Even as I was making my final studies during my original “pilgrimage” to Barbizon in July 2007, I was formulating plans to return in the future, but this time to seek authorization from the ONF (Office Nationale de Foret) to drive my van into the heart of the Forest of Fontainebleau using the forestry workers’ tracks. By this means I hoped to become more intimate with this mysterious forest and maybe pick up some of those spiritual “echoes through time” from the painters who worked there during the early part of the 19th Century.

Why am I drawn to the Barbizon painters more than the Impressionists?

 

 

What is the relevance of the Barbizon Painters today?

The current artificial world, into which we are drifting, of “virtual reality”, materialism, instant communications and ever accelerating technological development, driven almost solely by an insatiable desire for profit and sensual gratification, is slowly dehumanizing us, eroding our capacity for direct, personal and spiritual communication either with each other or with the natural environment from which we sprang.
Perhaps a re-examination of the unpretentious innocence of the Barbizon Painters, with their sometimes simplistic and even naïve search for truth to nature and the dignity of mankind could be one positive way of countering this dehumanization and reminding ourselves that we are a product of and part of Nature, and that respect for nature is essential for our survival.

Conclusions drawn from this expedition

Regarding my own work in the Forests of Fontainebleau and Barbizon, my intention was not to imitate the work of the Barbizon Painters in technique or manner (much though I admire them) but to pursue my own artistic aims of “Direct Response” and technical experimentation using their source material, their open minded curiosity and my own sense of history.
In spite of losing a considerable amount of time organizing repairs to my van which was damaged by two criminals who I (fortunately) disturbed in the act of breaking in, I managed to produce 48 pieces, drawings, small gouaches and large oils. Due to my closer involvement with the environment, these differed quite dramatically from those I produced on my first visit in 2007.
My intention was to focus particularly on composition and texture and this lead me into an unanticipated intensive study of the interaction between the two main elements of the forest, namely Trees and Rocks.
As I worked, it came into my mind (time and other projects permitting) to make studies contrasting the same (but harsher) two interactive elements of the equally mysterious forests of North Wales and to combine the two bodies of work in one large exhibition.