Old Gala House, Alfons Bytautas exhibition

Alfons Bytautas.
Incantation Exhibition @ Old Gala House










A Time to Keep Silence
acrylic and collage on canvas





Oh the irony!!    Upon entering the exhibition at Old Gala House with my daughter (13 yrs) and son (2 yrs) I should of knew I was in for a somewhat challenged time. Within 3 mins of walking into the white square room lined with the works by Bytautas, my sons curious nature and attention had quickly disperse to his free rein of marching up and down the room singing the elephant march song from Disneys The Jungle Book.......

Bad idea bringing him along I thought as I tried to ssh him and scan over the works.

A Time to Keep Silence ......mmm indeed....I couldn't help but smile and take comfort from my predicament and the inappropriate title I looked upon then. My time here was quick but the one thing I did take from my visit was the importance of colour and line.   Why colour and line?

It can guide the eyes and evoke a feeling. The intense colours and they selection is something to be appreciated.

The collage mix I also found interesting. I have been interested in mixed media for the past year as it seems to stir something inside me....Maybe because I have an active busy mind I can sense the fun and childlike excitement that could create such works.

Since coming home and doing a little research into Alfons Bytautas I have learned he was a local boy,  born in Selkirk (1955).

He studied painting at Edinburgh College of Art, where he first began to develop his life-long interest in the technique of etching. Then working in an Edinburgh print makers for 30 years as a Master Printer and Senior Etching Technician.
Bytautas became know as a pioneer in the world of printing after help develop the acrylic resist etching and photopolymer techniques...........

I think from what I found it was kinda like the water-based non - toxic alternative from the more old oil based paints us decorators would of used, just in an ink art term... If anything like the painters alternative it will have its pros and cons.........Health and Safety being the biggest (pro) ..Environmentally as well as on the artist and people using it. Next the in colleges, schools and workplaces! Colours and mixers you can create may have expanded, plus surfaces etc..The ability to over-paint quickly, work in layers that differ in terms of opacity, transparency or viscosity. However, if you tend to be a bit old school like myself it may not compare to the more traditional stronger mixes.

Anyway I'm waffling and think I will visit the exhibtion again, alone! But if my interest in printing continues this guy seems to be someone to reference.  Some of his works on display included:

Finding Joy

gouache/collage

Back to Nature



Mirror

gouache

Here's an example of the kinda work that could be adapted and used in advertisement... While I think its a mix of artist's you get the idea..

notice line from and colour

 A guerilla street art mural that brings Northumbria University, Newcastle's student designs to life at Ely's Yard on July 3, 2014 in London, England.

I did like the quote..... As Tom Stoppard wickedly points out  –  “Skill without imagination is craftsmanship and gives us many useful objects such as wickerwork picnic baskets. Imagination without skill gives us modern art.”