PROFIL

Harry Bartlett Fenney

painter; born in the village of Leagrave in Bedfordshire, England; attended Dunstable School.

Then apprenticeship in the local car factory, and training as a draftsman; moved to London working as an industrial graphic designer; always painted in his spare time; and exhibitions for example in the 1980s at the Century Gallery, Henley, figurative works and landscapes; he then developed the abstract forms

he took art lessons from Dolly Taylor in the 1950s and attended Bridget Riley's life drawing class at Croydon Tech in 1960, (before she became world famous)

he has lived for more than twenty years in Collinee, France, and enjoys his life in this town very much; self-built his current home and studio on green land commencing in 2005

The biggest influences are early 20th century painters and writers, eg Klee, Leger, Pound and many others, and later Pop Art of course.

His current work is abstract, as he believes that this form makes the process of subconscious creation possible.

peintre; né dans le village de Leagrave dans le Bedfordshire, en Angleterre ; a fréquenté l'école Dunstable.

Puis apprentissage dans l'usine automobile locale, et formation de dessinateur ; a déménagé à Londres en tant que graphiste industriel; toujours peint pendant son temps libre; et des expositions par exemple dans les années 1980 à la Century Gallery, Henley, des œuvres figuratives et des paysages ; il a ensuite développé les formes abstraites

il a suivi les cours d'art de Dolly Taylor dans les années 1950 et le dessin de la vie Croydon Tech de Bridget Riley (avant qu'elle ne devienne mondialement célèbre) en 1960

il vit depuis plus de vingt ans à Collinee, en France, et aime beaucoup sa vie dans cette ville ; auto-construit sa maison et son studio actuels sur un terrain verdoyant à partir de 2005

Les plus grandes influences sont les peintres et les écrivains du début du XXe siècle, par exemple Klee, Leger, Pound et bien d'autres, et plus tard le Pop Art bien sûr.

Son travail actuel est abstrait, car il croit que cette forme rend possible le processus de création subconsciente.

CREDO

" when one finally realises one is an artist and gives into this and accepts the fact; like when the ugly duckling finds out he is a swan ! ; then from thereon, every mark made on paper, canvas or panel, however small, varied, large, simple, or complicated--- is a work of art, by definition and indisputable!! whether it springs from the intuition or the intellect or even both "

MODUS

first the landscape moves you; natural phenomena: the receptive; your eyes - what you see.

unsubduable urges; you have to move, - pick up the shovel, wild, the nostalgia, rain.

In my experience the producing of pictures, for this is the simple aim, follows several distinctly separate ways:-

(from life) where the artist sits with the subject in full view, from the top of a hill, or amongst the trees , or in the life room, and records in his way what he sees; in great detail or as an impression etc., and depending on his gift and skill in handling the medium used , he will produce works of greater or lesser virtue, to be judged good or not so good throughout the range of portrait, landscape, still life etc.,

(from idea) where this presents itself in the mind of the artist originally (the creative spark) or as a result of influences albeit forgotten in the conscious; sometimes the idea presents the picture entirely, to be described as it is, or roughly, to be developed on the canvas; and again depending on gift and medium handling .

(from memory) where the artist will see something to excite his inspiration in recent time past or even more distantly, and when the vision returns in his mind he will depict what he sees, adding here and there from skill and experience

NB

Many beautiful and lasting pictures have been and will always be produced by applying the above methods, and because usually the subject can be seen for what it is, even the most naive of observer can finds something.

On the other hand "abstract" pictures (so called) , still cause some difficulty for the average Joe to understand.

With a little thought however, it becomes clear that the "abstract" picturesa are produced by much nobler means.

In describing this , for instance, Paul Klee spoke of the tree analogy in which the roots draw nourishment from the subconscious or the world as seen or any other source , - this nourishment passes through the trunk (the artist) and emerges gloriously in the blossoms and foliage etc., to be seen by all.

Mr Adrian Stokes wrote in describing the quatro cento relief carvings, of the stone being previously evolved by compression of minute natural organisms and that when the carvers worked they simply revealed what the years of evolution had put together

(I can understand this clearly)

THE NEXT STEP

then your imagination stirs, runs riot, works on what you know; illuminates the picture; you begin to let go.

the thoughts that all minds must have, for instance, what catches the eye and stirs the soul-- the artist will make into a picture.

then the process hits you: the artist finds his place; alights; comes to rest: correction ceases, every mark lives its own life : breakthrough to the subconscious!

when all personal involvement is fined out by the process, pictures are carved of themselves; technical skills or shortcomings cease to have meaning.

My pictures tend to be pure process, there is no cloak of technique or science to carry them along; they must exist as they stand, completed when nothing can be added or taken away, they are simply there, and the source from whence the came is infinite.

Once the " process" is started it progresses in stages without idea or model until the penultimate stage (the title) is reached (maybe some time after the picture).

the ultimate stage is the showing or "contemplation" of the work.

I believe that the popular attitude looks for too much in the abstract work. The original question- what is it - can find no answer and thus the unfortunate observer remains enslaved in admiration of lesser more easily recognisable works.

The excitement is there, do not look too deeply, accept that works of art must take their place, must stand , have always stood as a real independent part in the natural order of things alongside trees, and flowers, and clouds, and birds, animals etc., not echoes of such things but separate entities.

What it takes is the creative medium of the artist

BUT there is something else ------(plus tard) (you will be enthralled)

LIBRETTO

The Gentle Magician did his tricks Suddenly the king of hearts was the ace of diamonds ; paper flowers stood everywhere; doves appeared from thin air. The kindly audience didn't believe it as well ; but this is what magicians do; It was so obviously clever; practised carefully; earned their admiration. The Gentle Magician knows this, and only knows what else he does There is the need to be seen, Striving to be eminent; More than vanity; unapproved. some see the other side, it is his nature ; but what can he do with the trees he turns to stone From the beginning the new born eye sees, and the very youngest mind asks "what is that "

crocus (2021)

crocus (2021)