"Since my first visit to the National Gallery as a student I have always loved the paintings of Sir David Wilkie especially his early narrative works such as ‘Pitlessie Fair’ and ‘The letter of Introduction’. These images were heavily influenced by the Dutch genre painter Teniers and, although painterly in manner, are jammed packed with wonderfully precise detail. So when asked by Fidra Fine Art to create a picture inspired by the National Gallery collection I immediately thought of Wilkie. My own work is mostly still life based so I knew I wanted to find an object which would represent or sum up my chosen work. The two vessels I’ve chosen - the plain, simple earthenware jug from Wilkies highly melodramatic painting ‘Distraining for Rent’ and the beautifully ornate urn found in ‘The Letter of Introduction’ stood out immediately and seemed to symbolise perfectly the figures and the sentiment within the two paintings." Alan Connell
Price: £1800
Alan L Connell is a contemporary artist. He was born in Troon, Ayrshire and studied at Glasgow School of Art –
BA Hons Fine Art 1984 – 1988 and at the University of Edinburgh - PGCE Art & Design 2004-2005. Alan has exhibited widely within the UK and abroad and currently works as an Art Specialist in East Lothian.
Alan's work can best be summed up in his own words...
"The starting point of many of my pictures is an object such as an old toy, an image of a favourite painting or a particular building. This forms the focal point of an artwork in which I try to create a narrative, either historical based on the object or building or imagined. My images have a surreal edge influenced by artists such as Giorgio de Chirico and Edward Hopper. Many of my small works are created using gouache paint. In my large pictures I use charcoal and soft chalk pastels. The charcoal is used to create a tonal under-drawing and I then build up the colour over this using the chalk pastels."
