An early Watercolour by Jan Gordon

Jan Gordon left a rich legacy of art works, in oils, gouache, watercolour and etchings. He wrote about the practicalities of these techniques in his book 'A Stepladder to Painting' and its American edition, 'Painting for Beginners'.

One painting (a gift from my cousin Mags) is a mystery, showing an overcast scene in a location experiencing strong winds, with some swamp-like water bodies and two devices, one approximately square and the other a triangle, suggesting warning signs. There are traces of an earlier placement of the triangle with curved supporting pole to the left of the eventual representation of this feature. The colours, mainly greens and browns with patches of yellow and blue, are subdued, giving the appearance of an autumn or winter day. Small branches, bare of leaves, make reflections in the standing body of water. The painting is signed "Gordon" in blue paint, the last colour added to the picture, on the shadow side of the plants in the lower right foreground. The picture gives the impression of having been executed at some speed with numerous small dabs of colour. The frame measures 47.5 cm wide and 40 cm high.



The scene is reminiscent of descriptions of Serbia and Montenegro during WW1 as experienced by Jan and Cora Gordon in 1915, especially of the retreat during the autumn of that year. Many of the Gordon paintings of the retreat focus on the people, but perhaps he allowed his eyes to rest on the scenery, bleak as it was, from time to time.


References

Mr & Mrs J. Gordon. 1916. The Luck of Thirteen, Wanderings and Flight through Serbia and Montenegro. Smith, Elder & Co., London

Mr and Mrs Gordon's Return from the Balkans, Hull Daily Mail, January 1916. June 10, 2015. https://www.janandcoragordonart.com/2015/06/mr-and-mrs-gordons-return-from-balkans.html

Jan and Cora Gordon through the eyes of Dr. James Berry: Serbia 2015. November 09, 2018 https://www.janandcoragordonart.com/2018/11/jan-and-cora-gordon-through-eyes-of-dr.html



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