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Hamish Blakely
1 The Lost Reel
Canvas edition of 95
Image 28” x 28” Framed £695
no surprise that they are often described as “love letters” to his wife. ‘Timeless’ has echoes of the infamous Christine Keeler photograph by Lewis Morley, but this is a mere suggestion. While the beauty of the model is obvious, the vintage and modern cameras in the background act as a metaphor. “It is beauty that is the subject of the title, despite shifts in fashion, body image and the individual identity of each era and decade,” explains Blakely. “This is de- picted by the old and very modern camera. “I think there is something comforting and necessary in those things that remain constant through changing times, something that stands proud amidst the ebb and flow.” In ‘The Lost Reel’, it is the old-style movie camera set upon Gail’s face that offers a poignancy and sense of nostalgia. But these paintings are more than a simple study of a woman, says Blakely. “These are portraits as well as narrative pieces and the expression on Gail’s face always lends a depth and mystery,” he says. “Trying to capture what she is thinking is a very important challenge.” He paints instinctively, using the paint and brushes to get the feel for his portraits just right, and does not sketch or plan the composition. Instead, he fine tunes his work at the final stages. “Despite the maxim of ‘fat over lean’ with oil paint, I paint lean over fat and fat over fat and whatever it takes to create the ‘feel’ I am after,” he says. “It can be painstaking, I want the image to have body and brush marks. I think instinct is vital. If I think too much and over-analyse what I am doing, I get blocked and make odd decisions. If I can ‘let go’ a bit, things start to work out.”
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Timeless beauty captured in amoment Hamish Blakely is renowned for his technical excellence, capturing the essence of a moment with the deft strokes of a paintbrush. In his latest collection, he explores beauty and its relationship with the passing of time, perfectly encapsulating the concept in his wife andmuse
P artly inspired by the heroines in classic black and white movies, Hamish Blakely’s new releases have a distinctive vintage feel to them. ‘Timeless’ and ‘The Lost Reel’ are stud- ies in beauty by this long-time favourite artist of Castle Galleries and with all his paintings, the devil is in the detail.
These studies in oil capture the juxtaposition of old and modern, the ephemeral and the constant. And it is his masterful use of light and shade that bring his rich and textured figurative paintings to life. The model is his muse and wife Gail, who has long been the subject of his work. The sense of intimacy is so keen that it is
Gallery Come and view the stunning new pieces from Hamish Blakely's spring collection - in galleries now. castlegalleries.com
FINE ART COLLECTOR SPRING 2014
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