Rodwell
Southern Colour and Northern Nudes 18-22 February 2020
Piers Feetham Gallery , 475 Fulham Rod, London SW6 1HL
Striped Figure in a Chair 2000 oil on canvas 30”x 24”
Large Reclining Nude 2000-19 oil on board 34”x 48” Charles Rodwell
Southern Colour and Northern Nudes 18-22 February 2020
Piers Feetham Gallery , 475 Fulham Rod, London SW6 1HL
Over the years I kept working on the paintings trying to resolve and move forward.
Seated Nude on Blue 1996 oil on canvas 48�x 40�
Charles Rodwell
Southern Colour and Northern Nudes 18-22 February 2020
Piers Feetham Gallery , 475 Fulham Rod, London SW6 1HL
In 2008 using a new series of life drawings I painted a series of monochrome studies. I found a surprisingly wide range of tone and colour using a very muted palette of Flake White, Ivory Black and occasionally Yellow Ochre.
Standing o/b 18”x 9”
Twisting o/b 18”x 10”
Leaning o/b 18”x 10”
Back o/b 18”x 10”
Charles Rodwell
Southern Colour and Northern Nudes 18-22 February 2020
Piers Feetham Gallery , 475 Fulham Rod, London SW6 1HL
The use of a dark background produced a luminosity and light that became quite addictive for it’s simplicity and dramatic effect.
Lying on White 2008 oil onboard 12”x 8”
Stretching 2009 oil on canvas 6” x 14”
Charles Rodwell
Southern Colour and Northern Nudes 18-22 February 2020
Piers Feetham Gallery , 475 Fulham Rod, London SW6 1HL
Spontaneous and sometimes rough life drawings became central to my working process again.
Life Drawing 2008 6”x 10”
Twisting Nude 2009 oil on canvas 8”x 12”
Charles Rodwell
Southern Colour and Northern Nudes 18-22 February 2020
Piers Feetham Gallery , 475 Fulham Rod, London SW6 1HL
Long Legs 2008 oil on board 10”x 18”
Posing 2008 oil on board 11”x 18”
Charles Rodwell
Southern Colour and Northern Nudes 18-22 February 2020
Piers Feetham Gallery , 475 Fulham Rod, London SW6 1HL
Life Drawing 2008 10”x 6”
Bending 2008 oil on board 12”x 8”
Reclining 2008 oil on canvas 14”x 18”
Charles Rodwell
Southern Colour and Northern Nudes 18-22 February 2020
Piers Feetham Gallery , 475 Fulham Rod, London SW6 1HL
I was beginning to realise that the Nude can be interpreted with many different moods
Figure Drying 2008 oil onboard 12”x 8”
Diagonal Nude 1994 oil on board 8”x 6”
Model with a Cold 2007 oil on board 12”x 8"
Back 2006 oil on board 16”x12"
Charles Rodwell
Southern Colour and Northern Nudes 18-22 February 2020
Piers Feetham Gallery , 475 Fulham Rod, London SW6 1HL
Using any style, scale or medium
Life Drawing 2008 10”x 6”
Standing Nude 2017 w/c 17”x 12”
Red Nude 2018 w/c 6”x 3”
In a Doorway 2008 oil on canvas 20”x 12”
Charles Rodwell
Southern Colour and Northern Nudes 18-22 February 2020
Piers Feetham Gallery , 475 Fulham Rod, London SW6 1HL
A simple but meaningful drawing could be used to recreate a Nude in any way I wanted
Life Drawing 2008 6”x10”
Sleeping Figure 2009 oil on canvas 7”x 10”
Charles Rodwell
Southern Colour and Northern Nudes 18-22 February 2020
Piers Feetham Gallery , 475 Fulham Rod, London SW6 1HL
Life Drawing 2008 6”x10"
Back 2018 Ink and w/c 3”x 6”
Back 2019 wood engraving 1.5”x3” Charles Rodwell
Southern Colour and Northern Nudes 18-22 February 2020
Piers Feetham Gallery , 475 Fulham Rod, London SW6 1HL
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Charles Rodwell
Southern Colour and Northern Nudes 18-22 February 2020
Piers Feetham Gallery , 475 Fulham Rod, London SW6 1HL
