‘Recent Watercolour’

Press, 13 December 1986, Page 9

‘Recent Watercolour’

“Recent Watercolour Paintings” by John Coley at the Bealey Gallery until December 19. Reviewed by Pat Unger.

A certain earnestness, combined with enthusiasm, marks John Coley’s latest watercolours as a little different from his previous landscapes. They are again concerned with the geographic memorabilia of Akaroa, Banks Peninsula and Canterbury. However, colour is more self-con-sciously visualised and picturesque trivia downplayed. The greens are muted to sour, but not the acidified emerald of previous works. In “Baches at the Beach, Le Bons Bay” and others, ochre tones soften and warm colours enliven the “terre verte,” and strengthen the compositions in the process. Several have height-

ened drama through the use of varied horizons and trees that frame the work. “Tangled Willows after the Flood ’B6, Waipara” is busy with verticals, horizontals and diagonal structures and brushstrokes. It contrasts pleasingly with “St Barnabas’, Woodend, Southerly Approaching” which relies on simplicity for both its composition and colour. “Rainy Day, Rue Balguerie, Akaroa” and “Shepherd’s Hut, Coal Hill, Mesopotamia” are purely conventional statements of landscape, with little individuality. For years Coley explored the optical effects of close-valued colour contrasts, their afterimages and subliminal impressions, through his pop-art “Abacus” series and “Cityscapes.” Recently, he has chosen to leave the complex art

scene of polemical theory and paint the landscapes of Nature. Some of the works now show his desire to master the deceptive simplicity of watercolours and his increasing skill in capturing their charm.