George Shaw

Scenes From The Passion: The Cop Shop, 1999-2000.

No Returns, 2009

Poets Day 2005-6.

George Shaw is a painter, he returned to the council estate that he grew up on and painted it. They are painted as photography reads movement and almost look like photographs at a glimpse. These paintings are very realistic of the world that we see everyday, being a rather mundane thing to paint however "un-important" it may see it has personal elements to it with his attachments with the area, able to make it more than just the mundane. Some of George's paintings seem to look at the perspective as a person walking into view of what is in the painting as there is a sense that it's at eye height and what you would visually see rather than if it were to be taken from say low down in wouldn't have the same welcoming feel to it. I like that though they are of the mundane, typical things it brings them to light and makes us take another look at the exteriors of buildings, and look at street views before us, does the scene before you feel welcoming? Dull, miserable weathered days occur regularly, having a cold and bitter feel to them, George has taken scenes from this type of day, highlighting that cold and bitter feel yet making it seem appealing to the eye, making it relatable to those who view it rather than making it a beautifully sun lit scene which typically it wouldn't be.

Scenes From The Passion: The Cop Shop appears to be looking in at a scene from eye height, as though you are standing there choosing which way you are about to turn, with how the road comes to a T junction in the foreground signifying that a choice is to be made. Shadows are also casted primarily across the foreground, this shows the natural light is coming from the left out of frame, with the thick shadow at the very front of the image, giving a glimpse to what is out of frame yet still effecting the outcome.  The piece is full of yellows and earthy tones, along with this the trees having a lack of leaves on them hints at the time of year being between autumn till early spring. There is lots of depth to the piece with how the road leads towards a lone building at the end, with trees and shrubs around before coming to what seems to be blocks of flats in the background, though partially blocked from view by the more lone building, this brings more of the attention to that, it also seems to be the main focus point;  this building can be thought provoking as you cannot tell what it is and makes you think if the title of the piece is an indication of what it may be. Though it's not cluttered the piece isn't empty and has lots going on, being filled by repetition of geometric shapes and patterns being formed by mainly the buildings.

Poets Day contrasts against what is seen in Scenes From The Passion: The Cop Shop as it is a close up painting, it focuses more on the little details seen in the exterior of a building, it shows that though we build things to be new and "pretty" that overtime they become worn and marks can be left by others, sometimes graffiti is bestowed upon them. In this case, within the painting on the bottom section of the windows there is splotches of red, you cannot tell what it specifically is however it appears to be drips of paint or more morbidly blood. The colours within this piece are dull and muted,  almost as though it was a dull and gloomy day, clouds casting shadows across the scene, there is also lots of earthy tones, mostly being shades of brown with the brick work and the rusted peeling of the white frames of the windows. The windows themselves seem to partially be blocked up so you can't see what's inside of the building, they have a repetition to them, though the two that are fully in frame are central and what appears to be the focus point of the piece, they appear to almost be mirroring each other with the pole between, separating them.




Images sourced from:
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2011/feb/13/art-george-shaw-in-pictures