A kaleidoscope of colours

The Journal 3 JUN 2008

BY DAVID WHETSTONE

When Richard Hobson died, the region lost one of its great talents. David Whetstone views an exhibition of his work.

RICHARD Hobson was an artist to the core. That he was a very good artist will be evident to all who see the latest exhibition of his work which opens to the public tomorrow.

Here are dynamic watercolour landscapes of his beloved North East and fantastically detailed sketches of animals at auction marts or traders in Newcastle’s bustling Grainger Market.

All the work is characterised by tremendous energy, seemingly the result of high-speed execution, although this is probably far from the truth. The monotypes which hang beside the watercolours share the same exuberance but – as Richard’s widow Pat explains – are the product of a painstaking process involving paper being laid over painted glass.

Where we might see a timeless, tranquil scene, Richard saw a kaleidoscope of changing colours, shades and moods. He managed to capture it with pen and paints, stilling a moment in life’s hectic frieze.

Like most of the best artists, he found interest and beauty where many of us wouldn’t think of looking – in curious juxtapositions of objects and from vantage points off the tourist track.

In a big watercolour painting of Holy Island, the dominant feature is about the size of a postage stamp. The intricate patterns of sky, sand and seabirds make an original take on a familiar landmark. His fascination with layers of history is evident in a painting of the Saxon church of St Mary the Virgin with the old Vane Tempest colliery in the background – painted, states the caption, “from Lord Byron’s walk, Seaham”. You could write a book on all the themes inherent in this one picture.

His artist’s eye drew him, similarly, to paint Blyth beach, taking care to make a feature of the large discharge pipe crossing the sand. Not nice, you might think. But you wouldn’t mind having it on your wall.

The extent of his dedication is evident in the memories of Pat whose sense of loss, four years after Richard’s death from cancer at just 59, is still tangibly raw.

They met in a Newcastle jazz club when she was a 20-year-old student and he was just a few years older. Every Sunday, she recalls, they would venture into the countryside, accompanied, when he was old enough, by son Harry, now 19.

Richard would take photographs – “he was a brilliant photographer, we’ve got a massive archive” – and would often return later to a favoured spot equipped with paper and paints.

From the earliest days, Pat would go with him. “I’d sit in the snow with him,” she remembers fondly.

Although he was born in Derby, Richard’s family moved to the North East when he was very young.

Pat, who lectures in health and social policy at Northumbria University, says: “He had an amazing understanding of Northumberland and the whole area.

“He just knew everywhere and had friends in all walks of life.

“He loved life and people would say of him that he really did make a difference.”

For 31 years he worked three days a week as a conservator at the Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, looking after some of the region’s art treasures. Pat says it was something he did more for love than money, drawing pleasure from the confluence of art and history.

Curiously, evidence of these twin interests greeted Pat when she first ventured to the Fifiefofum gallery, near Corbridge, to talk about an exhibition of Richard’s work.

Owner Sue Moffitt mentioned Richard to her father John, who established the Hunday National Tractor and Farm Museum on the site where Fifiefofum now stands and who died just a few weeks ago.

There was instant recognition and John found some pictures he had commissioned Richard to do in 1976. One shows the Ivel tractor, the oldest in the world, which still sits in retirement at Westside Farm, location of Fifiefofum.

Pat had never seen the ink drawings before but they will hang in the gallery alongside the paintings and monotypes which she has now decided to allow out into the world.

A Retrospective, Richard Hobson 1945-2004, can be seen at Fifiefofum, Westside Farm, Newton, near Corbridge, from tomorrow until June 29. Tel: (01661) 843778 or visit www.fifiefofum