The River Avon

Palette knife painting of the River Avon unfinished

Size: 9.5″ x 7.5″
Media: Oil paint, palette knife on bristol board
Date: around1964
Where: Dorset, UK
Signature: unsigned
Currently: In the family collection

I think this is an unfinished painting of the River Avon near Sopley in Dorset.

Another small painting that appears to be done with a lot vigor and speed. My mother felt she was always battling a very strong urge to show detail and precision at the expense of emotion and feeling. This was one of the reasons that at this time, she adopted the palette knife for many of her landscapes. Later she complained that she had become “too good” at the technique and was easily able to render those fine details she was hoping to avoid.

This work is unsigned and a bit unfinished, this usually indicated a dissatisfaction at some aspect that would cause her to abandon a painting. I think this particular work was mostly about rendering water as a reflection of the surrounding colors.



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