David Boyle paints in the tonalist tradition across a range of styles including still life, portrait, landscape and the life model.
His work explores gradations of tone in general, the subtleties of light in the dark zones of the subject, at the warm end of his palette in particular. Hence the title of this exhibition - shades of contrast. The collection that forms this exhibition are of his most recent works, and feature several sub themes, continually returning to a study of the deeper tones within the composition, especially variations within deep browns and ambers. David now lives in the legendary Koornong, which is set along the banks of the Yarra river, where some of Melbourne's most famous artists have lived and worked including Ivan Vassillief, Albert Tucker, and Sydney Nolan. While he paints portraits and still lifes in his sunny North Warrandyte studio, his landscapes are completed 'en plain aired'. 'I can spend hours of fruitless travel in and around Melbourne until I find an outlook that resonates with me', says David, 'and it's there that I work until I'm satisfied that I have captured the light and the ambiance of that place.' |