Sea-scapes from Southern Turkey and Cape Cod USA

an artist living and working in Scotland

Colour field paintings

In Istanbul the reflections of light on water are a constant presence as the City is all about the Bosphorus.
Until relatively recently no building was erected that would obscure the view of the sea from another. During the last part of the 20th century Simon worked from a studio in Istanbul overlooking the Bosphorus and from this time many of his observations are like vignettes of light effects and passing sea traffic. Later, in Southern Turkey, from a gulet, he was drawn to the merging of sky and sea evident in 'Wave' and 'Dawn'.
In Woods Hole (Cape Cod) the bright little boats called 'sunfish' inspired another series.
The slideshow on the home page has included 'Sailing Woods Hole' which depicts the huge skies that dominate the seascapes where the choppy waters of 'the hole' play with the small sailing boats.

Below: illustration 'eroica' for the Muhyi din Ibn 'Arabi Society journal abstracted from a detail of Bosphorus Boat (shown opposite).
eroica_3

Seascapes

These subjects may be from locations as far apart as Istanbul, the Southern Mediterranean and Cape Cod and executed over more than two decades, yet there is a consistent feel to the images. The almost square format lends itself to what the abstract expressionists called 'colour field paintings'. Whilst these here differ in that they are alive with texture and form yet they allow for image reduction and an almost abstract use of the picture plane.