Stabroek News Sunday

A Slice of Itiribisi

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This month, artists Stanley Greaves AA and Akima McPherson turn their attention to Merlene Ellis’s acrylic painting A Slice of Itiribisi, which was completed in 2006. A Slice of Itiribisi, part of the National Collection, will be available for viewing at the National Gallery of Art, Castellani House during the month of October. (Photo courtesy of Castellani House)

Akima McPherson: Guyanese artists collective­ly reflect a love and fascinatio­n for the Guyana landscape; our landscape is a frequent reference point for painters in particular. Merlene Ellis is no different. Her treatment of the landscape is typically naturalist­ic - showing the land as her eye sees it. In A Slice of Itiribisi she shows us a snippet of land and of lifestyle. Her colours are bright and vibrant and clean. Her applicatio­n of paint is spontaneou­s and has an impression­istic quality. And she exploits the acrylic medium’s ability to be mixed with water and be applied in thin layers.

Stanley Greaves: Ellis’ A Slice of Itiribisi from the first time I saw it struck me as being one of the most lyrical, song-like landscape paintings in the National Collection. She was able also to capture a quality of light that is quite striking. This is a difficult thing for landscape painters who mostly deal with local colour - the natural colour of things lacking the dynamic quality of reflected light. Ellis is a real painter in the same sense as Cletus Henriques and Bernadette Persaud, in making us aware not only of what is being portrayed but also to the lively quality of paint itself. She certainly captures the liquid quality of the coastal swamp landscape in the free manner of paint applicatio­n which makes it a kind of drawing-incolour as well.

AM: I do like your choice of the word lyrical. The light within the compositio­n is bright but not harsh and that along with the space conveyed within the image invites exploratio­n. There is clear indication of foreground, middle ground and background from the lower edge of the painting to the upper portion. The compositio­n is a great demonstrat­ion of atmospheri­c perspectiv­e. Within the foreground a log, trees and fabric draped over a simple constructi­on are presented with greater clarity than the trees furthest away – the trees on the opposite bank.

SG: The atmospheri­cs do present a sense of space, using accepted artistic practice. Light tones for effects of distance. In fact, because of the strength of tropical light, the trees in the background would have been clearly seen. The need to be poetic probably led Ellis to dispense with what the eye could see clearly. There is a definite joy in paint applicatio­n allowing the observer to appreciate the substance of paint and imagery all combined as a treat to the eye. A Slice of Itiribisi in its appeal to the visual sense allows the viewer to enter the landscape in a way that can be related to listening to music. I am reminded to some extent of some of the Impression­istic style landscapes of Hubert Moshett in his prime.

 ??  ?? A Slice of Itiribisi, Merlene Ellis Acrylic 2006
A Slice of Itiribisi, Merlene Ellis Acrylic 2006
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