I was in Edinburgh last month to give a talk on Merkel cell cancer. While there I wandered into the Scottish National Gallery and the exhibition of the paintings of John Bellany. The body of work is overwhelming. Huge canvases, many made of several joined panels. As a student he made ends meet gutting fish in the industrial fisheries. The imagery of working men and dismembered fish becomes a theme throughout his work. In Kinlochbervie, though we see only 10, there is a strong evocation of the Last Supper. In Allegory this link of the fishery to Christian mythology is even stronger with three haddock carcases of nailed up in the foreground and the boat masts and crowds behind like soldiers with their spears. There is nothing new in the fish-messiah metaphor dating from the acronym ICTHUS as code for a persecuted religion and the frequent use of fish in gospel stories. Here Bellany re-uses this metaphor in a gritty industrial setting. Bethel and The Obsession follow a shared structure with strange tube-like men set upon a stage against sea and sky. Something in these latter paintings was reminiscent of photographs I have seen of great sculpted people set looking out to sea on Easter Island.
This is the beginning of an idea: developing the sketches of cormorants to a full painting of the birds standing tall and lined up at the water’s margin, like icons or idols, carved monuments as much as living birds. Here then are the first sketches.
This is a collation of the field sketches (most posted before) from which I am working. Snow is limiting access to do more this weekend.
Finally, all credit to the BBC for systematically making the nation’s art available on line. That license – worth every penny.
kestrelart 
Love the final watercolour ones , they look simple but I know from experience how difficult it is to get that simplicity. Very nice….
Thanks. And you are right. This is hard and very much a learning curve, fast watercolours in the field.
Kes, these drawings and paintings are absolutely stunning. I am in awe.
Thank you. I hope i can turn this into a painting that matches what’s in my head.
These images are fantastic and wow what an ambitious project – I can see some powerful results emerging – the challenge will be keeping it loose and simple – can’t wait to see the progression. good luck.
Thank you. I agree about loose and simple. I don’t much work in opaque paint so have little idea about how to approach using acrylics. I think I need to first get the anatomy and shape of the birds credible then get the tones and flow of the fore and background in. However, then I expect to systematically paint out my careful definition and detail leaving only the shapes. We’ll see…
My idea was initially to make the birds headless stumps – their heads in their plumage preening or watchfully snoozing. But i got seduced by the loops those sinuous necks make against the background.
Great stuff Kestrelart, can’t wait to see what you produce in acrylics. It’s all gone a bit Bruegel around here.
“Breugel”? My ignorance in art strikes again so I google imaged him. Is there a sort of similarity, with Bellany building on Breugel’s style or have I missed your point?
sorry no, a bit random of me. I’ve gone slightly snow blind from sledging today and have started to see his ‘Return of the Hunters ‘ picture everywhere.
Random is good, introduced me to Pieter Bruegel the elder and the younger. A day spent sledging. Sounds great. Schools closed? Ours too but i had to go to work.
I love those bendy cormorant necks. Marvelous work already, and what an interesting idea – I can’t wait to see the result!
Really powerful images. Well done!