Hold me, see me

Sunday Painter: Nathan Ford

This weekend’s Sunday Painter is Nathan Ford, an artist well known for his portraiture but also the atmospheric depictions of streets at night.  

The notions of family and home lie at the heart of the latest collection of paintings by Nathan Ford. The work can broadly be divided into 2 categories. Large sweeping street scenes, barren on the margins,set the scene for off-centre hives of activity, their bright flashings resembling the collisions of far-flungnebulae. In the absence of medium-sized works, all the remaining paintings are small, and amongst these are portraits of 3 generations of Ford’s immediate family. In addition is a series of still lives, which include vessels unearthed from the formerly abandoned garden behind the artist’s home. With a growing maturity in work and in life (though still a measly 36 years of age) and with the support throughout of wife Anna and his parents in encouraging his career as an artist, Ford has developed confidence as a painter, without ever falling into any kind of comfort zone. He now more than ever has the practical tools necessary (and has earned the right to give himself time) to experiment with new ideas and work them through fastidiously towards what many viewers would consider an impressive resolution, though the artist himself remains his own harshest critic.

Vincent Fecteau

Untitled, 2014 

Resin clay, acrylic paint 

Artist:

Jelena Bando

"A Love Affair"

50 cm x 70 cm 

Mixed Media on Paper