It’s sure been a busy 2019 so far. I’ve been in and out aircraft so many times that I’m sure I will be invited to the Easy Jet’s Christmas party. Tubes is still undergoing major changes to it’s web site, when finished it will much improved with direct load-up facilities for artists work, a purpose designed App that can be downloaded for your devices and much more to come in the way of the new Tubes Artists Gallery, including a fantastic 3D VR gallery that looks towards the new century and a global audience. Launch date for the new 3D Tubes Artists Gallery is April 2020.

2 TUBES TUBES contributors back room team (past and present) David Traves Design Consultant & Admin Laurence Cause Parsley Marianne Arnberg Taylor Financial Adviser ‘Spike’ Barry Taylor Colin Taylor David Tycho Writer, Artist and Gallery Curator André Chahil Denis Taylor Diane Terry Technical & Software Consultant painters in this issue Adam F.G Taylor Colin Taylor Resident Art Critic Elaine Preece Stanley ‘Spike’ Richard Fitton David Tycho official office Studio 5 Sweden painters TUBES magazine Ekerodsvagen 253 printed, posted and distributed in the UK 266 95 Munka Ljungy Europe and the USA Ängelholm Skåne for on line version and in print Sweden all copyrights rights apply and are reserved by painters TUBES magazine direct email No unathorised use of any of the [email protected] material in any issue is allowed websites without the written consent of the publishers/ www.painterstubes.com www.painterstubes.gallery journalists, registered in Sweden EU. telephone all original images shown in painters TUBES +46 (0)76 19 19 007 magazine are exclusive © of the artists © all rights reserved ©. painterstubes.com painterstubes.gallery 2016/2017/2018/20189 facebook & twitter & instagram @painterstubes

3 editors pageHello fellow artists and art lovers,It’s sure been a busy 2019 so far. I’ve been in and out aircraft so manytimes that I’m sure I will be invited to the Easijet Christmas party.Tubes is still undergoing major changes to it’s web site, when finished itwill much improved with direct load-up facilities for artists work, a purposedesigned App that can be downloaded for your devices and much more tocome in the way of the new Tubes Artists Gallery, including a fantastic 3DVR gallery that looks towards the new century and a global audience.Launch date for the 3D Tubes Artists Gallery is September 2019.I am also looking forward to opening the exhibition “After 7 Years andLater” by Richard Fitton at the Whitaker Art Museum in Rossendale UK onMay the 11th. It promises to be great show with some super new work.On a more serious note, I feel it’s time I stepped down as Editor of TUBESand pass on the running of the magazine to my colleagues in Swedenand the UK. The handing over the reigns has been arranged forSeptember 2019.Whoever becomes the next appointed Editor of TUBES in the future, I’msure will do a great job and of course I shall be around for any advice thatthey may need, well at least for a while, until I finally hang up my quill andand remain happily creating new paintings in my studio both here atStudio 5 in Sweden and hopefully at Studio 4 in Greece.Many thanks to my colleagues for putting up with me for these past yearsand my personal thanks to the many excellent artists I have had thepleasure of interviewing. And the advise and support from the many highstreet gallery owners... in more than one country. All the best to you, as always, Denis Taylor. Artist and Writer

4 “Through a painted landscape” part one Part one - “from cut edge to ice shelf.” by Colin Taylor “Today our sight is a little weary, burdened by the memory of a thousand images.. we no longer see nature, we see pictures over and over again.” In January 2018 I knew I would be going to Aysen, a relatively unknown region in central Chile, and part of Patagonia, to climb, bike and kayak and I thought I might make some paintings about its landscape. There was nothing unusual about that, I’ve been working that way for a long time now, (in fact I only paint landscape that I personally experienced) - and each time the same questions re-surface‚. How do you make paintings of a specific landscape ? Can personal experience transfer across to visual image? I don’t believe that a landscape painting is just a representation of what you see, (or rather it shouldn’t be) it is about what you know of that landscape. I’m equally convinced that all we know cannot be explained and is not limited by simple leaden fact but, rather a multi-layered assembly of observation, belief and experience mediated through a single image. It follows then that painting is not a linear process. Neither is it a simple extraction of thought that leads inevitably to a visual conclusion.But it is a process of finding things out and long before you pick up a brush or a piece of charcoal, that process has already commenced. “I do not start with the idea, but with the ex- perience. “ (Quote: Peter Lanyon) So... back to the climbing trip. My perception of Patagonia was relatively well informed as I’d climbed there before and so had useful experience of a similar landscape; it’s scale, physicality, climate and culture. There was also plenty of reading and online foraging to be done. Google leads you to lists of various ‘left: Haweswater’ Lake District. 20” x 20” Oil, acrylic and charcoal on paper ©Colin Taylor

5‘adventure travel’ companies extolling the virtues of its sheer size and the fact that it is the least popu-lated region in Chile having only been settled in the C20.The term, ‘Destination Management System’ became common parlance in the tourism industry in the1990’s. A web-based ‘DMS’ became a ‘must have’ for cities and regions who saw themselves as visitordestinations and their DMS a repository for the independently-minded traveller who could surf aroundprofessionally produced imagery, build a personalised itinerary and select their accommodation prior tothe journey itself. The DMS would be built and managed by the local authority or tourismpartnership and we (at one time, I was employed in that game), would discuss ‘market segmentation’and ‘visitor data’ until the cows came home; it was a fundamental truism to say that tourism beganat home. Being able to access visual content via the web is of course a recent innovation, (30 yearsmaybe?). The further back you go, the more inaccessible regions and places could only be reached bythose with either a purpose and/or the means to get there.In 2018, the Aysen economy is not yet driven by ‘tourism’ and central and regional government is onlyjust cottoning on to those economic opportunities. The landscape is pristine and undeveloped and be-cause there have been relatively few reasons to go there, it’s an obvious assumption to make that fewlandscape paintings of the region from the first half of the C20, exist.An interesting parallel might be to compare that with the huge numbers of ‘picturesque’ paintings madeeach year of England’s Lake District, and here I should declare includes my own contribution. The cor-relation between landscape painting and tourism is an obvious indicator of the maturity of a region’seconomic development and it also speaks about how that landscape has been managed and used byits indigenous and transient communities. Landscape paintings reflect that broader history, and not justthe picturesque scenery on view and they have nothing to say, except what we say to them. Is a painting of Haweswater of beautiful scenery? Or is it about its archaeology?The lack of rainfall during the summer of 2018 exposed that history and invites a completely different in-terpretation of any painting made about it. (Google - Mardale Green) Tourism on a mass scale is a postWW2 phenomenon, and in Britain at least, it coincided with research into new kind of imagery.

6For a few short years in the late forties and early fiftiesThe Borough Group of artists (David Bomberg 1890- 1957, Cliff Holden (1919 - ), Miles Richmond (1922-2008), Dorothy Mead (1928 -1975), Dennis Creffield(1931 - 2018) and others, engaged in a creative labo-ratory that acknowledged the deployment of all thesenses, and championed the idea of painting as anemotive response to the world around them.Bomberg is the most prominent name, but at the time,he hadn’t painted a landscape in ten years. After a sum-mer in a tent in Cornwall, he returned to Andalucia andfound his voice through collaboration and a mutuallyproductive relationship with his students. However yourate their creative output, and here I readily acknowl-edge my own allegiance, it was a committed’articulated methodology and produced a focused bodyof visual research at a time when there were few,if any, alternatives.The problem was that nobody listened to what they had above: ‘Zahara’ by Miles Richamond. 39” x 31”to say. Kenneth Clark, would publish his broad survey Oil on canvas. collection of Colin Taylorof the genre, ‘Landscape into Art’ in 1949 and whilsthe declared that the ‘landscape’ had liberated painting above: ‘Sky Blue Cut Edge’ 24” x 18”from its former religious obligations, but he offered no Acrylic pastel, charcoal with card relief on linen.suggestion for its future trajectory. Later in 1956 ’This ©Colin Taylor 2017.is Tomorrow’ the seminal exhibition curated by BryanRobertson of the ICA looked across the Atlantic for trac-tion. With hindsight we know that landscape painting,as a predominant theme in post WW2 British art wouldsoon lose its position to be replaced by figuration and‘kitchen-sink’ imagery.For quite some time, I was perfectly content to sub-scribe to the to the phrase, that my work was, not anoptical expression, but an emotional one. And I used itwithin exhibition material. It evolved out of a friendshipwith both Creffield and Richmond and it neatly tidied upmy arts practice in half a dozen words. “but I couldn’t shake off a nagging doubt that it was incomplete.”What was different between their allegiance and myself-doubt? It was exactly a not a road-to-Damascusmoment but I realised that everything was different.The philosophical, physiological,environmental,economic and technological terrain inwhich we perceive the landscape in which we inhabithad shifted irrevocably. If light and matter have a com-mon factor in ‘experience’ then how is that presented tothe imagination.

7“Experience is of course, continual and constantly evolving”A painting about personal experience of landscape leads to some-thing else which retains traces of the original and communicatesbeyond human language.Just prior to Aysen, my most recent paintings were of a built land-scape, of Manchester’s cityscape. and I’d invested considerablyin looking for a visual solution to the impermanence of a skyline inconstant change. I needed to move away from the cut edge andsheet glass of the city and this seemed to be a way of making thatswitch.My experience of Aysen has been generated by a belief systemand lifestyle inconceivable at the time of the Borough.I can only see landscape in terms of land management, mass tour-ism and conservation. “The work, the landscape paintings themselves would come later.”part one - “Through a painted landscape” was originally written exclusively forTUBES magazine in 2018 and originally published in issue #10, and issue #11

8 “Through a painted landscape” part two “are there really no straight lines in nature? by Colin Taylor Artists often refer to the ‘process’ of painting; the physical act, the ‘doing’ part of making imagery. It’s also true that whatever form of creative endeavour you choose, (for me its principally painting), it is itself, a process of responding to human experience using a particular individual language form. Artists do not suddenly set out to make things; but they do want to understand why they perceive the world around them in the way they do and so choose a modus operandi that they believe suits that process. With me, each painting or drawing is merely a bridge between the last painting and the next and equally important in a continual chain of visual exploration and information gathering. As I arrived in Patagonia to paint, climb, draw and bike I remembered another climbing trip, that time to Ecuador, and flying directly into the capital, Quito. I had trained quite hard and was ready to go and could not understand why it took so much effort to drag my luggage from the plane onto a taxi and up a few hotel steps. Of course I’d forgotten that you step onto the plane at sea level and stepped off at 9,000 feet and I was completely un-acclimatised and badly out of breath. This time, I reasoned in a similar way, that having just spent 3-4 years focusing upon Manchester’s city centre, it would take time for my work to acclimatize to the pristine, unplanned natural landscape that I was now experiencing. I’d been used to sheet glass stretched across a steel armature, structures funnelled into grid-locked tight spaces, pushing skyward and my immediate reaction was to look for visual clues that might offer continuity of practice. The first few dabs and dashes completed on the hoof in Patagonia were not properly acclimatised. There was a definite disconnect between the landscape presenting itself and the developing imagery on paper. You have to tell yourself to plough on and work through that doubt. But is what we see… all that there is to see? ‘Projection theory’, was a long-held physiological explanation for the human vision system which in essence, proposes that visual stimuli project’s an image onto the retina and triggers a direct physical movement and emotional reaction. It’s easy to understand the eye working as a kind of camera and ‘projection theory’ provides an academic foundation for the analogy. Traditional representational

9painted landscapes, (if I can generalise to make a point), might then be perceived as the artistsattempt to render these ‘projections’ into 2D images.“ even by the time Cezanne was exploring what it felt like to stand on the slopes of Mont St Victoire, ‘Projection theory’ had already been discredited.”The German physicist Helmholtz, (1821-1894), had concluded that the eye was quite a basic organand incapable of performing many of the tasks previously assigned to it. Helmholtz proposed thata series of ‘unconscious inferences’, were required to co-ordinate a mechanical response. If oursensory attributes line up in a certain way, our vision system searches for a veridical explanationfor what we see. The human response to this same constellation of sensory data would always beconstant - a kind of in-built sat nav.Inevitably, current thinking has moved on further and now much contemporary vision research isnow predicated on the basis that our perceptions are wholly empirically and individually based. Asartists, we do not see everything around us, but we are able to construct a personal explanationwhich informs our creative response. If true, then what we see…. is a direct result of who we areand everything we recognise, both explicit and tacit knowledge.In the latter stages of the Manchester cityscape series I had increasingly turned to pre-preparedsheets of painted card, which were cut, mixed together, assembled, overlaid and layered up onthe canvas surface. I attempted to use the painted card used in very much the same way as youwould pigment from a tube, adding, deleting and building up the final image. Perhaps it wasn’t sosurprising that this should the first tool that I instinctively reached out for, even though the subjectmatter has changed completely.Stepping off the plane in Aysen, Patagonia I had already acquired an ‘experience’ of the landscapeI was now starting to re-shape on paper. I had researched a little of its social, geographic andeconomic background, I had some useful knowledge from previous visits, albeit not to this region, ofsimilar terrain and we had an itinerary that had been thoroughly ‘googled’. Personal experience is ofcourse, a completely different ball game and on this kind of trip, you are so busy taking everything init’s often not obvious when to pause and get something down on paper.I had in mind a series of images that would record both my physical journey and the perceptual

10changes running alongside. The process of visualacclimatisation and eventual suppositions are much moreabout the experience of creative output than they are, anysingle image.n many ways I see the paintings, drawings (or for thatmatter, a piece of writing), as visual punctuations in thatwider ongoing process. It is they that often seem to be there-calibration of thought and not the other way around.At that instant the artwork, just completed, moves centre-stage and becomes a momentary articulation of what Ithink I know.The American philosopher, Susanne Langer, used thephrase ‘vital import’ to describe the creative combustivereaction particular to artists, the moment the brain digestsa multi-sensory set of percepts within a single artwork. Anyconclusions are based on past and current experiencesand from learnt responses and it is only our individualperception of what we alone see, that makes sense.I don’t regard any of my paintings as literally ‘finished’,although hopefully they reach a point of resolution whereI can trust them as standalone representations of myongoing practice and the term ‘finished’, although notstrictly accurate, is used and the work.… is ‘exhibit-able’. A few never get to that point and are condemned tolimbo-land until I can figure out a way forward. Some areexhibited, sold, never to be seen again. There are others(unusual but not rare) that have been exhibited, come backand then several months or years later, might be re-workedand shown again.The other day I laid out all the work produced thus far,related to this series – approx. 35+ paintings, drawingsand scribbles - all in the order in which they were started.Some seem to be ‘finished’ and at the time of writing, onlythose who fall into this category are reproduced in thisissue. They reflect the transition from built environment tonatural and clearly retain vestiges of that previous enquiry.A few are in into the ‘probably’ category, but most have away to go and I suspect that some will struggle to get overthe finishing line. A few, are still to be started, materiallyspeaking, but will be well underway by the time this ispublished.Viewed together, does that body of work represent myexperiences in Chile? The background knowledge, myphysiological limitations, beliefs and my capabilities as anartist all converge on the imagery but, if experience cannotbe seen, then what is it, that I am looking at ? Thinkingback to Cezanne, I’ve always felt that his success was that

11top left: “Arroyo verde hielo” Cerro Casatillo. bottom left: “Via Pueto Ibanez” top right: “Eestero Parada” #1 bottom right: Cerro Castillo” all painting ©Colin Taylor 2018

12 “Through a painted landscape” part three This is the third, and final part about a visit to Chile by the artist, Colin Taylor. The first, considered what was known before the trip. The second was an account of the visual acclimatisation whilst there and this concluding article, looks back at the body of work that has emerged. Representing the unpicturable by Colin Taylor I read somewhere that the vast majority of art is seen and bought by an urban audience and of that, the lion’s share of art for sale is landscape painting. There was no source given to justify either declaration although both sound plausible enough to me. If correct, what is it about this form of arcadia that excites ‘townies’ so much? There is a reasonably well accepted perception of a human mannerism common to us all whereby we understand landscapes as both a thing of beauty and of danger at the same time: ‘Prospect- refuge’ theory compels us to seek out a place from which to observe without being seen, to assess all around us from a place of safety. This obligation is a little easier to digest as the name might suggest. For ‘prospect’…read; opportunity, panorama, looking out/across. For ‘refuge’… read; shelter, a place of safety, familiarity or even a park bench. Next time you visit a city park or open space, notice how people, those who are not just walking straight through the space, tend to gravitate towards the perimeter from where they can observe what is going on within. We feel comfortable looking out across something, knowing that there is nothing behind to compromise our personal space or what we’re looking at. We can see without being seen. This leads us to the third term within ‘prospect-refuge’ and that which unites the two equal aspects of the theory, namely ‘hazard’. This is the inner response we discern looking out from our place of refuge at what is presented and by which we assess what is there and what should be our response. Apply this to Burkes definition of the ‘sublime’; in that it terrifies and excites at the same time. It is this simultaneous twofold proposition that I find the most compelling aspect of landscape painting and at least partly, why I continue to do what I do.

13In painterly terms, it is an observation of somewhere or of something, orientated to convey scale anddistance, rendered as a 2D image, that is representative of, but not only, the landscape.‘paintings have nothing to say except what we say to them’ (James Elkins)This is a series of images about the Chilean landscape. However, because only I have directexperience both of the landscape and of making the images, it is only I who can make that claim withany certainty. You, the viewer will have to take my word for it, which means that however stronglyyou may believe what I say, you can never be certain. Within human physiological limitations, youwill have to use a process of mutual deduction with the painting itself to arrive at your own judgementof what is represented and thought of as a series ‘outcomes’, rather than solutions.There is now broad agreement that the human vision system requires the existence of previouslyacquired data around which to construct perceptions. This suggests an empirically based and wholly-individual system whereby the artists personal background, beliefs and capabilities, and experiencescome together and collectively invested within a single artwork. Put another way; what I see is notwhat you see. But it isn’t quite enough to say that a painting can represent experience, becauseexperiences are not just visual transactions, they are ‘un-picturable’ and formless.They are whatever matters in the images meaning but is not itself, visual. I can recall a few yearsback, that in the midst of the misery of altitude sickness, 22,000ft up on a mountain in Argentina,trying to reason with myself about how (and if) I could embed that experience into a single image.It was one of those circular conversations with no conclusion, but at its core is a valid unansweredquestion that still fuels what I do.For all its alchemy, I have accepted that there is a limit to what painting as both a process of creativeexpression, and as a single image, can do. A flicker of sunlight on water lasts a nano-second andthere are hundreds of flickers happening simultaneously. It is impossible to perceive even one beforeanother replaces it and even more impossible to reproduce this in paint. So, painters turn to a boxof tricks and select one… a quick dab of white paint added to the surface in a random-like gesture… representative of the sunlight flickering. Over time this mimetic device has been deployed bythousands of artists and assumed visual legitimacy although it no more accurately represents whathappened, than any other blob of paint.

14There is also, the unimaginable; that which exists outside the experiences and knowledgeof both painter and viewer. For example: Why was perspective, as we know it… not usedby artists from the Indian Mughal period? The answer to this question is another essayand one I’m not qualified to write.. but the fact remains Mughal artists were not concernedwith creating illusions of space and that visual expedient was not in the toolkit.Although in the present tense, inconceivable to me as maker and you as viewer, couldthe image represent something to someone in the future? There is no doubt it can. Welook at paintings made centuries ago with no first-hand account of why they came intobeing all the time, and we re-interpret them based on current known criteria, knowledgeacquired since the time of the artist and not on his/her terms, but, and this is where Elkinsis precise….. on what we ourselves bring to the picture.When we see an apple in a Cezanne painting, we are simultaneously aware of the paintedsurface created by Cezanne and our experience or retrieved memory of apples in thesame instant. According to the philosopher Richard Wollheim (1923-2003), this is thebasis of ‘seeing in’, his theory of representation – something standing for something else– and that this union is vital to experiencing what is represented in a work of art. Lookingat one of my Chile Paintings, I am reminded of how the image came to be made, some ofthe decisions when adding and removing content but I can also retrieve fragments, nano-seconds of memory, of that experience.As maker I have the benefit of recall and can explain the content to a useful degree ofaccuracy, but to accept Wollheim, then it is critical that the artist is also his own spectatorand the two roles are very different; one retrieves memory and presents the image, theother perceives and determines what has happened during the creative dialogue.The antithesis to this is a form of production orientation where the artists objectives areclear from the outset such as in the example of the artist working (prospect), from aphotographic image (refuge). If that still image is the only information source and if theartists spectating-self does not challenge then there is no perceived hazard and whatis produced, is simply a another still image, representative of the photo but not of thelandscape. Time and again I look at the work of David Bomberg. I look at a paintingof Ronda in Andalucia and see his brushstrokes forming an image and recall my ownexperiences of the same place; they merge within the painting. At that time, Bomberg wasinvolved in ground-breaking stuff and was in effect trialling the idea that a painting canallow us to perceive something that is not there…. and if it represents what is not there,then we cannot know what, for Bomberg, the picture represented. But… we do see something? “Today our sight is a little weary, burdened by the memory of a thousand images.. we no longer see nature, we see pictures over and over again” quote by Cezanne in 1902 “Walking through Aysen” An exhibition of the work to be held at the Embassy of Chile, London November 2019. “Through a painted landscape” written by Colin Taylor exclusively for painters TUBES magazine email: [email protected] - website http://www.coltaylor.co.uk

15 paintings left: Colin Taylor top left:”Lago Leones”#1. in his studio bottom left :”Estero Parada #4. top right: ““Cerro Castill” #2bottom right : Via Pueto Ibanez #2

16 “..After 7 years and Later.” exhibition preview the Art of Richard Fitton at the Whitaker Art Museum opens 11th May Richartd examining his new work at Studio 5 Sweden - photographed by Denis Taylor/ painters TUBES magazine/ ©March2019

17 “...the last time I was in Manchester (UK) I visited Richard Fitton at his new studio. It was a fortunate and unexpected trip, I found him hard at work organising his paintings from previous years. This wasn’t the first time I had talked ‘Art’ with Richard, in fact we get on well and have mutual respect for each other as ‘fellow-artists’. This time we talked about painting in general and new directions for Art in the 21st century. The conversation was in the light of his upcoming exhibition at the palacial Whitaker Art Museum in Rossendale, Lancashire, UK.. We discussed about drawing from ‘life’ and he expressed delight in being able to find new models to use as inspiration to create semi-abstract figurative work. He also told me how he felt the need to push his practice beyond what he has done over the last years. It’s a normal desire for all authentic artists to want to progress their art and Richard is certainly a serious minded artist, as can be seen from some of his work from 2012 onwards. After several hours and a delightful lunch of fish and chips washed down with real ale, plus more ‘Art-Talk’ we parted with my promise to write the introduction for his new exhibition and we both looked forward to meeting up again at the Whitaker Art Museum on the 11th May. However, that was not to be the case. A week or two passed and Richard rang early one Monday morning me to ask if was “OK” for him to come over to Sweden for a week or so. It seems he had hit an impasse on his work, and as I felt partly responsible with our talk about ‘forging ahead with a new art for the 21st century.” I willingly said “of course.” He arrived that following Thursday fully tooled up with his brushes and tubes of paint. I had bought him a good hard backed sketch book the day before and after depositing his bags we immediately went to the forests that surrounds my studio and this change of environment and perhaps his view of nature began without much delay. above: Richard Fitton in his Studio in Manchester. The days that followed were along the same lines and Rich-photograph ©Denis Taylor/painters TUBES magazine ard became engrossed with the natural compositional abstractions that nature gives an artist ‘for free’ - perhaps with a little help from me, he soon began painting with a new passion and the beginnings of a path of art discovery. “After 7 years Later” will show Richards work from 2012 right up to the moment he left Sweden, I just hope the package with the work (now cured) will reach him in time...” The exhibitiom preview follows on the next page.

18 “ after 7 years and later ” the art of Richard FittonThe title of the exhibition gives the viewer an indication of thechronological nature which the art has been installed here at theWhitaker Art Museum. The date of each piece of Art is not specific assuch, however the arrangement shows Richard’s work from around2012 onwards to the present day and the later work on show gives aglimpse of what we may expect to see from the artist in the near future.I first became aware of Richard’s work almost six years ago, quitesoon after he was elected as a member of the Manchester Academy ofFine Art, a distinction bestowed on a young artist, which was unusualfor the very long established MAFA organisation. Richard was onlytwenty one years old at the time. This ‘fellowship’ placed the artist inthe front of most fellow artists and commercial galleries in the Northof England as a painter with great promise for the future. I was to meethim in person first in late 2015.Richard’s initial work was concerned with establishing a ‘formin space’ using paint in rapidly applied in heavy layers and thenmanipulating the pigment applied to gain the three dimensional formhe sought after. The heavy impasto technique, one that had been re-developed by known artists from the early twentieth century, Richardbegan to utilise and made his own, mainly because it suited hisambitions of achieving a ‘form in space’ - And using the human figureas the catalyst to reach an interesting and accomplished conclusion toa work of art.The simplistic titles of the work, for example “Head of Adam,” beliesthe intensity of the observation behind the work and the extent towhich the artist prepares for each unique painting he creates.His preference for working from a ‘live’ model rather than solelyrelying on photographic references enables Richard to get close to thesubject, both visually and emotionally.This “form in space, married with human conditions” period ofRichard’s work has occupied him for many years and has producedsome exciting original and authentic art.The later paintings in the show consist of construction and compositionusing an instinctive line and exacting colour tonal values, all elementsthat are balanced in one outpouring of instinctive talent based artisticintelligence and vision. And with authentic abstract work that isgraceful, a pleasure to behold and show the creative forceat its very best. Denis Taylor. ©painters TUBES magazine

19Shown here are a few examples of theworks to be exhibited at the “After 7year later” exhibition at the Whitaker.bottom right: Richard on his way back toEngland, waiting for the earlymorning train from Ängelholm, Swedento Copenhagen airport in Denmark

20 “...for the Love of Art.” the work of Elaine Preece Stanley written by fellow artist Dean Entwistle

21 “for the Love of Art” written exclusively for TUBES by the artist Dean Entwistle“...It was back in the winter of 2017, when the editor of Painters Tubes, Denis Taylor, first raisedthe subject of writing an article for painters TUBES. I remember we had consumed a few beers,while we attempted to conjure resolutions for the future of contemporary painting, that wegenerally both shared about the current art scene. “I’m no writer” l exclaimed to him and yet hereI am now, in 2019, putting pen to paper in my Macclesfield studio. “ I’m a painter” I said, to Denisand he replied “who better to write with empathy, about painters than an other painter?So here I am musing with my particular insight, on the Liverpool based painter, Elaine PreeceStanley, with a view to write this article. Painters come in all shapes and sizes, I know my fair share, some paint for the market, somepaint for themselves, it’s how they make sense of their own and the lives of others.However all share an inner need to process their perceptions, through the making of art. I chose to write about Elaine because of her sincerity, not just as a person but because ofher ability to express herself, through the process of painting and her internal world view, inparticular with her own concept of unconditional love. I’ll return to the subject of unconditionallove later.First I’ll tell you how I met Elaine, our paths first crossed some five years ago, through socialmedia. We formed a virtual friendship, like many painters do these days. We would chat, shareour work, and make comments on particular paintings, on the whole social media is a positivetool. I followed Elaine’s artistic journey with interest remotely, watching her push and strive,to express further her intimate world of emotion, memories and reason. I always found Elainerewarding, warm and funny, as a virtual friend...”

22...I didn’t get to meet Elaine (in real life) until earlier this year and then through a mutual   friend. Imet her in Liverpool while working on a project to connect artists within the north west of England. Wehad lunch at an Italian restaurant and the conversation was lively and witty, no prizes for guessing thetopic of conversation, of course it was painting.My next meeting with Elaine, took place weeks later at her solo exhibition which was held at a citycentre gallery in Liverpool. It was my first opportunity to experience Elaine’s painting in the flesh.Her bold confident mark making was bursting with life and vitality. It was work that sings with thecelebration of life. My first impression gave way to Elaine’s sensitivity of colour, an accomplishedunderstanding that I seldom see in contemporary commercial galleries. This alone sets Elaine’s workapart, making it worthy of people’s attention.I find Elaine’s painting intriguing, there exists a weight of purposein it’s delivery, combined with a sense of light which is both freshand playful. To uncover more, I arranged with Elaine to visither studio, to discuss the possibility of writing this article. After a tour of Elaine’s studio and another chatty lunch, Elaineand I sit down in comfortable chairs, to discuss what drives andmotivates her to paint. Elaine’s dog Arty, relaxes on my lap andhen we begin. I open about the first time, (years previously)Elaine’s work spoke to me, it’s a painting of Conway, North Wales,although the Conway isn’t visibly recognisable from theappearance of scene, the sense of place is unmistakable.From this moment on, Elaine’s work grips my attention.We talked about our mutual childhood memories of Conwayand it’s not long before we discover that both our respectivefamilies, spent summer holidays annually, within yards of eachother. Now I understand why Elaine’s painted memories ofchildhood holidays in Conway, resonate clearly with me.Talking with Elaine, I’m gaining an understanding of proof,that Elaine makes paintings that traverse through time,where she explores her emotional landscapes.

23As the time passed, Elaine explains how painting helps to process the sadnessshe feels, about the loss of both parents, it’s the unconditional love she feels fromchildhood memories, of her parents and family holidays that help Elaine processher grief. Making her paintings, that restore and revisit this unconditional love ofclose family members is powerful stuff. It’s also an endorsement of painting, likemusic it soothes and helps heal pain experienced through a persons life. I’m not a writer, nor do I profess to be a doctorate of academic of art, I possess nointellectual contemporary art weight in the contemporary academic world, howevereverything Elaine references to in her painting rings true to me. I’ve never reallybeen convinced that the notions of an ‘avant guard’ art are as important as arthistorians or academics extrapolate.As a painter, I simply believe great art speaks from generation to generation,making sense of fundamental truths of being human. For me Elaine’s work doesjust that, it’s unpretentious and sincere, just like Elaine.Her work, speaks her truth, its authenticity is the root of its worth. It’s a celebrationof life, it doesn’t dwell on the angst, Elaine processes the angst through the makingof he paintings to achieve her personal experience of unconditional love.

24 I just wish that more people could have greater access to see Elaine’s work and I’m pleased to say they can. Elaine is soon to become a gallery artist at Ffin y Parc, a beautiful gallery, located within the Conway valley. I know Elaine is excited to be associated with Ffin y Parc, given her long established relationship with North Wales. It’s this deep affection for the region that motivated Elaine to be elected as an academician of the Royal Cambrian Academy.  In summary, I believe Elaine’s work documents her personal journey of understanding the nature of love, it’s a skill to be learnt and Elaine rounds the rough edges of her love through the making of art. Elaine’s generosity then allows others to experience her sensations and what she has learnt, that is contained in a moment and captured in a painting as an art form.  I guess, I’m coming to the end of my article, sometimes I think less is more, besides the less I write, the more space can be found within the editorial for images of Elaine’s paintings. Final words, just a big thank you Elaine, for giving me your blessing to write this piece, and with much love from one artist to another. Written by Dean Entwistle for painters Tubes magazine issue #12.

25all work is © Elaine Preece Stanley 2018/2019

26 ”the hundred years’ grudge” the well known Canadian Artist, David Tycho... ...talking about abstract art in his own inimitable way.

27The Hundred Years’ Grudgea brief and biased history of abstract painting by Artist David TychoIt’s all fun and games until somebody loses a 30,000-year-old artistic tradition. So it went in 1910, when Russianavant-garde artist Wassily Kandinsky eschewed any andall subject matter by dabbing a few colourful, amorphousshapes onto a 20 by 25 inch sheet of paper. He christenedthe little painting Untitled, further obscuring his intentions.The plebs were not amused.In 1910, George V succeeded Edward VII, Czarist Russiaabsorbed Finland, the first Zeppelin with passengers waslaunched, and women in the vast majority of countries stilldid not have the right to vote.I mean to suggest, with all due respect, that a century is avery long time—too long for everyone to still be holding agrudge, and long enough, one would think, for people tohave warmed up to the notion.But throughout abstract painting’s century-old existence inWestern Art, this simply hasn’t been the case.The genre periodically receives a public thrashing, usuallywhen a piece is bought or sold for a newsworthy sum.A typical example that comes to mind occurred in myhomeland when the National Gallery of Canada boughtBarnett Newman’s Voice of Fire (derisively referred to as“The Red Stripe”) for an exorbitant (in retrospect paltry)sum of 1.8 million dollars in 1987.To exacerbate the collective wound, the gallery went outand bought a maddeningly austere Mark Rothko for aboutthe same amount four years later. Shortly after the Rothkopurchase, I was at my brother’s for a summer barbecue.His pal and self-appointed spokesperson for the masseshad read an editorial on the subject, and he was fightingmad. “1.8 million dollars of taxpayers’ money for a red dot...”...he kept blurting out Tourettes-like at anyone withinspitting distance. I refrained from telling him that it wasactually a white oblong on a red background, which surelywould have taken the wind out of his sails. Nor did I phonehim a generation later to rub his nose in the fact that if soldtoday, the painting could fetch 40 times that amount.

28The National Gallery seemed to know what they were doing,both in terms of adding some heavyweight abstract piecesto their permanent collection, as well as adding equity to thegallery’s coffers. A new generation has come of age sincethe National Gallery purchases, but the bulk of the young’nsare no more convinced than their elders. They can be heardmurmuring at local arcades and Starbucks that abstract art isstill the Emperor’s new clothes, and that sympathetic cultureministers and gallery curators should be put in stocks andpublicly humiliated in town squares throughout Christendom.Okay, I didn’t hear them say those exact words, but I could seeit in their eyes.Critics of Kandinsky and his disciples fall into two camps,with a few agnostics in between. One small group claims thatabstract art is sublime and encapsulates all the depth andprofundity that cannot be expressed by any other means—thatit is transcendental in its very nature. The other overwhelminglylarger camp is less than convinced because they “saw a monkey paint one on T.V.”More accurately it was a chimpanzee and, as everyone knows,chimpanzees have no prehensile tail, which gives them ahigher position on Darwin’s roster than their dung-hurlinghillbilly cousins. But I digress.Abstract painting has been called everything from garbage, toa sham, to wallpaper, to eye candy, to fluff, to masturbation,to the sublime, to the apex of visual art, to an instrument ofAmerican imperialism. The Christian Right have even called itthe handiwork of Satan, but then again, they’ve said as muchabout Teletubbies and Liberalism.One fact which cannot be denied by even the most vociferousof naysayers, however, is that abstract art not only flipped andflopped and fought its way upstream, it survived long enoughto spawn in those icy, early twentieth-century waters. But thoseinsolent fry, like their forebears, would not confess to theirinquisitors, “You’re right, we made asses of everyone, and a heap of money, but now I guess we should get down to the serious business of painting street scenes, mountains and portraits. That was some ride, though, you gotta admit.” A vote of confidence for the often-maligned style wasforwarded when many artists who had first mastered traditionaldrawing skills later dumped realism for its sexier cousins,expressionism and abstraction.

29Many claimed that abstraction was not only more compelling,but also more challenging than their earlier realistic work.Picasso said it took him ten years to draw like the masters, andthe rest of his life to paint like a child.Kline and deKooning abandoned their careers as illustrators toexplore abstraction. Kline had been skeptical of the movementuntil he saw one of his drawings projected so large on a wallthat the image was reduced to its structural components, notunlike seeing pencil marks through a microscope.It occurred to him that painting did not have to describe things— it was a thing. He immediately cast aside his illustrations ofNew York street scenes and dove into explorations of black andwhite paint. He also, like many of his cronies, dove into a vatof scotch and drank himself to death. They weren’t about to beoutdone by any damn poets or jazz musicians.When questioned on their rationale for switching from realismto expressionism and later abstraction in the first half of thetwentieth century, artists gave an answer that went somethinglike this: An apple is an apple, and any representation of it ona flat surface created by manipulating viscous pigments seemspointless, or downright silly. The camera does an admirable job of documenting people... ...events, and even apples if the photographer so chooses. The painter’s challenge, therefore, is to do something else.Abstract art seems obvious and inevitable when viewed ina historical context. From the mid-1800s on, the art worldcoexisted with an array of cultural, social, political andtechnological revolutions, and artists saw no reason why theyshould be wallflowers at the zeitgeist prom.Cameras were introduced in the 1860s, compact, portableones by 1895, so painters stopped colouring within thelines. Cold, classical realism was usurped by emotionallycharged Romanticism, which eventually led to thoselovely impressionistic scenes of Paris, which in turn begotExpressionism, those angst-ridden, thickly painted socialcritiques favoured by the Germans.In many works the subjects were barely identifiable, andpainting was on the threshold of liberation and independence.

30Then, on that fateful spring morning in 1910, Kandinskyploughed his last recognizable subjects into the very paint thathad been giving art its form since Paleolithic times.He postulated that if music was an arrangement of sounds intime, why couldn’t art be an arrangement of forms and coloursin space? A violin mimicking a speeding train may elicit a fewsmiles, but no one takes it too seriously.It is not obligatory to translate melodies and time signaturesinto words—most listeners simply savour the aural bouquet andperhaps hum along. But gallery-goers often feel unfulfilled orcheated if no explanation is attached to an abstract work.I once watched an elderly woman in a gallery vainly searchingfor an interpretation of a particularly splashy and drippy piece.With brows furled, she stomped past me, muttering, “He must have been abused as a child.”For more than a century, abstract painters have had to defendtheir work as legitimate, reasonable, and if one considers thehistory of art, inevitable. Just look at Mondrian’s tree studiesas they become increasingly abstract; these logical transitionscontend that painting had no other place to go.Earlier, in Monet’s haystacks, the hay served as a texturedscreen onto which the sun’s rays and changing light andatmospheric conditions were projected. This allowed Monet tofocus not on a quaint, pastoral narrative, but on the forms andcolours, rather, just as musicians had been doing with notesand chords for millennia.When Kandinsky saw a Monet in 1895, he grumbled, “It was from the catalogue I learned this was a haystack. I was upset I had not recognized it. I also thought the painter had no right to paint in such an imprecise fashion.”But the painting haunted him, eventually propelling him deepinto an aesthetic as yet unimagined by Monet.Some of Kandinsky’s zealous contemporaries would leapfrogtheir mentor, eventually painting themselves into a corner,many would say, when Kazimir Malevich painted a black squareon a grey canvas. To identify a thread connecting a Rubens of1701 and a Renoir of 1901 is easy... “the compositions, colours and paint application are different, but we get it: beautifully painted, voluptuous women.”

31To articulate a link between a 1901 Renoir nude and Malevich’sBlack Square of 1915, on the other hand, requires a remarkablecommand of art speak and a liberal measure of balls.Abstract painters soldiered on, some banding together withgrand statements about how their art was spiritual, or howit represented a new world order, or how it was a revolutionagainst decadent capitalist ideals. The Communists andlater the Nazis just didn’t see it that way at all, frighteningthe subversives into fleeing Moscow and Berlin for the lesstempestuous waters of Paris and New York. Upon arrival, ofcourse, the paint-splattered refugees immediately took it uponthemselves to aggravate everyone in sight.Even Clement Greenberg, the American critic who laterchampioned the abstract expressionist work of Pollock andRothko, initially warned that Kandinsky was... “...a danger to young painters.”Some curious critics, however, began to cover the exhibitions, afew even to embrace the work as fresh and innovative.Brave dealers followed, and eventually collectors.Life Magazine presented this insular art world to the Americanpublic in their article on Jackson Pollock in 1949.The writer asked, “Is he the greatest living artist in the UnitedStates?” The public collectively peed their pants laughing andlined their kitty litter boxes with the piece.Time Magazine later dubbed Pollock “Jack the Dripper”, but oldJack was about to have the last laugh. That is until in 1956 hegot stinking drunk and drove his convertible into an elm tree,killing himself and a lady friend in the process.Take that, you jazz musicians.Not long after Pollock’s death, in progressive art schools,abstract was the only way to paint, and in that ficklemonde d’arte, the realists were pronounced nerdy, uptightanachronisms and subsequently barred from hip galleries andmuseums. The Dripper had posthumously exacted his revenge,and the hatchet would be buried, albeit in a shallow grave.Good thing, because as suddenly as the movement’s fling withNew York critics had begun, it ‘lost that lovin’ feeling by themid-1960s, with all that altered consciousness, peace andsocial revolution going on. A new generation of critics lookingto make names for themselves exhumed the hatchet, declaredabstract art irrelevant, hacked it to pieces, and searched fornew things to talk about. After all, how much could one sayabout a field of blue bisected with a red line?

32 “That painting is a field of blue bisected by a red line,”I guess—not really enough to launch a fledgling career on.Old abstraction seemed pretty benign when comparedto locking oneself in a room overnight with a coyote(performance art) or covering a cliff with plastic tarps(conceptual art) or just imagining groovy things and being tooanti-materialist to even make them (super-cool conceptualart). Once again, painting, and especially abstract painting,was pronounced dead.But like a phoenix, it rose again from the has-been ash heapin the late 1970s in cities such as Berlin, Rome, London andNew York. The new kids on the block weren’t abstract in thepurest sense of the word, but clearly slopping and drippingpaint was cool again, perhaps as a counter to what hadbecome all too dry, intellectual and visually uninspiring in art.Those little photos of urban decay and all that text (photo-textart) always did look a bit anomalous on expansive gallerywalls. And of course the likes of Joan Mitchell, Donald Judd,Kenneth Noland, Agnes Martin, Cy Twombly, Pierre Soulages,Sean Scully and John Hoyland continued to carry the torch,oblivious to the ever-changing post-modern trends, but theircareers had been canonized, even if they were denouncedby many young critics as being irrelevant. I always got theimpression that the new guard wished they would all die,so they would no longer have to create narratives aboutabstraction in a contemporary context.But it’s hard to keep a good idea down. As the millenniumchanged, and the old guard and their ideas were dyingoff, a number of young painters picked up the torch anda movement began to take form, culminating in BarbaraMacAdam of ART news making her April 2007 proclamation,“Abstraction is in the midst of a revival, flaunting itsbrilliant past as it reconfigures itself for the future.”The abstract bandwagon filled quickly, as evidenced by theproliferation of abstract painting in galleries and at art fairsall over the globe. But those fickle critics soon turned on theresurgence, derisively referring to it as “zombie formalism”,“crapstraction” and “dropcloth abstraction”, to name but a few.Admittedly, much of it lacked the WOW! factor of itsforebears, and the marketing and financial speculationsurrounding it quickly became distasteful, but for me, it wascomforting to see young painters bucking esoteric, post-modern trends and executing sensual, painterly works.Call me crazy, but I still just love the look of drippy painton canvas. I have had some of my most revelatory

33contemplations while looking at abstract paintings.It wasn’t always like this, though. While attending university,I too was dubious of abstract art, but through increasedexposure and familiarity, I came to appreciate and eventuallyadore it. It was the same with sharp cheeses, robust red winesand jazz music. After acquiring a taste for Stilton, I simply can’tgo back to Kraft slices, and after Miles Davis, Rihanna justdoesn’t do it for me.One reason abstract painting is so misunderstood is that sofew of us have the opportunity to surround ourselves withenough of it to begin to make distinctions and evaluations. Wetrot by them in galleries, paying them visual lip service. Aboutmusic, on the other hand, we make more informed choices.If we could hang a variety of abstract paintings in our homesfor months at a time, certain ones would seduce us. The lateMontréal painter Guido Molinari said that he liked to hang hislarge minimalist paintings low enough for people to dance withthem. And as Guido and we all know, slow dancing can besublime foreplay.Whether we waltz with or contemplate an abstract work ofart, the profundity is not only in the work itself, but also in ourability to focus on it in an uncluttered state of mind. Buddhistmonks focus on their breath and approach enlightenment, or ifthey are distracted, they wonder what the cook is preparing fordinner or who won last night’s sumo match. On this level, the“meaning” of the work changes from day to day, from viewer toviewer, from context to context.Abstraction is timeless and universal, unlike many other typesof art that are only relevant in the here and now, or conjureup nothing more than feelings of nostalgia once their day haspassed. Campbell’s soup cans just don’t excite me, I’m afraid,although I do appreciate the importance of Warhol. I’d justrather reflect on the ethereal oblongs of Mark Rothko thancontemplate a chicken noodle soup label.So, for his audacity to experiment, to shake up the status quo,to attempt to visually express the verbally inexpressible, andto dare to be sensuous and soulful in a world filled with pat orintellectualized depictions of the human experience, we shouldraise our glasses to this bold man and to his unassuming yetmonumental watercolour of 1910. I know I often do, along witha slosh of Bordeaux, a nibble of Camembert, and the sparenotes of Miles.Here’s to you, Wassily—and may your progeny continue tospread their unruly abstract seeds.

34 is this a real Van Gogh? André Chahil interviews one person who presents evidence that this really is an original Vincent Van Gogh. The Van Gogh museum says it’s not. Editors note: Over the years there has been many claims made that this work or that work is a ‘Van Gogh’ - The official Van Gogh Museum, usually, denies them all as originals. The main reason for this could be this simple fact. When Van Gogh died the first person on the scene was Dr Cachet, who had been called upon by villagers to attend the mortally injured artist. He was accompanied by his Son. It is known that the good Doctor took away many paintings from the dying artists rooms in the yellow house. It is also a fact that Dr Cachet was a part time painte and apparently not a bad one at that. And his son also had been inspired to paint by the many impressionists and post impressionists that regarded Dr Cachet as both a friend and a their doctor, as did Vincent himself. It is not unreasonable to assume that Dr Cachet painted from the originals, perhaps even took some photographs for reference. Of course the technical data would have shown that these works had the correct canvas, paint and chemicals as did the ‘verified’ Van Gogh’s, that were later taken by his wife and his family, which eventually make up the bulk of the Van Gogh Museum today. So, it seems almost impossible to prove that many of the ‘claimed’ Van Gogh’s works where created by the hand of Vincent or by the Cachet or by a.n other ?

35 Interview with Markus Roubrocks. (owner of the painting) by ANDRÉ CHAHIL photograph © M. RoubrocksMr. Roubrocks, your family owns since 1977 a 37.5 x 43.5 cm oil painting titled “Still life with peonies”.According to your statement, it is attributed to the painter Vincent Van Gogh, his style is clearlyrecognizable in this work. For more than 20 years, you have been using all means, with the help ofconsistent evidence, to fight for official recognition. This in particular through the Van Gogh Museum(VGM) in Amsterdam. Since time immemorial, a great legal dispute has started. First of all … how didthe painting get into the possession of your family and what previous provenance can be traced back?My father bought this painting in 1977 in a convolute purchase, in a badly condition in Belgium. From thistime there is no written record for a provenance. Already in the period 1981-1983, the work was contestedby the Van Gogh Museum and the Dutch Documentation Center for Art History (RKD), by a considerationof photographs. This even though there were already two art historical and three scientific reports at thattime. In other words, it has acted against every norm and arbitrarily, without ever seeing and examiningthe painting in the original. It was also alleged that it was a forgery.The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam dates from 1973 and presents more than 200 paintings andover 400 drawings from all creative periods. The core of the collection is built by direct inheritance fromsecondhand of his legacy. In addition, the museum operates a center that deals with researches inart. In the international art market, Van Gogh is considered as an original only if it has been confirmedby this institution. Thus, the museum actually holds a monopoly position and the art market refers in atrusting manner to their expertise. Critics, as in your case, accuse this house of misrepresentation andlack of care in some of these matters. How did you continue, in chronological order, with your still lifepainting?I finally inherited the oil painting from my father in 1997 and in the period 2000/2001 a detailed investigationby the Van Gogh Museum was negotiated for an imminent sale by the auction house Sotheby’s in Zurich,Swizerland. In November of 2001, the VGM declared my painting again as a clear forgery.

36As the results of the VGM could not be reconciled with theeight previous reports, I placed order to Jägers laboratoryErhard Jägers microanalytical laboratory in Bornheim,Germany. He is one of the experts who treated the caseof the scandal surrounding art counterfeiter WolfgangBeltracchi, unmasked him. A leading research institute inGermany for internationally recognized art goods.And his lab confirmed that VGM’s expertise was flawed. Exterior, the new building of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.A short time later I presented the laboratory report to (Photo © A. Chahil.)the then responsible Mr. Louis van Tilborgh in the VGMpersonally. Mr van Tilborgh stated that he had to think aboutnew facts and that I should come back. But it did not cometo that, I was not admitted to Mr van Tilborgh and roughlyled out of the museum. Then they sent me a contract forrevaluation. Since at that time the Jägers Laboratory wasworking on a statement against the expertise of the VGM,I replied to the museum that one should withdraw thecatastrophic expertise of 2001 and acknowledge mypainting. The VGM just replied that they did not want totalk about the case anymore. Even after transmissionof the Jägers opinion to the VGM there was no furtherreaction. In 2005, I signed the contract for revaluation bythe VGM on the advice of my lawyer. The VGM did notwant to decide on my case even after this step.In 1991, a prominent case occurred which was alsorelated to the VGM. At that time they declared thesubmitted work “Sunset at Montmajour” from theyear 1888 as a fake. In 2013 they took more detailedexaminations, i.a. by adding further historical evidenceattesting that the work exists in this form – and finallydeclared it as real. The situation is not easy for artscientists. Already in the first three decades after VanGogh’s death (1890), there were forgeries and painterswho benevolently copied his then fashionable style.The boom of the new, purely capital-oriented art marketof the 1980s has also contributed to the fact, thatcriminals operate with the help by a professional networkand invest great effort to produce the best possible andalmost laboratory-safe fakes.The Dutch painter and draftsman Vincent Willem vanGogh (1853-1890) is regarded in the history of art as aninfluential pioneer of modernism. According to currentresearch Van Gogh left an oeuvre of about 864 paintingsand more than 1000 drawings, most of which have beenmade within the last 10 years of his life.

37The myth of an unrecognized genius and that of a mad artist, whose achievement in society was grantedto him only post mortem, has become the subject of his popularity. The numerous correspondence withhis younger brother Theo Van Gogh, who was at that time a successful art dealer and the main referenceperson of the painter, are until today an essential part of the source fo researches in art scientific matters.After Van Gogh’s demise, his style of painting became fashionable and became so popular that theart market, with its numerous counterfeits and misinterpretations of its oeuvre, continues to struggle inquestions of enlightenment. | left: Vincent van Gogh at the age of 19, photograph by Jacobus MarinusWilhelmus de Louw, 1872. | right: Vincent Van Gogh, Self-portrait, oil on canvas, 40.6 x 31.8 cm, 1887.In the case of “Sunset at Montmajour” it must be remembered that the provenance is proven until the dateof sale by the Van Gogh family in 1903. The painting is listed in the number 180 at Bongers list and is alsodescribed in Van Gogh’s letters. This makes it particularly clear that clear provenances for the VGM haveno meaning and if necessary all facts are ignored.How did you continue in your case…?Consequently, I sued the VGM in 2012. The following year, even during restoration of my painting, red hairwas found in the painting, which could possibly have come from Van Gogh himself and was preservedunder the oil layer. DNA reconciliation has not materialized until today due to the heirs disagreeing withDNA matching Vincent Van Gogh. Since 2013, I am in a constant legal dispute with the VGM. There were several court cases on Dutch soil in the course of these years. Among other things, I found out that my work was never really examined, but only considered. Since the transmission of new facts to my picture the VGM does not answer anymore. In 2012 a hair, that appeared sealed under the pigments, was taken from the still life. Is it one of Vincent Van Gogh? Recording in 140x magnification. Paint background, craquelé and signature. What are the main results of your investigations from your still life to the present day? There are five scientific opinions from 1980 to the present day that examined and confirmed all of Van Gogh’s typical factors – and two scientific statements against the statements of the VGM. Scientifically, my painting is more than approved. The Jägers Laboratory has recently shown that the primer of my painting has the same characteristics as Tasset et Lhôte.above photo Archive © M. Roubrocks

38 It can even be derived from the book of the Van Gogh Museum “Van Gogh’s Studio Practice” an assignment in the period 1889-1890. The primer in my painting has the same composition as that of a roll of canvas supplied by Tasset et Lhôte Van Gogh around 1889-1890. Van Gogh received from Tasset et Lhôte 5 and 10 meter rolls of canvases, each with a different primer. In the book of VGM the primers are described down to the smallest pigment, thus a comparison became possible. The established forgery theory is thus refuted as a whole, due to the fact that Van Gogh was not forged in the period 1889-1890 and certainly not on canvases from this address. Van Gogh preferred canvases from Tasset et Lhôte from Paris due to the high quality. Prominent contemporaries such as Edgar Degas, Paul Signac and Alfred Sisley were also customers of this supplier. From Van Gogh’s phase in Arles, he ordered the canvases, except at the merchant Tanguy, exclusively at Tasset et Lhôte. The letters tell how the request for paint materials increased, adressed to his brother Theo, who organized it. The canvas was supplied by weavers, the art lay in the primer. Van Gogh writes that the primer from Tasset et Lhôte has better accepted the thicker paint application and is finer. This probably has to do with the fact that the primer of the paint does not remove the moisture too quickly. The same quality criterion applied to the pigments, the colors of Tasset et Lhôte. The basic materials and the processing of the colors of Tasset et Lhôte is qualitatively higher. The cobalt blue e.g. had a smaller share of iron. As a result, there is less black discoloration and the blue appears more intense and stronger. Van Gogh describes the visual difference in his letters. Incidentally, all the pigments in my painting are suitable for Van Gogh, which also had to be confirmed by the VGM. The colors themselves are lightened with barium. Taking barium as a filler is uncommon during that time, but was typical of Van Gogh. There is a precise breakdown of the parts of the Jägers lab, which in turn are similar to those used in Van Gogh’s time.

39Another opinion from 1983 confirmed that there was an original signature with “Vincent” in red color onthe lower left vase rim, which must have been created clearly at the same time as the picture was made.Back of the canvas. The weave, structure, characteristics and priming of the canvas were part of severalstudies carried out by renowned laboratories, which led to the conclusion that “Still life with peonies”was most likely produced on a base of the turn-of-the-century Tasset et Lhôte factory in Paris. | Photo/ Archive © M. Roubrocks Let’s come to another point, the “Bonger List”. At the turn of the century, atthe turn of Van Gogh, Andries Bonger was a Dutch insurance salesman and art collector. At the time,his collection was one of the most important in modern art in the Netherlands. The core of the collectionBonger built only three years after Van Gogh’s death. Handwritten notes document details of thecollection. Written evidence from the time of Van Gogh on the existence of your still life does not exist.After reviewing the Bonger list you have drafted a thesis that has to contend with the confusion of flowervarieties in terms of content.The Bonger list is an inventory of the paintings that was still owned by the Van Gogh family in 1891.Works that are in the Bonger list are inevitably real. In the Bonger list the number 19.4 is described asMyosotis (forget-me-not) in T.8. The design and size (en Toile de 8 46: 38 cm) are in line with my VanGogh painting. It is also the only Van Gogh painting in the world on which a Myosotis (Forget-me-notflower) is painted and where size fits.According to your own research, there may be another theory that can be deduced from the letters ofVincent and his brother, the art dealer Theo Van Gogh, in which even after Vincent’s death, a large partof the works remained. This is about a subsequent change and an indication of the possible existence ofyour still life.

40 Photo / Archive © M. Roubrocks Vincent writes to Theo in 1889 that he adds a small flower painting to a box of other paintings. It was nothing special, but he did not want to tear it up. The picture is missing in the catalogues. The experts say that Van Gogh did not paint any still lifes during this time. Although Van Gogh writes that he has painted a flower piece but in fact that was also overlooked. Paris 1886-1887. Insight into the list of art collector and patron Andries Bonger. Number 19.4 as myosotis (Forget-me-not flower). Is there a misinterpretation, confusion? The basis of all reception and examination of the oeuvre and the biography of each artist is the literature, which consequently has undergone a constant change of the respective current state of research. In the case of Van Gogh, you have discovered succinct peculiarities that are not fully familiar to the experts to this extent. How would you describe and evaluate them in detail? The first catalog of works was created in 1928 by J. B. de la Faille. The auctioneer lawyer, critic, journalist and art dealer had to write an addendum in 1939 due to the numerous fakes that he had taken. From 1961 to 1970, the third version was drafted by a committee: J.-G. van Gelder, W. Jos de Gruyter, AM Hammacher, Jan Hulsker, H. Gerson, Annet Tellegen-Hoogendoorn and Martha Op de Coul and others. Again, all three versions are incomplete and, despite repeated revision of forgeries or mistakes. Prof. Jan Hulsker wrote on behalf of the Dutch government in 1978 a new catalog of works “The Complete Van Gogh”. It must be mentioned here that Mr. Hulsker had to struggle with envy and resentment. The Dutch Documentation Center for Art History (RKD) apparently felt left out and Ms. Annet Tellegen-Hoogendoorn and Martha Op de Coul had little interest in supporting Jan Hulsker. Prof. Dr. Hans Ludwig Cohn Jaffè was basically ignored because he too often disagreed and became a thorn in the side of the RKD and the Van Gogh family. Prof. Dr. Jaffè was deputy director of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and accompanied the Van Gogh collection through the war until he moved in 1958 from the University of Amsterdam. Several of Van Gogh’s paintings were recognized by Prof. Jaffè and he was a member of the Van Gogh Expertise Institute. So Prof. Hulsker was quite alone and could only rely on what the Van Gogh family provided.

41Mr. Hulsker was criticized and attacked because of the errors in the 1978 edition, until he presented acompletely revised version in 1996: “The New Complete Van Gogh – Paintings, Drawings, Sketches”.The new edition was a single fiasco. Due to the high age Hulsker confused locations, titles and tookcounterfeits in the publication. In 1989 Ingo E. Walther & Rainer Metzger and the german Taschenverlag triedto present a complete list of works. With “Vincent van Gogh – Sämtliche Gemälde”, the title promises quite abit, but as we know today a few real ones are missing, but a few false works have been published. The VGM,in turn, has been working on the inventory catalog of the museum’s paintings since 1995 and is still strugglingto this day. For more than 22 years, the VGM has been busy numbering and examining 220 paintings. Onecan be glad that the VGM does not write a catalog of works. Because with almost 900 works, that would takemore than 90 years of time!Let’s focus to a slightly younger directory. About a decade ago the publication of publisher and art dealerFeilchenfeldt appeared in the professional world, which should bring light into the darkness of the absurdities.They enjoyed a fundamental work on provenance and authenticity research, which examines more than 600works by Van Gogh. Here you go to court with similar severity and title 200 content and technical errors.Walter Feilchenfeldt, self-proclaimed Van Gogh expert, art dealer and author of several articles about VanGogh. Mr. Feilchenfeldt has already written a catalog of works for Cézanne, which was torn by the art press.Then he tried Van Gogh. In 2009, the publication appeared: “Walter Feilchenfeldt, Vincent van Gogh, thepaintings 1886-1890, dealers, collectors, exhibitions, early provenances”. A scientific review of the works.Again, after a moment’s notice, one mistake follows the other. Wrong measurements, incorrect conversionsof the measurements, wrong titles, wrong locations, wrong photos to the paintings, etc. I have collected allmistakes in a list and explained them. According to Van Gogh expert Stefan Koldehoff and Art Magazine,the catalogue aims to bring clarity to the chaos. But clearly, only one thing has become clear, namely thatthey do not read the books they write about in the german Art Magazin. All books have one thing in common,the outrageous price. Measured by the defectiveness of all catalogues, one feels inevitably cheated. As asummary, I can only say … too bad for the poor trees were felled in vain. The poor art magazines and dailynewspapers that have a feature section, should be taught that they should not sing praises about books theyhaven´t read closely enough.The (specialist) literature dealing with Van Gogh’s oeuvre has been incomplete and often flawed sincethe publication of the first catalog of works in 1928, to the present day. The large number of Van Gogh’sworks, the complex combination of their provenances, are the significant causes of misinterpretationsand misinterpretations, in addition to the numerous counterfeits that already existed 30 yearsafter Van Gogh’s death.The Van Gogh Museum is one of the most visited and best organized museums in the world. Embedded inthe museum landscape at the Museumsplein in Amsterdam, it records visitor flows of more than 2 milliona year. It is closely guarded, divided into a new building and the old building designed by the architectGerrit Rietveld. It houses a museum shop where no product with Van Gogh print is left out and is managedmultimedia. Photographing is strictly forbidden, the visitor organization is prepared by processing the onlineprocedures according to the latest methods of the industry.Both buildings resemble a vault whose content, measured in terms of value in the international art market andits historical relevance to Van Gogh in art history, increases in terms of content and money, every second.It is the largest self-contained collection of Van Gogh, but not the only one. This museum and its politics, indealing with Van Gogh’s oeuvre, have already been criticized more often. You aggravate it and talk aboutinternal intrigues and monopolized exercise of power.

42 What criticisms are there in detail and and how are the connections for an outsider, neutral point of view to understand? The VGM explains that they get around 200 requests for authenticity every year. Five works in which everything is right. The colors, the motif, the brush stroke and the overall picture are ordered to the museum for examination. The owners of the works of art will, as in my case, be contractually assured of an investigation. However, the VGM admitted in court in 2013 that my painting was not examined in 2001, but only considered succinctly. The technical findings of the VGM describing the color structure in my painting are thus fictitious. The extensive accompanying reports were disregarded as a whole. The VGM can neither submit an investigation report nor clearly identify the investigation team. Now the question arises as to why the courts are not responding to the fact and my lawyers have been holding back. In 2014, together with my Dutch lawyer, I wanted to attend the “Arts & IE Rights” conference of the Dutch Bar Association. One of the main topics of the Conference on Art Law was the litigation concerning my painting. On the day of the conference, I and my lawyer were unloaded. The VGM had threatened to break the event if we participated. The Dutch Bar Association has not withstood the pressure of VGM and has been stabbing its own member. “Opinions can change as little about certain basic truths as weathervanes can change the direction of the wind. The weather vanes do not make the wind east or north, and opinions can not make the truth come true.” Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) The power the VGM has and applies is clarified here. Personally, I assume that my lawyers were told internally that it would not be advantageous for the Dutch to take action against the Rijksmuseum and the VGM. It is also striking that the courts have confirmed to the VGM that they have carried out three investigations concerning my painting. In 1978 there was a request to the VGM concerning my painting, which the museum referred to the RKD, because in VGM 1978 no authentication was carried out. The RKD has produced a negative opinion based on photos after my father signed the contract for investigation. The forwarding to the RKD is interpreted by the VGM as an investigation. Viewing photos by the RKD exposes the VGM as a self-conducted investigation. The courts have not responded despite enlightening complaints from my side and the VGM confirmed three investigations, which led me to announce the VGM in mid-2017 because of false statements and fraud. The Dutch judiciary has not responded to my complaint until today. Anyone who can ignore or bend everything without blemishes ultimately has absolute power. Future! What positive changes would you wish for the Van Gogh world? Which significant part concerning the recognition of your work “Still life with peonies” is still missing and what would you recommend, after very clear and sharp criticism has fallen, for Van Gogh’s reception. What should, or must change? The VGM has caused chaotic conditions in Van Gogh’s research and has been more concerned with commercialization and monopoly than Van Gogh’s legacy. Carrying sciences are ignored as well as provenances, inventory lists (Bonger list) and Van Gogh’s letters. The self-serving behavior has deprived the art world of genuine works for decades and prevented a proper reworking of the complete works. The VGM is to recognize and process errors that have not been prepared. It remains for the injured party only the way of a lawsuit, which is hardly to be led in the Netherlands because of the extremely high legal fees and the exercise of power. This has created an untenable situation that is not consistent with the basic rules of a museum.

43 a closer view of the rejected painting, do you think is is by Vincent Van Gogh?The VGM violates the code of ethics of the museums of the ICOM (International Council of Museums)and acts selfishly. It should also be kept in mind that the VGM is still an imperial museum and acts in thename of the kingdom. The VGM was about to function only as an exhibiting museum and hand over theauthentication of Van Gogh works to an international impartial commission. World Heritage Vincent vanGogh should be accessible to all and free of commercial ideologies and absurd exercise of power.Mr. Roubrocks, thank you for the interesting insight into your case and personal experience in mattersrelated to Van Gogh’s oeuvre interview conducted and written by André Chahil read more of André’s writiing on: http://andrechahil.com

44 our resident critic ‘Spike’s’ last article seemed a big hit with our readers, and in this issue Spike carries on the art rants about......photography art and money. Let’s start by saying that photography is an absolute art form unto itself. So, why do many painters today click rapid digital photographs pick the best one and simply copy them? OK, I do know many painters process these photographs through photoshop or the like and apply filters and effects, and then copy them directly. But, the composition and the forms remain a photograph when all is said and done. And it has to be said that photography was utilised since the days of the impressionists. Yet, a photo is still an actual snapshot of what the lens will capture in all it’s absolute reality and detail, unlike the human eye, which is far more selective and therefore this ‘restrictiveness’ helps with the creation of authentic original Art.A big question remains, that is - Does using photographicreference of any kind (or used as a sketch book) help an artistcreate real authentic Art? Or does it encourage the artist tomerely make a pale version of reality – one that even a non-artist-trained viewer can spot a mile away.Perhaps that’s why so much of the painting seen on social media today is stiff and sterile? Much of this sort ofwork looks ‘much of a muchness.’So, is it even worth a ‘Like’ on ‘Face Book’, ‘The Human Condition.’ by Henri Magritte, Painted way backa Heart on instagram or even a Retweet? in 1933 ....do you get the point of the irony?Why not just post the photograph? It’s quickerand more truthful. Many painters today areturning to painting outdoors (plein-air) whichin itself is a pleasurable past-time, but a veryantiquated ‘contemporary art-process’ and inmy opinion it has outlived it’s usefulness as anart form. Even though ‘plein -air’ paintings are abig seller on the high street. At least the doer ofthese (usually) small and cute pictures, paint fromlife, don’t they? - But, sometimes it’s difficult todistinguish these works from ‘photograph-copied’paintings, and I’m convinced even the ardentplein-airer’s utilise both practices. The creation ofunique Art for a ‘twenty first century serious fulltime artist.’ needs a totally different approach toall the above.

45 above: Gaspard-Felix Tournachon Born 1820 died 1910. known as ‘NADAR’.Speaking of irony, without the above French photographer, known as ‘Nad there would never havebeen the ‘impressionists’ It was he that gave up his ‘studio’ to enable the impressionists their first‘public exhibition’ in 1874 (sic: Nadar Photographic Studio on the Boulevard des Capucines, Paris).Another irony is the name of that now world renown (very) small group of young artists.The French critic who ‘christened’ the now widely ‘popular way of painting’ actually wanted Art to looklike photographs. Would you believe some artists still actually paint exactly like the impressionists,even though its 145 years since they first emerged from the classical art mire of theFrench Art Academy.So let’s place Nadar on the side of Art - and not hold him responsible for todays confused landscapepainters. His full name was; Gaspard-Felix Tournachon btw, - born 1820 and died in 1910.(note: 16 years later Monet popped his clogs -1926). So now you know who to admire, or ironically,depending on what side you part your hair, who to blame for the contemporary painting of today.For me the responsibility for the ‘Progress of painting as an Art Form’ is still largely in the hands ofthe many high street galleries in major cities throughout Europe. Should they not begin to introducetheir client listing to a new ‘Art for a New Century’ and stop the reliance on painting based onreproduction stylistic versions of all the ‘good-old-work’ that some artists carried out from 1900 to1980? Is it not time to ‘reflect our own era’ more succinctly, more honestly and move forward rapidly,leaving the past behind, for sure to look back on now and again, but not continue to replicate it?

46 Talking of moving “death means forward... alotta money.. ...what about Art and honey” Money? to quote Andy WarholOpposites attract, so they say....is it true with Art and Money?There can be no doubt that money follows Art - that is whenthe Art becomes a trade-able commodity or seen as a productworth investing in. A product which gathers or has the potentialto gather, enormous financial benefits for investors, albeit, as inmany cases, over a long period of time.We have witnessed almost obscene mountains of moneyexchange hands for ‘Art’ over the last four decades, some wouldsay a longer time period. And there is no doubt that in recenttimes Contemporary Art has been high on the ‘must-buy’ list ofmany institutions, pension fund managers and so on. Indeed inthe past the biggest collectors have often been Socialists WorkersUnions (i.e. the Railway Union).Which in itself is a sort of philosophical political hypocrisy.Of course the mega auction houses have helped in promoting orat best, facilitating the platform for these transactions.Auctions of Art become headline news with familiar You Tubevideos of hammers going down for millions upon millions ofsomeone’s cash for the all stars of historical or contemporary Artand the almost sickening sight of audiences applauding the sheermonetary size of the sale.Photo credits: $’ers ..©Andy Warhol.Photographys: Creator: Andrew Burton..©2015Getty Images from IPTO photo

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48 above: Turner Prize winner, Martin Creed. ‘A rolled up piece of A4 Paper.’ Someone once said that the twentieth century was when Marketing triumphed over Art, especially in lifting or exaggerating the bottom line of its actual artistic worth. And it is true that our society has created a specialist anti-art playing field, significantly when the words Contemporary Art are tagged after any specific artists work. That word ‘contemporary’ has ceased to be associated with its real definition and now it is used to identify an Art which sees itself as special or separate from the rest of Art, one that is perhaps is created outside of Contemporary Arts strict limitations of the accepted artists process. I am referring to painting or any other creative output that may employ what many term, with a smirk on their faces, ‘traditional’ or old mediums. The practice of these ‘Contemporary’ Artists is very much intertwined with the curators of large institutions and/or the professional high profile art galleries. So much so that now it is not uncommon for the Galleries representing the Artist to contribute large sums of money to ‘help’ the Art institution mount exhibitions, apparently, or so I am told. Personally, I think that ‘deal’, should it be true, is very worrying. Many critical voices envisage the larger Art Galleries using this system as a sort of ‘back-hander’ to ensure any specific artist gains an immediate international reputation, merely because the work will be exhibited in one of the world renown Art institutions and not because the Art is an authentic or an absolute wonderful work of Art. This inevitably follows with the subsequent financial gain, a gain that is guaranteed for the galley or the artists representative, even before the Art is actually made available within the public realm. The other worrying trend is the myopic habits of the institutions themselves when selecting Art. It does seem that ‘only objects’ that can be mass produced are considered for exhibition. A contradiction of the very meaning of a ‘Work of Art’ - I think, don’t you?

49This habit is possibly down to the Art institutions strategy to prepare the ground for the same ‘Art’ to beshown around the world in other Art institutions roughly at the same time. It seems deals are made by likeminded institutions, which sort of gives them guaranteed high audience attendance (with the complicityof the mass media) and thus perpetuates their own international reputation. And I guess it’s a sort of selfcongratulatory system of discovering a perfect formula for pulling in the crowds (and the money).This system also raises an odd thought. If J M W Turner, be alive and creating his Art today, he could neverwin the Turner Prize in the UK - But only because each of his artworks would be unique and they could notbe reproduced en mass, therefore disqualifying him from even being entered for consideration in the firstplace. On a lesser scale there are the smaller commercial galleries who maintain a stable of selected artaccording to their own client list preferences. Whereas the large institutions are funded in the main by ‘taxpayers’ the independent commercial galleries have to meet their own rent and expenses on a monthly basis.And, I presume, are hoping to turn a profit. So, you can can forgive them for pandering to their clients, eventhough it would be to the advantage of any gallery ‘art-trendies’ to consider that constant ‘sell sell’ what’strending approach is actually helping Art in any way whatsoever, or is it simply selling products to a selectedmarket....a bit like Primark..maybe? the last and final art rant from me, is a question....“...can anyone please tell me why Artists and Galleries have to post on social media every single solitary time someone buys a painting from them? What do they want from the public at large, a round of applause for making money?”written by ‘SPIKE’ for painters TUBES magazineJeff Koons, taking a bow for selling - ‘made by some one else’ - cracked egg’s

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