‘PARIS REFLECTIONS’
I visit Paris every year and always stay in the same hotel in the Latin Quarter near Boulevard St Michelle. My room offers a great view and good painting subjects in comfort if it’s raining or I simply don’t feel like going out. The high vantage point is not easy to draw but does offer good reflections. I have painted this view a number of times, but I kept this little piece for myself, so I can reflect on my good times in Paris, hence the title. It’s a little play on words? Time now to let it go and paint another next time I’m here. Joseph Zbukvic
‘NOTRE DAME’
Every city has its icons. Paris is blessed with many and when painting those you follow in footsteps or brushstrokes of so many artists before you. That can be very intimidating but I never shy away from such subjects. I try and see it in a new way and give it my own twist. When I painted this near a bridge, I saved a tourist from drowning! She jumped into the Seine fully clothed in a winter coat and amazingly I was the only one to see her? I alerted a policeman nearby and within minutes there was pandemonium with sirens, speedboats and frogmen! I just kept painting, what else could I do? I got a mention in the next day’s newspaper. Tourist saves tourist from drowning, was the headline. Joseph Zbukvic
‘ACROSS THE SEINE’
Paris has many beautiful bridges and they are a delight to paint. There is something special about the arches reaching across to the other side. It must go back to the times when rivers were major obstacles. If you think about it, every time we come to a bank we look to the other side wishing to be over there. However for me it just makes for a wonderful composition leading your eye into the picture. Foregrounds are a particularly difficult element to do correctly when painting. They must lead you into the picture, if they fail to do this, you lose their depth of perception and the painting appears flat. Joseph Zbukvic
‘FROSTY MORNING’
I have always been attracted to gentler light of mornings or late afternoon. I rarely paint in the bright midday sun. I think watercolour medium with its gentle effects is by far more suited to twilight. I love the sophisticated washes you can use to portray this effect. It gives me a chance to use all the colours on my palette. People often ask what colours I use to get the greys, well here’s the answer: all of them! Joseph Zbukvic
‘FIAKER STUDY’
I have exhibited similar work before but this one I kept for a while as I really liked it. People often ask why they are not finished and I say to them that they are. Studies such as this have a special quality because it’s not complete. It’s a pity that artists’ sketches are neglected as exhibition pieces. I really like them, they show the depth of observation needed before you paint major work. It shows artists thinking process. It’s important to sort out the important elements of anything you are painting; otherwise you paint everything and end up with mere pictorial record. Joseph Zbukvic
‘BARISTA STUDY 1’
I had a major painting of this subject in my last solo at Red Hill Gallery and these are some of the studies I did for it. I go for my morning coffee here and do many studies of the baristas at work. I kept these two as I particularly liked them and for future reference. The staff always check my efforts and are bewildered at my interests in their everyday job, which I see as a form of beautiful ballet offering endless subject material. Joseph Zbukvic
‘BARISTA STUDY 2’
I had a major painting of this subject in my last solo at Red Hill Gallery and these are some of the studies I did for it. I go for my morning coffee here and do many studies of the baristas at work. I kept these two as I particularly liked them and for future reference. The staff always check my efforts and are bewildered at my interests in their everyday job, which I see as a form of beautiful ballet offering endless subject material. Joseph Zbukvic
‘RED AWNING, PARIS’
I am not a colourist but I could not resist painting this beautiful red awning. Paris has many of these and they usually shelter a cafe or restaurant. I have spent many hours sitting under them sketching while sipping an aperitif. Well, someone has to do it! Europeans have an amazingly sophisticated lifestyle which they have developed over centuries. They seem to be able to enjoy life in such an elegant way. Yet again, for me it’s just another subject. The strength of that red colour and contrast of light and shade is made for painting. Joseph Zbukvic
‘KITCHEN GOSSIP’
This is another of my people working pieces. Manual labour provides many fascinating subjects. I’m very thankful for the new trend in restaurants with open kitchens for providing readymade models. I observed these guys sharing a story and paying only scant attention to the actual cooking. Painting human figures is a very difficult discipline. Not only do you have to get anatomy proportions correct, but also make them animated and communicate. I am pleased with this composition and the interaction between them. I still wonder what the story was. Joseph Zbukvic
Exhibiting July 2016 at Red Hill Gallery
