Richard Hobson Monotypes

"Carrion for a Tyne Swansong"-Richard Hobson

1994

Yesterday I visited the exhibition of Richard Hobson's work in Gateshead. I had put off going until an old friend came down to visit it with me.Many of the works on show gave me great pleasure, especially the monotypes.My illustration shows one of Richard's typical subjects. It isn't in the show, which is a pity.But there are other fine examples to be enjoyed and some of the best involve birds and/or shipyards.I can recall a conversation I had with the artist in which I remember asking him about his procedure.He confirmed that he used oils and that the paper was then kept warm so that it would dry out quickly.I suspect that he may well have removed some of the oil  beforehand.

If you don't know what a monotype is then here is my very brief explanation.In Hobson's case a large,smooth plate was used as the base for the design.It might have been glass or perspex or even metal, but it would certainly need to be inflexible and solid.The design was painted out in fairly fluid brushstrokes and then an impression taken. Most of the monotypes are quite elaborate and would have surely required more than one printing. To permit this the paper needs to be held in place by some form of clamp.The paper used for the large monotypes appears to be heavy and perhaps of Japanese manufacture-quite expensive stuff.To make the transfer of the image from plate to paper it is sometimes necessary to burnish the paper from the back. An ideal tool for this is the japanese baren but it is perfectly possible to improvise a pad of your own-or use a wooden spoon.Work on the scale that Richard undertook needed a lot of energy.

You  can see evidence of slightly runny oil wash in some of the works.Some of the forms also have a pleasant fuzziness. Also visible are the occasional marks where the end of a brush or some other implement has been drawn through the colour to produce a white line.

I have always liked Richard's monotypes.They have a broad,luminous quality which isn't present in some of the more thickly painted watercolours. In this exhibition they are the best of his work. Also shown in cases are some reference photos and sketches.Unfortunately there is no catalogue-just a price list which you cannot take away.I am not sure if the title of the exhibition quite fits the work-what is a "Northern Realist" anyway?

 The exhibition of Richard Hobson's work continues at the Shipley Art Gallery until March 2. I can heartily recommend it.You can read more about Richard and the circumstances of this show in Barbara Hodgson's article here.All the works illustrated are monotypes.I have recently added a note on one of Richard's best shipyard watercolours which was sold recently at Anderson and Garland.It can be found here.