Still Life 2010-2019

In 2010 Mountjoy withdrew from teaching to spend more time in his studio. Bands of light crossing circles with shadows thrown across curved surfaces became a theme that engrossed him. The paintings; abstract in their intentions, moved away from subjects with obvious significance. He claimed that the bowls and fruits that became the themes of many later paintings in the series had no symbolic or emotional meaning but were selected for their colour, texture and form. Yet there are thinly disguised references to recollections or narratives as in ‘Tea on the Terrazzo’ and the series of found objects in made boxes.

Working with acrylic on stretched and gesso primed paper, the subjects were often viewed from above and the composition completed by cropping. The framing edge was decided last instead of first giving the him the freedom to reconsider and revise the arrangement. 

There was some experimentation with abstracting the elements into simple forms, but he then rejected this as being simply decorative; and an approach that had been extensively covered by other artists. The fruits, flowers and containers he rendered with as much accuracy as he claimed to be able to achieve without blending the brushstrokes completely. He shied away from total photo realism, needing the viewer to see and feel the process. It is evident that the slow course of painting these small intense works was laborious yet deeply meditative; If there is a message, it is that he wanted viewer to share in and feel this sustained contemplation.

A video of painting ‘Seven Marbles in a Deep Bowl’ can be viewed by clicking here.

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