A masterly and memorable shift in direction

An artist who has exhibited in more than forty galleries during his long and distinguished career, from David Messum’s in London to the New Craftsman in St Ives, Colin Orchard realises that those familiar with his work may notice certain changes this time around.

One who has often said that the late Bernard Dunstan’s Paintings in Progress inspired him to become a full-time painter, he admits: “Most importantly, I adopted his method of preparing and making panels, which I still occasionally use. I was never conscious or concerned abut composition, as I would select the area I considered to be the painting and then crop, and always to a square format.”

But now, as he says: “Without any reason I recently decided to paint on stretched canvases, all square format, ranging from 30-86cm. This completely new direction at first presented an interesting challenge as I no longer had the option to crop.”

Then, too, he confesses: “Perhaps another factor regarding my recent work is a slight change in my use of tone, colour and scale. This is due to cataract operations this year to both eyes – possibly with quite interesting results.”

For this show he has returned to his favourite subjects:

Cornwall, Suffolk, Venice and, of course, people, and from such works as Bailey’s Lane, St Ives and River Blyth, Suffolk to Rainy Day, Venice and Gallery Figures, they are more than interesting and as striking as they are immensely satisfying.

An artist who has lived and worked in St Ives for almost as many years as the number of galleries he has exhibited in, throughout those years his contribution to the town’s art scene has been considerable. One of the authors, along with Henry Gilbert and Roy Ray of the guide book, Art About St Ives, he was also a co-producer with Janet Axten of Gasworks to Gallery: The Story of Tate St Ives.

Although he has arrived at his own inimitable style via a background of graphic design, there is little or no evidence of the rigidity or formality of line one might expect to see in his compositions. Quite the opposite, in fact; if anything they contain instead something of the mix of approach of the Euston Road Group and Les Nabis, the small group of French artists who excelled in intimate interiors and whose members included Edouard Vuillard, one of Colin Orchard’s admitted mentors. An impressionist, it is his sensitive handling of the constantly changing effects of direct and indirect light upon static objects which impresses, plus the assurance and authority that his pictures possess which add to the impact they make upon the viewer. From an interior such as Will’s Studio to an exterior like Towards Carn Galver, West Penwith , his paintings are as masterly as they are memorable, and as pleasing as they are potent.

They are accompanied by a new collection of Tanya Gomez’s ceramics which goes beyond her customary focus on the sea towards an exploration of the textures of ice and rock.

Both exhibitions can be seen at the New Craftsman Gallery in St Ives until November 10.

Frank Ruhrmund