Douglas Lyall at Redwing Gallery, September 2019, Cornwall, UK
St.Michael's Mount is a tourist landmark island off the Cornish coast, subject of many souvenirs and a book of photographs of it from many angles by Trevor Burston ' Floating World' 1995.
It is owned by a Lord and topped by a castle, legendary as having been thrown into place by a giant, and a place of pilgrimage situated on a ley line.
I never expected to be surprised by a painting of this subject but Douglas Lyall has produced a number of exciting images of it. These are wildly lacking in detail, fauvist in their unnaturalistic colour and energetically sloshed on the canvas with panache, leaving the drips.
The artist told me his vision is not A1 and he paints accordingly.
His self portrait at first seems indecipherable but there is a face, a crushed camera montaged onto the rough surface to form one of the eyes.
Douglas himself is an impressive figure and is widely read about art and ideas. His statement on the wall demands freedom and speaks of opposing fascism. He disconcertingly refers to himself in this statement as 'we' and refers to a fifth reich. I approached him with caution but he was ok to talk to.
I was uncertain why he chose a font for his titles that reminded me of German right wing posters in the 30's and of heavy metal musicians' tee shirts, a sort of heavy Gothic font. However the artist said it was chosen because people call him old fashioned in style. It's an old English font and also he is interested and perturbed by the current prevalence of tattoos, which often use this script.
The paintings are rough in surface texture, dramatic in their simplified energetic impact. They are memorable.
Prices all paintings £200 each.
Its Lyell sorry for the error.
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