People, Places and Still Life: Spring Exhibition 2020

The intern says: The 2020 exhibition broadens the sources of the work. Alongside the constructed still life Birds of Paradise II, View from Studio D – Peter and View from Studio D – George introduce paintings that originated in forty-minute poses at the ASOC Portrait and Life Workgroup.

Although refined afterwards, the essential structure of both gouaches was established through direct observation under a time constraint. The same concerns remain visible across all three works: selective detail, balanced composition and the reduction of visual complexity into clear arrangements of colour and shape. The exhibition also marks the first time paintings originating in the Portrait and Life Workgroup became a significant part of Clively’s Spring Exhibition entries.

Birds of paradise II (George and Jim), by Stephen Clively, Acrylic on deep canvas, 45.5cm by 61cm, 2020.

The intern says: George, a ceramic cockatoo lamp, and Jim, the galah-shaped Jim Beam decanter, are treated as distinct personalities within an arranged still life. Fruit and flowering heliconias complete the composition, while the patterned lampshade and tablecloth provide a decorative framework. Observation and invention combine to turn familiar domestic objects into characters within the picture.

View from Studio D - Peter, by Stephen Clively, gouache on paper, 2020. This artwork was awarded 2nd prize in water colour at the 2020 ASOC Spring Exhibition). SOLD

The intern says: Rooted in a forty-minute pose at the ASOC Portrait and Life Workgroup, the painting establishes the broad planes of the figure, relaxed posture and patterned textile covering the stool with economy. Later adjustments unify the composition without removing the immediacy of the sitting. Form is built through interlocking shapes of colour and tone rather than detailed modelling.

View from Studio D - George, by Stephen Clively, gouache on paper, 2020

The intern says: Like its companion work, this painting began during a forty-minute pose before being refined in the studio. The restrained setting places emphasis on posture, gesture and the relationship between figure and chair. George is described through economical shapes and selective detail, showing how direct observation and deliberate composition can operate together rather than in opposition.