Nicholas Turner: Lighthouse

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Jonathan Cooper Park Walk Gallery

Nicholas Turner

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Nicholas Turner LIGHTHOUSE

Jonathan Cooper front cover:

Lighthouse at Mullion Cove Oil on board, 14 x 15 ins / 35.6 x 38.1 cm back cover:

Grey Vase Oil on board, 6 x 8 ins / 15.2 x 20.3 cm

Park Walk Gallery

20 Park Walk London SW10 0AQ t: +44 (0)20 7351 0410 mail@jonathancooper.co.uk jonathancooper.co.uk

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Nicholas Turner Paintings AN INTRODUCTION Nicholas Turner RWA Born in 1972, in London, Nicholas Turner

Nicholas Turner paints trees, skies, sea, harbour walls, boats, solitary

lives and works in Somerset. After a

figures and simple objects on a table or chair, oh and the occasional

Foundation Course in Art and Design in

factory chimney. These are the subjects of the work in this exhibition and

Bristol, Nicholas achieved a BA (Hons) in

the viewer may wonder whether it is the subject matter that obsesses him

Fine Art from UWE Bristol and in 2003

or whether that is a pretext for another obsession. With Nicholas the true

was elected an Academician of the Royal

subtext is his passion for painting as an end in itself and the attempt to

West of England Academy, serving on its

make paintings which are lyrical and wistful without sentimentality and

governing council. He has exhibited widely

which convey a deep sense of calm and stillness.

and his work is held in public collections including the Royal Collection, the RWA Permanent Collection, the Talboys Bequest RWA, and numerous private collections across the UK, Japan, USA, Italy and Israel.

How does he achieve this? Firstly, looking at his aesthetic instinct, his subject matter has a quality of timelessness. Where he might have painted the present day for example in his harbour or town scenes, he has chosen to turn the clock back slightly thus giving the impression that his paintings inhabit an age somewhere in the early 20th century when life seemed less frenetic. Secondly, apart from the odd scudding cloud his subjects are still and without hint of movement. Everything appears to have been where it now is forever. Sail boats, often little more than white triangles, or in the work titled ‘The Jump’ resembling the paper boats children make, do not move. The man diving off the harbour wall in that same

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painting is also frozen mid air for all time. Painting from memory and imagination allows Nicholas to place objects exactly where he wants them. His sense of composition doubtless honed from close familiarity with and respect for artists of the past, is totally assured. By abstracting and simplifying his shapes he makes the most resonant statements in the most economical way.

Nicholas has also mastered a painting technique which gives him the best opportunity of realising his purpose. Preparatory drawing is absent. There is no need for it as it would inhibit his freedom to create his imagery within the very act of painting. His chosen oil colours are pared to a minimum – yellow ochre, Indian red, cobalt blue, black and white, supplemented only where needed with cerulean and cadmium. With these limited colours and painting on a mid toned absorbent surface he is able intuitively to achieve the colour balance, control of tone and the harmony he seeks. Rather than concentrate on any one area of the picture his brush roams back and forth over the whole surface, one mark informing the next. Brush marks, dabbed and scrubbed rather than drawn out, are both delicate and firm at the same time, the broken surface often left looking under painted, an effect which is reminiscent of Vuillard and the small studies of Seurat.

Simon Quadrat PPRWA

Industrial Town with Figure Oil on canvas, 30 Ă— 30 ins / 76.2 Ă— 76.2 cm

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Yellow Flower Oil on board, 6 × 8 ins / 15.2 × 20.3 cm

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Cornish Landscape with Flowers Oil on linen, 14 × 18.5 ins / 35.6 × 47 cm

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Six Eggs in a Basket Oil on board, 14 × 18 ins / 35.6 × 45.7 cm

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Table with Red Bowl Oil on board, 14 × 18 ins / 35.6 × 45.7 cm

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Man with Flowers Oil on canvas, 30 × 30 ins / 76.2 × 76.2 cm

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Table with Shells Oil on linen, 20 × 24 ins / 50.8 × 61 cm

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Cornish Table Oil on linen, 24 × 30 ins / 61 × 76.2 cm

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Table with Pier Oil on canvas, 36 × 36 ins / 91.4× 91.4 cm

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Pansies Oil on board, 10 × 10 ins / 25.4 × 25.4 cm

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White Bowl Oil on board, 14 × 18 ins / 35.6 × 45.7 cm

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White Vase Oil on linen, 14 × 18 ins / 35.6 × 45.7 cm

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Table with Shells and Carnations Oil on board, 14 × 18.5 ins / 35.6 × 47 cm

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Six Pears Oil on canvas, 30 × 30 ins / 76.2 × 76.2 cm

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White Boat at Mullion Cove Oil on board, 8 × 10 ins / 20.3 × 25.4 cm

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White Sail Oil on board, 10 × 12 ins / 25.4 × 30.5 cm

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Autumn Harvest Oil on board, 10 × 12 ins / 25.4 × 30.5 cm

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Figure and Field Oil on linen, 20 × 24 ins / 50.8 × 61 cm

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Red Pear Oil on canvas, 36 × 36 ins / 91.4 × 91.4 cm

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White Boat and Sail Oil on board, 6 × 8 ins / 15.2 × 20.3 cm

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The Jump Oil on canvas, 20 × 24 ins / 50.8 × 61 cm

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South Pier and Rooftops Oil on board, 6 × 8 ins / 15.2 × 20.3 cm

South Pier Newlyn Oil on board, 6 × 8 ins / 15.2 × 20.3 cm

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South Pier III, Newlyn Oil on board, 6 × 8 ins / 15.2 × 20.3 cm

Interior with Table and Flowers Oil on board, 6 × 8 ins / 15.2 × 20.3 cm

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Pier at Newlyn, Cornwall Oil on board, 10 x 12 ins / 25.4 x 30.5 cm

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Two Vases Oil on board, 10 x 12 ins / 25.4 x 30.5 cm

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Cups and Pears Oil on board. 30 × 32 ins / 76.2 × 81.3 cm

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Headland with Two Vases Oil on linen, 14 × 18 ins / 35.6 × 45.7 cm

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Cottages with Table Oil on board, 30 × 32 ins / 76.2 × 81.3 cm

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Figure at Dusk Oil on board, 10 × 13 ins / 25.4 × 33 cm

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Orchard at Dusk Oil on linen, 31.5 × 39.5 ins / 80 × 100.3 cm

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Fishermen Oil on canvas, 30 × 30 ins / 76.2 × 76.2 cm

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PZ153 Oil on board, 10 x 12 ins / 25.4 x 30.5 cm

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Lighthouse and Boats Oil on board, 10 x 12 ins / 25.4 x 30.5 cm

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Black Cup Oil on board, 14 × 18.5 ins / 35.6 × 47 cm

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Grey Table Oil on board, 14 × 18.5 ins / 35.6 × 47 cm

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Boat and White House Oil on board, 6 × 8 ins / 15.2 × 20.3 cm

Black Boat Mullion Oil on board, 6 × 8 ins / 15.2 × 20.3 cm

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Red Lighthouse Oil on board, 6 × 8 ins / 15.2 × 20.3 cm

Red Boat Oil on board, 6 × 8 ins / 15.2 × 20.3 cm

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Green Eggs Oil on board, 15 × 15 ins / 38.1 × 38.1 cm

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Eggs Oil on canvas, 23.6 × 23.6 ins / 60 × 60 cm

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Chair with Flowers Oil on canvas, 36 × 36 ins / 91.4 × 91.4 cm

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Blue Sail Oil on board, 8 × 10 ins / 20.3 × 25.4 cm

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