Landscape

Blossom

2011-10-10T14:31:00.000-07:00

This drawing is an attempt to show a tree in blossom. The tree is situated on a roadside with only a small area of earth surrounding its roots. I think the branches were lopped quite severely in the recent past. To me it looks a little stunted.

2011-10-07T08:31:00.000-07:00

I have spent some time redrawing this landscape. It is made of pencil on paper. In redrawing I had in mind the relative weight of tone in the sky and land area. I found a tendency to draw the sky area in particular too light. The image is the amended drawing.

The Grid

2011-10-07T03:50:00.000-07:00

I came across an image in Simon Schama's 'Landscape and Memory' (Vintage Books 1995) which shows a 'blot' landscape by Alexander Cozens (p460). This blot drawing is overlaid by grid lines. The blot drawing was a method employed by Cozens to invent a landscape composition.

During my residency in Spain I produced some drawings using these grid lines such as the one below. I like the grid lines because they are a form of construction that is an aid to developing a composition. They also refer to the grid lines on a map which is apt for a landscape drawing. I also like the suggestion that each set of grids is a particular scale which can be varied because it is a modular system.

2011-08-25T01:34:00.000-07:00

For my research the following publication is of particular interest British Watercolours in the Oppe Collection by Anne Lyles and Robin Hamlyn (Tate Gallery Publishing 1997 ISBN 1-85437-240-8)

32 Species of Trees

2011-08-18T06:58:00.000-07:00

I am searching for a document produced by Alexander Cozens which I believe is titled 32 Species of Trees This seems an interesting document to me and is part of Cozens work relating to classification. So far I have found a reference on the Victoria and Albert Museum website at 32 Species of Trees

The text refers to the publication in 1771 of 'The shape, skeleton and foliage of 32 species of trees for the use of Painting and Drawing' This work illustrated the visible character of various species of trees.

In the spirit of this my drawing Oak is a representation of a specific species of tree in a particular geographical location, i.e. the grounds of Hatfield House in Hertfordshire.

Oak 2010

2011-07-17T14:19:00.000-07:00

Having viewed some of the images in A New Method I wondered how this image could be interpreted. I would describe this image as a landscape of three main areas, the horizon above the centre of the view. In the distance a line of hills, in the middle ground to the left and right is rising land through which cuts a watercourse and in the foreground a river, the bank of which defining the boundary of the fore and middle ground.

It is not in the same turn of phrase as in A New Method but a description nonetheless.

Alexander Cozens

2011-07-10T07:38:00.000-07:00

I recently visited the Tate Britain Prints and Drawings Room. I consulted a document titled 'A New Method of Assisting the Invention in Drawing Original Compositions of Landscape' 1786

This document contained 16 'blot' images which seemed to be prints and a collection of cloud studies in the form of etchings. For me, the most interesting aspect of the blot images (from my own observation I describe them as dense fields of ink in varying tones which form a landscape composition) are the descriptions of each. Here are three examples which are numbered according to their place in the series of 16;

Print 1

Part of the edge or top of a hill or mountain, seen horizontally, the horizonbelow the bottom of the view. The horizon is the utmost bounds of the land of a flat country or the sea, in an interrupted view of it to the sky

Print 9

Two hills, mountains, or rocks, near each other. At a moderate distance from the bottom of the view

Print 15

A landscape of a moderate extent between the right and left hand the objects or groups placed irregularly and no one predominant. The horizon above the bottom of the view.

The descriptions are in an objective manner and outline the content of each composition. Cozens also produced The Various Species of Composition of Landscape in Nature which was apparently never finished and was thus probably never published in full (p70. 'British Watercolours from the Oppe Collection') and The Shape, Skeleton and Foliage of Thirty Two Species of Trees (p76 'British Watercolours from the Oppe Collection'). Both these continue the classification of landscape.

I also found that there is a useful point of reference at www.tate.org.uk and in particular two catalogue entries from the Oppe Collection publication I refer to above. One entry shows an image under the heading Mountainous Landscape with Cypresses. Another under the heading The Cloud. The latter shows how Cozens made the representation of skies and cloud formations a special category of study. I particularly like the manner in which Cozens develops the idea of Circumstances which correspond to the conditions which affect the atmosphere and colour or tone of a landscape, wind, fog,spring,summer or the time of the day, which contribute to its mood. Cozens project seemed to identify the elements of a landscape composition.

2011-04-21T05:47:00.000-07:00

21 April 2011

The following text and images form Landscape I, which I produced to document the development of my drawings over a period of several years. I use this as a resource for my ongoing interest in landscape representation.

LANDSCAPE I

David Harker

April 2011

'the ripples on the beach and the veins in the rocks show the same signature'

Thomas A. Clark, from 'Distance and Proximity'

My recent drawings place an emphasis on shape and texture, while retaining
a sense of space and depth. The shapes are delineated by their own
boundaries which frees them from the compositional frame.

By moving away from more pictorial and traditional depictions of landscape
this work takes on an abstract and otherworldly quality. Each drawing
functions both as a self contained image with it’s own sense of mass
and depth, whilst simultaneously appearing as a floating textural fragment
revealing a concurrent sense of disjointedness and coherence.

David Harker
January 2009

Oak

Trees I

Ruin

Monument

Route

Route is ‘a series of drawings depicting places of shelter, transit and
communication. Avoiding sentimentality these drawings offer
remote views of the countryside and suggest a calming sense of

emptiness, a refuge from the draining clutter of the city.

Inspired in part by Japanese graphic art and contemporary Chinese
printmaking, Harker is also influenced by Gerhard Richter's

approach to landscape painting and Anselm Kiefers exploration
of spatial landscapes.’

Extract from DRAWING #1 Curated by Liz Aston April 2008 at
www.axisweb.org (curated selections)

see www.axisweb.org/artist/davidharker

Coasthouse

Telegraph

Fields of Marks

The Work of David Harker by Cherry Smyth

'The ripples on the beach and the veins in the rocks on the mountain

show the same signature.' Thomas A. Clark, from 'Distance and Proximity'

David Harker's intimate landscapes offer momentary visits to the
countryside, inviting us elsewhere to re-experience the spaciousness
and distance of our last long look at open space, at a horizon without
buildings, without people.
These are places of low drama, the gentle desolation of the

Yorkshire moors or the Northumberland coast.
David is drawn to landscapes where flat land runs into a vast sky or
where grassy fields become pebbled beaches become a rippling sea.

Each intricate drawing, whether on canvas or paper, traces the change of
matter, the interchange of elements: the erosion of a bank of

marram grass; the crazy paving bed of an estuary; the upright marks of groynes;
the floating dots of waves;  the tinier signatures of cirrus cloud.  David's line,
interconnecting the visual detail, shows a deeper relation of interconnectedness.
The dynamism and flow of his unique alphabet evoke the daily movement of tides,
of wind, of weathers.  His mark-making resembles the fine texture of lines and dots
that feature in etchings or lithographs, giving the effect of a negative or reversed

image, where the white gaps take on their own abstracted language

within the figurative field. His use of monochrome emphasises the structures
he's selected to cohere the image, forcing the eye to perform

the primeval act of orientating yourself. Our gaze grazes from a stretch of water to a
hillock, follows the line of fence-posts, moves from an outcrop to a slope as if
on a journey, near and far and back again.

'The fields of marks,' explains David, 'alter according to time and mood. The changes
are very subtle like changes in a landscape. If I'm having a vulnerable day,
everything tightens.

I grew up in Lincolnshire and when I'm in a landscape, particular features - a shape,
slope or surface catches my eye and comforts me and calms me down.'

Inspired in part by 19th century Japanese Graphic Art and by contemporary Chinese
printmakers like Yu Chengyou, David is also influenced by German painters:
by Gerhard Richter's approach to landscape through photography and memory

and Anselm Kiefer's exploration of spatial lanscapes.

By avoiding the fixed position and the seductiveness of colour, David creates a
specific mood using the interplay between figurative outlines

and the abstract shapes, which often take on textile patterns creating an
embroidery of stitches.
While most of the drawings and paintings concentrate on a distant horizon, David
also explores treescapes, emphasising the vertical line. Against a busy geometry
of branches, David foregrounds the bare tree trunks which seem to stand in for
the human figure, so absent from the landscapes.
Rooted, balanced and emerging from the marks on the ground

these trees articulate optimism and strength as well as an attentiveness that is
hesitantly spiritual.

These drawings and paintings comfort without being sentimental, depicting a
certain sought-for loneliness that is incredibly reassuring.

Their remote views are both familiar and fresh, informed by and enriching a long
tradition of landscape.

Cherry Smyth

2004

Viewpoint

Sky I

Moor I

Beach I

Biography

David Harker is an artist based in London. In 2010
he was awarded a Residency by the Fundacion
Valparaiso, in Mojacar, Almeria,Spain and in 2009
he was Artist in Residence at The Collection
Studio, Lincoln, Lincolnshire supported by an Arts
Council 'Grants for the Arts’ Award. In 2007/08
he was awarded a Pollock Krasner Foundation

Grant. He was shortlisted for the Jerwood Drawing
Prize in 2004 and from 2001 – 2002 was a resident
artist at the Florence Trust Studios in London.

As well as exhibiting across the U.K., he has
been in group shows in New York, Victoria, Australia
and Lecce, Italy. In 2001 he received a BA (Hons)

in Fine Art from the University of Hertfordshire.

davideharker@hotmail.com

www.axisweb.org/artist/davidharker

www.davidharker.co.uk

Landscape I first printed January 2009

Updated April 2011

2010-09-24T09:35:00.000-07:00

25 September 2010

These are viewpoints along a route through the showground and to the area of oak trees

close to the Queen Elizabeth Oak. The drawing was made to represent one of the Oak trees.

2010-09-24T00:53:00.000-07:00

24 September 2010

The following images are viewpoints along a route from the Broadwater to the open ground toward the showground. Group of trees on open land toward the showground.

Ancient tree in woodland between the Broadwater and the Showground.

Row of coniferous trees near the Broadwater.

Riverside tree at the Broadwater.

Riverside tree at the Broadwater.

2010-09-23T05:53:00.000-07:00

23 September 2010

This sequence is a route from the River Lee riverside and the South Vinyard Folly to a stretch of water called the Broadwater.

2010-09-22T04:03:00.000-07:00

22 September 2010

The photographs are taken from a recent visit to the parkland at Hatfield House in Hertfordshire. This Jacobean house was built in 1611 in a location adjoining the Old Palace of Hatfield which dates to the Tudor Period. On this visit I walked a route through the parkland which is documented by photographs and the following are selected in a sequence, the last image in the sequence is the drawing made in response to the visit. This series of photographs is the first part of the route I walked.

2010-07-19T09:27:00.001-07:00

19 July 2010

These depictions form a panoramic and distant view of the route of a link road through a valley. The main landscape features are the road, bridge and valley sides. The coloured sketch is the amalgamation of the pencil drawings.

This is a depiction of a burnt object made from polysterene or some man made plastic material. This object took on the appearance of a stone or rock. It is a deceptive object. In my depiction the surrounding lines imply a scale which is not in reality a reflection of the true scale of this object.

2010-07-15T11:36:00.001-07:00

15 July 2010

These drawings were made at different locations at Mojacar Playa (playa ; beach). I left the notes as a reminder of colour and location.

2010-07-10T05:27:00.001-07:00

8 July 2010

These two drawings, made in Spain, are, I think, so fragmentary that they are an abstraction rather than a depiction. They were made by drawing the structure of a distant road and a group of trees from the same high vantage point.

2010-07-06T03:57:00.001-07:00

6 July 2010

This drawing was made during my recent residency in Spain. It depicts a quarry close to the residency buildings. This view is of the quarry from a distant location on a hillside.

I made several visits to this hillside where I could also view a man made lake which I assume had a functional relationship to the quarry I depicted. I recall the dryness, almost parched earth, on the banks of this lake. Also some of the trees were without leaves and charred from a recent fire.

2010-05-06T14:48:00.000-07:00

6 May 2010

These are some of the first drawings I made during an Artist Residency in Mojacar, Almeria, Andalucia, southern Spain for 4 weeks, beginning in April. The drawings depict mountains near the residency buildings situated in a rural area. On this residency I decided to draw directly from nature as a means of information collection and to connect with the landscape. This reflects my aim to document through drawing and then to group together, classifying and organising.

.

2010-03-24T06:06:00.000-07:00

24 March 2010

This digital photograph was taken on the beach at Scheveningen near the Hague in the Netherlands, in December 2009. In the terms of Cozens circumstances the atmosphere is an active one, the clouds scudding across, the unsettled sea and the light dramatically reflected from the pier in the distance.

2010-03-15T12:32:00.000-07:00

15 March 2010

Alexander Cozens also identified 27 circumstances (see www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/artist03.html ) for example, times of the day, seasons or types of weather. In the terms of Cozens circumstances the stillness is of a calm and overcast day in these photographs of a fjord in Norway. These images were created using a very simple analog camera with a landscape format film. The analog quality for me evokes the landscape watercolour. The photographs were taken in 2004 at the Aurlandsfjord in Southern Norway at a village called Flam.

2010-02-25T15:36:00.000-08:00

25 February 2010

The following drawings of coastlines could be described in terms of Cozen's system as cliffs on one side and sea on the other. The first image represents a view from a cliff walkway on an island in Greece, the second the view of a beach in Cornwall. They are also compositions which represents partially obscured views. The cliff side partly obscures the view beyond.

2010-02-23T08:07:00.000-08:00

23 February 2010

The objective of this blog is to explore my interest in landscape representation. Through drawing and painting my work examines our experience of landscape
(see www.axisweb.org/artist/davidharker ).

My starting point is to refer to the work of 18th Century English landscape artist Alexander Cozens (c1717-1786). A part of 'The Various Species of Composition of Landscape' (1759) (see also www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/artist03.html)Cozens identified 16 Compositions or basic landscape themes, for example, 'the edge of a hill, or mountain' ; 'a landscape on the one hand, the sea on the other'. The images below are examples of these 'compositions' in the form of etchings. The original pen and ink drawings, in the reverse to the etchings, produced by Cozens are in the Oppe Collection (Tate Britain).

Alexander Cozens 'The Various Species of Composition of Landscape in Nature' 1765-75, four etchings on one sheet, Trustees of the British Museum

This work was part of a wider project where Cozens, by systematic procedures, was attempting to define and test all possible combinations of landscape beauty, with the same thoroughness that a scientist of the time might search for new chemical elements.

I am interested in Cozens work because of the possibilities that it has for influencing and developing my own representations of landscape. For example the following drawings were produced at different times but can easily be categorised as depictions of monuments. They are also representations based on drawings and photographs from a visit to Athens in the early 1990s.

monuments 2009
pencil on paper

This work also refers to variations in composition and the arrangement of abstract forms as well as to the representation of a memory. The hand rendered process of drawing allows me to explore the image so that it can be developed in other forms. Using Cozens work as a guide the description of each work is of interest as a way of developing ideas. For example, the second image could be described as ' a hilltop structure, hills in the distance'. Put in these terms this leads me to think of ways in which I can manipulate the composition of images.