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Trays, Windows and
Dog Guards
Rory
Stormonth Darling meets up with Cotswold based
artist Jeremy Houghton
In a junk filled garage a young artist uncovers
an old dog guard that hasn’t been used for the
best part of fifteen years. This particular dog
guard is beginning a second, altogether new,
life. with no small degree of satisfaction and a
beaming smile Jeremy Houghton has found – to the
apparent horror of his Jack Russell, Zulu – the
perfect grill to lay on top of his rustic burner
to convert it into a impromptu barbeque.
On a balmy afternoon in a garden with views over
a meadow towards the village church, he chucks a
handful of potatoes into the fire, at all times
taking reasonable care not to damage his
pristine designer shirt. The boyishly god
looking Houghton announces, “I reckon CGA
members will love the Butler trays”. These
practical trays are beautifully crafted out of
African mahogany and each one is uniquely
completed with one of Houghton’s original
watercolours secured under a sheet of
strengthened glass. He tells me that they are
proving to be particularly popular with those
who love art but have run out of wall space.
“People are giving them as presents. I’ve had
commissions for specific churches for weddings,
and they are also great of people’s houses as
they make truly unique presents for a special
birthday or anniversary”, say the artist as he
slices a lemon and ponders the lack of a butler
in his kitchen.
Whilst being an accomplished traditional
watercolourist, Houghton prefers to paint with
swift brush strokes and likes to let the paint
do the work. This impressionistic approach is
always a bit of a gamble but can result in some
delightful results.
However, Houghton is perhaps best known for
introducing an intriguing and widely vaunted new
mode of abstract work. “Because I enjoy applying
the brushstrokes quickly I have to accept that
once in a while a painting will not come
together as I hope, but rather than just
chucking it in a fire I look for the good bits.
And every time I find some wonderful aspects”,
says the optimistic artist. The resourceful
Houghton has taken to using an empty photograph
slide – perhaps found somewhere near the old dog
guard – as a frame and employing this as a
viewfinder to locate little gems within the
unwanted watercolour. Out comes the scalpel and
before long he will have found a number of
miniature yet alluring abstract watercolours – a
medium generally not associated with the genre.
Then, upon a larger plain canvas, he sets about
the task of carefully placing these tiny
rectangular watercolours in regimental rows. The
result is fascinating. The finished work is an
artistic paradox being both passive yet
remarkably engaging. The pictures don’t demand
your attention but rather lure the viewer in
over time. Up close one can appreciate the
individuality of each miniature yet from a
distance the pleasing abstract becomes whole.
Much like staring at shapes in cloud these
abstract works reveal quirks, stories and images
within the individual miniatures.
Houghton, who
spent five years in South Africa , refers to
these pictures as ‘Windows’, not simply because
of the final window frame effect but because
it’s the term used by Witch Doctors in Africa to
describe the objects they throw on the ground to
cast light on the future. Once the piece is
complete, Houghton studies it in detail and
sooner or later will allocate it a title which
he finds either from the work in its entirety,
or more likely from a specific observation from
one of the miniatures. Titles such as Sitting
Duck, Sky Diving, The Owl and the Pussy Cat,
Heaven’s Above, Fat Cow and Rhubarb add to the
onlooker’s experience, as it’s often possible to
visually hunt for the discernable reason for its
unique name.
As the artist places some local trout on the dog
guard he enthuses about how he held one of the
world’s ‘largest’ exhibitions. “I don’t know of
any single artist who has exhibited more
paintings at one venue. I guess that the beauty
of my big exhibition was that it was so small! I
exhibited 50,000 individual windows – it was an
amazing success”, he smiles.
Clearly innovative, Jeremy Houghton has cleverly
managed to combine his eye for design with his
natural artistic talent. He is a prolific artist
whose work is finding its way into the
collections of many serious art buffs as well as
the homes of occasional buyers.
With the exception of and art A-Level and a
foundation course at the Slade, he claims that
most of his artistic ability and knowledge has
been gained from the ‘University of Life’ – an
educational seat where he has clearly excelled
for some time. “The trout”, Houghton thinks out
aloud, as he strides over to attend to his
culinary masterpiece.
Champagne flows and there is good reason to
celebrate – on this particular summer’s day
Houghton has received a commission from a “big
name” collector – yet nothing has given the
inventive artist more delight than the sterling
performance of the old dog guard!
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