Critical Analysis- David Tress

Biography David Tress was born in London in 1955 and grew up there, showing an early interest in painting, drawing and natural history. After studying science for A-level he changed direction and spent a year at Harrow College of Art. He then took a fine art course at Trent Polytechnic. David Tress recently toured with his exhibition Chasing Sublime Light that concluded at Stowe School in Buckingham. The exhibition explored the experience of travelling in the most powerful and dramatic landscape scenery in northern Britain, particularly by foot. The actual locations for the scenes he drew were chosen carefully and are mostly the very same viewpoints selected by the first wave of Great British landscape artists in the late 18th century such as JMW Turner, David Cox Green Winter and the Sea Shining and Paul Sandby. The sketches and eventual oil paintings these artists made lead to an mixed media on paper, 60x78cm, 2007 increase in tourism in Britain. They pioneered what was termed picturesque landscape based on the wild, rugged scenery found in the Lake District, Scotland or North Wales. The locations selected by all these artists are popular tourist attractions to this day. Tress responds to these landscapes is not cold and analytical but highly energetic, personal and expressive. Subject matter Before the 18th century, remote areas like Lindisfarne and Northumbria or Tintern where rarely visited by tourists at all. It was also very adventurous of the artists who made arduous journeys tot these locations to sketch and paint them, as no one else had done this before. But the locations that were chosen were brilliant, wild and barren. Places like Tintern in Wales, which Tress took a particular interest in had features such as a great Cistercian abbey which was actually the first in

Wales, founded in 1131. Its amazing state of preservation is intriguing and is mostly put down the robust materials used in the time. The West End window was the subject of a lot of Tresss attention and he used a great deal of tracery work to capture the structure. Tintern is now quite famous for the abbey and also for its beauty spots which were made known by William Wordworths Lines written above Tintern. Tress wanted to replicate the kind of isolation that was the main aspect to the paintings and drawings of places like Lindisfarne from the late 18th century. They always emphasised the loneliness of the location, sometimes including a solitary figure or perhaps some cattle to make it seem even more remote. I have been to several places in in the UK where civilisation is far away enough so it is completely out of sight, where elements become a much more prominent interest due to the difficulty they may propose in some way. Wales particularly is a place that I remember having some areas being so quiet isolated. Composition I chose to make a transcription of Tintern West Light a graphite and pencil drawing on paper that features lots of chiaroscuro contrast and made up of expressive, lively marks. It depicts a view of Tintern Abbey, looking down the nave towards the setting sun making the shape of the structure, particularly the window defined and contrasting with the light around it. The still standing walls are also bathed in light and using a mixture of large, powerful blocks of shadow and light the structure of the building looks very believable. The foreground or ground plane is largely empty except for the many diagonal lines which act as pathways for the eye, taking our focus to another part of the drawing. The eye also moves along the pictorial space of the piece guided by zigzag lines, allowing us to take in the whole picture. Certain areas act as stronger focal points, largely due to the contrast between heavy graphite marks or the purer white of the jagged ripped and slashed paper. Technique Tress mainly uses graphite sticks on paper, using them in a very direct, bold and confident way, making the lines have an almost manic, wild energy. At first, the mark making may seem random, perhaps doodle like but the overall effect is

actually achieved by drawing and redrawing making several subtle layers. Tress makes lines and shade, using a rubber to draw with as much erase. The creative process is quite physical, reflecting the very physical experience of walking through the wilds in extreme weather conditions. Tress also gouges at the surface of his work, to draw back into the image with super imposed white lines. He would have used scissors and sandpaper to reveal the layers beneath like a miner chipping at the surface of the coalface. This makes the overall image seem even more chaotic, with more dramatic contrast between the coal black fresh white. The landscape seems very unpredictable and alive. He has used a cross hatching system to build up a tonal variation, creating a rich array of shade. Tress uses the drawing medium with great skill, able to bring the solidity of a sculpture to a drawn form using chiaroscuro. Just a Darkening Snow Afternoon, mixed media Connections on paper. 29x68cm, 2005 I have had similar experiences to Tress and have carried out methods similar to his. Tress visits locations and makes quick sketches, also trying to remember specific moments. Sometime later, he will then reconstruct the experience in his studio, like a kind of re-enactment. During the St. Ives art trip, we did almost the same thing, making line drawings on location and then making paintings weeks later. The piece Tintern West Light is quite an emotive piece, as deserted building often are. There is a slightly creepy aura to it, especially since places like Tintern Abbey would have seen tremendous violence during the dissolution. I also really like the way that in most old abandoned buildings, you can see nature prevailing and taking back the ground we have taken from it, something I find very liberating. I get a sense of this in the drawing, seeing how the elements have taken their toll on even a mighty structure that was erected in the devotion to a god.