White tablecloth & pen jar

Details

CreatorJohn BokorTitleWhite tablecloth & pen jarDimensionsH. 93cm x W. 123cmArtist StatementI like to use the objects and places around me as subject matter for my paintings. I mainly paint landscapes of my neighbourhood, still life or the interior of my house. I have an emotional connection to these spaces and hope that I can imbue the works with more than just a pictorial representation.
Light, colour and composition are very important to me as are the many textures and qualities of oil paint from thin washes to lush impasto brush strokes. I graduated from the National Art School, Sydney, in 1993 and have exhibited consistently since 1995 with eleven solo shows and many group exhibitions. I have been the recipient of several prizes and my work is in both public and private collections around Australia. The influences of Cezanne, Matisse and Bonnard are evident in my work as well as the Australian painters Streeton, Beckett and Nolan.
"White Tablecloth and Pen Jar" is part of a recent group of larger still life paintings from this year. I started each painting by rubbing a thin wash of taupe coloured paint into the surface of the canvas to dull the bright white of it and to allow me to leave unworked areas of canvas as just a matt cloth colour. Next I drew from life directly onto the canvas, working in black layout pencil. Some of this can still be seen in the painting. I took a photo of the still life I was working from to use later as a reference for colour and tone. I then worked on the painting in my studio, trying as much as possible to adhere to the drawing and my memory of the scene rather than to rely too heavily on the photograph. It is impossible for me to set up a large canvas in the living room and do the entire painting from life as I have a three year old son, so as a means of adapting I have learned to use photography as a tool.
It is quite hard for me to write of the meaning behind the painting as I hope that for each viewer there will be a different feeling they get from it. For some it will offer them nothing whatsoever and that is quite alright too. The interesting thing about still life painting is that it can be an extraordinarily emotive subject, while relying on simple objects to tell a story.
There is a painting that Matisse did of a bowl of oranges during the German occupation that is a beautiful and colourful little canvas. Someone some years later remarked to him about how joyful and glorious the colour was and that he must have been in quite a grand mood when he painted it, to which he replied that he had never been more depressed in his life. So it is really the viewer who gives their own meanings to paintings.Accession Number066.2018Credit LineAcquired by Friends of Coffs Harbour Regional GalleryAccess AdviceFor research purposes only. No reproduction without permission of Yarrila Arts and Museum.

More Information

Description

Still-life painting of various objects on a table.

AgencyYarrila Arts & Museum (YAM)CollectionYAM Gallery CollectionSub-CollectionStill LifeExhibition HistoryStill Life, Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery CollectionEMSLA 2012

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LexiconPaintingGeneral NamePainting

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