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Worcestershire-based artist
Jeremy Houghton has created what he terms as
‘lucky mistakes’, numerous small, abstract
watercolour images that are arranged into a
collage to form a picture. Rachel Crow found out
about his reinvention of the watercolour.
Jeremy Houghton
was born and bred in Broadway but only recently
returned to home soil after years spent abroad,
amassing a wealth of inspiration for his current
works.
He is a self-taught artist,
having changed his career path from law to art
upon “seeing the light” after spending carefree,
enjoyable months travelling around Europe,
painting the landscapes stretching out before
him and realising the world of law would never
allow such luxuries. So he opted to go into
teaching: “For the great holidays,” he admits.
“And also because there is no better way to
learn a subject than through teaching it.
You are exposed to
a lot of different mediums and talents and can
draw inspiration and ideas from the works of
those that you teach.”
Each
school summer holiday, Jeremy’s camper van would
once more become home as he headed off around
Europe to paint. Then after three years teaching
in Oxford he headed out to Aix-en-Provence to
devote his time to painting. It was while there
he saw an advert seeking an art teacher at the
International Scholl of Cape Town in South
Africa.
His
portfolio of work from this period includes some
stunning ballpoint pen drawings of people living
in nearby townships. “I
lived in Hout Bay, which is a nice, leafy
suburb, but right next to it is a township where
there are some desperate signs of poverty.
Living next to it you realise how lucky you are.
There is nothing comparable in England,” he
explains.
Jeremy
went into the townships and befriended the
people that he drew. He still donates money from
the sale of these drawings to them. And it was a
practice of traditional African doctors he saw
there that provided the idea for his current
pieces. “Traditional doctors collect small stones and
shells known as windows that they throw into a
bowl or onto the ground to tell people’s
futures,” he explains.
Jeremy was inspired
by this idea of finding images in the
unexpected, and an absence of anything
pre-determined
So he started to
create large watercolours that, he explains,
just evolve: “I blitz a large piece of paper
with paint and doodle with nothing in mind,
creating abstract colours and shapes. I then use
an empty photograph slide to pass over the top
of the painting and find images in what I’ve
painted. So everything I discover is by luck. If
I like an image I cut it out and use it to
create a picture along with the other images”.
In
this way each of his pictures is made up of lots
of these miniature abstract watercolours
measuring about 3x4cm, with no two the same.
They vary considerably in size and shape but the
overall effect is of bold creations, capturing a
lot of movement and colour. You can either study
each individual window, drawn to the differing
shapes and texture, or step back and appreciate
the overall effect.
“Watercolours should have luck and spontaneity,”
Jeremy opines. “I believe the quicker the
better. The best watercolour landscapes are
created using a big brush and plenty of water.
It’s about pushing an idea as far as it will go
and catching a mood. The
only element that I pre-determine in my
paintings is the colours that I use.”
It is this
versatility and willingness to explore new ideas
and try out new techniques that has worked to
his advantage. “I’ve set my own course, so I’ve
experienced a lot and come out with something
different.”
Jeremy’s favoured topic is
landscapes and he is inspired by the works of
many 20th century and Victorian
impressionists. “John Ward is a fantastic artist
and in the Victorian watercolorists there is
Talbot Kelly and obviously Turner who produced
some stunning watercolours from his journeys.”
It is the Victorian artist, Lamplough, whose
colourful
Middle Eastern
scenes inspired Jeremy to go on a trip to create
‘desert lifestyle’ scenes from the Sinai Desert,
staying with a Bedouin tribe and sleeping in
tents under the stars: “For an amazing
experience and to get my head full of images
that will stay with me for a long time.
“If I
had all the money in the world I would probably
just paint landscapes,” he admits. “And travel
naturally goes with landscapes. But I’ve settled
back in the Cotswolds and will be focusing on
getting more exhibitions for my paintings both
here and abroad, going on brief journeys when I
need to find inspiration.”
Jeremy
lives and works in his Manor Farm Barn Studio in
Childswickham, just outside Broadway, and it is
here that he will hold his next exhibition.
“Downstairs is the gallery, with large white
walls that will be covered with over 50,000 of
these watercolour windows. It will be a really
novel event because each guest will be able to
select as many windows as they want for £1 each
and I’ll then arrange them into a picture.”
The proceeds from the
exhibition will be donated to the Elton John
AIDS foundation: to go towards helping the many
aids sufferers in South Africa. |
