Jonquieres works in oils on panels. Panels appear to have made somewhat of a come back, which is wonderful, as they are more suited to smaller and medium sized works, a welcome contrast to the oversized canvases common against gallery walls.
Jonquieres’ pieces focus around animals: dogs, present and past, the traditions of hunting, as well as, horses, falcons, and pheasants; both in their present setting, and traditionally through art. She says ‘the vignettes I have created use the interplay of real animals, juxtaposed against a backdrop of tapestries, to create a strange yet familiar environment which these animals inhabit’.
Painting on panels is tied to the Dutch tradition of painting, and it is a work of patience: colour and form are achieved through series of small strokes and glazing, upon the smoothest of surfaces. The result: brilliant colours.
In the first narrative, domesticated dogs are set against tapestry: fable like settings made of decorative motifs. In conversation with the historical practice, they venture into outdoor spaces with stylised flora and people dressed in garments of ultramarine blues, alizarin reds, and purples. The second narrative is more muted. It engages with the interaction between form and space. This is expressed in terms of a hesitant dog and her shadow, which is more self-assured.
If Jonquieres’ work is all detail, definition, then Young is all mood. She paints vistas and landscapes of the Southern Highlands, Murray/Murrumbidgee Basin, the alpine regions of NSW and Victoria.
Young describes her work as ‘the dramatic changes brought about by four very distinct seasons, as well as different moods and feelings created by these changes of nature’.
Young works predominantly in watercolour and gouache. Watercolours by their nature create a wonderful sensation of dispersed colour, and a subtlety of tone. Many of Young’s paintings are very tender works, sharing more of their beauty as you continue to observe them.
Her landscapes have been described as spanning from impressionistic and abstracted to realistic. Landscapes in themselves are abstracted forms. For the greater part, these hold as landscapes, and wonderfully felt landscapes at that.
Young builds them carefully. Her palette within each is restricted, in that one could say there is a purple painting, or a blue, or green. Within them, there is great sensitivity to colour and texture. Young experiments within her medium, and these experiments provide additional means through which she explores and expresses texture and form.
Besides the immediate differences in subject matter, one is struck by the apparent dichotomy: the thinking, and the feeling. Or so it would seem. Neither is a mark against. If anything, it carries their intent: in the medium, as in the subject.
These are beautiful works at a reasonable price, and a great way to acquire a terrific piece of artwork, the beauty of which will continue to grow and surprise you. Young and Jonquieres will delight a range of tastes and viewers. Yes, even the little ones.
Through Different Eyes
Colette Jonquieres & Elizabeth Young
Depot II Gallery, Waterloo
September 17 – September 29
