- Norman Grindley, Staff Photographer
'Spanish Town Cathedral' by Albert Bryson.
Sana Rose, Contributor
AN EXHIBITION of new paintings by self-taught artists Vaughn Tucker and Albert Bryson, opened at the Pegasus Gallery on November 1 before a small gathering. While Bryson's interest is architecture, mainly old houses, Tucker offers us scenes from the marketplace, the canefield and the riverbank.
Two types of sensibilities seem to unite in this show as Bryson's calmer and more calculated rendition of unpeopled architectural landscapes contrasts yet harmonises with Tucker's almost frenzied renditions of his preferred themes.
Both artists still wrestle with formal problems, sharing between them difficulties in creating fully rounded forms, linear and tonal perspective and clear indications of the time of day of the various scenes.
Bryson's old houses and cathedrals appear flat because the tonal value range is limited and the direction of light is uncertain. In addition, foliage around the buildings is painted in only two colours - yellow and green, the former representing light but not as a tonal value.
Like Bryson, Tucker's direction of light is uncertain and his use of perspective is a little on the weaker side as the images in the front of the picture plane are not large enough those in the background to create a stronger sense of distance and space.
Tucker's choice of brushwork, although more adventurous than that of his fellow exhibitor, creates an impressionistic appearance which adds movement and energy to the pieces but he loses his images in the process.
Where the main focus of the work is the landscape, Tucker adds people using the same impasto technique of short, thick strokes, which cause the images lose their clarity in the compositions.
Also, the forms of the figures are not strong enough to command a prominent place in the surrounding scenery.
Despite the formal problems however, the honesty and effort of the two artists is visible in the show.
Between them, Tucker is the bolder with techniques that combine drawing with painting and impressionisitic execution, somewhat reminiscent of Alexander Cooper and Stafford Schliefer. The flurry of activity of individuals engaged in industry is not only seen in the scenes themselves but also in the movement of the brush strokes across the surface of the canvases.
Bryson takes his cue from Webster Campbell, a painter also fond of the architecture of old houses. Here Bryson gives us history combined with his own sentiments of fondness of old structures which have a story of their own to tell.
The best pieces in the show from Bryson are Spanish Town Cathedral stately in its representation, Old Court House (Spanish Town) and Port Maria - St. Mary with a sombre mood just after the rain. From Tucker, clarity, industry, space and movement combine in his best composition, Downtown #2.
This exhibition is a good effort and presentation by Vaughn Tucker and Albert Bryson, offering us a combination of history, memories, and familiar sights in passionate swirls of the brush and an unruffled harmony between man's architecture and nature.
