Roger Matthews – Saturday 21st October 2017
What is Urban Art?
Urban art doesn’t always mean it has to be purely ‘urban’. Roger informed us that you can see the countryside within a town and vice versa. With the views of tree lined streets and parks you could almost be in the country. So a mixture of city or townscape as well as open spaces can be a part of urban art.
Roger helped us understand that with the use of photographs he was able to translate certain structures into his work without being restricted by the weather. But being interested in the history of mediums he uses was a big influence in his work. More recently using natural oak charcoal the was produced in the Forest of Dean after the ‘Sculpture Trail’ giant chair was taken down due to safety fears. This was then transformed into this rare type charcoal in true Forest of Dean tradition. Using this charcoal was very different from the traditional willow charcoal as its tone and texture varied widely. Its marks were rough and much lighter and so made for an interesting pre-sketch.
The paintings Roger produces using acrylics are sketched out using a B&Q ‘detail’ brush which has an angled painting edge. As he trained as a sign writer he found this brush very apt for sketching as it helped produce great marks. Roger builds up his paintings gradually using different types of collage and even introduced toilet paper in his paintings with the addition of extra PVA glue.
After discussing with the group his method of painting and demonstrating a selection of work he had already produced Roger went on to work on a sketch of an old piece of machinery which gave a starting point to a more ‘urban’ still life. This was followed by the volunteering of Barbra who wished to have a go at sketching out using the ‘detail’ brush with great effect.
