Art's Memories—Ivon Hitchens

http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/ivon-hitchens-1291

http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/artists/ivon-hitchens

Ivon Hitchens might reasonably be considered an uneven, provincial artist in the ever shifting space that is The Gallery of the World. Some of the work that can be seen in the BBC slideshow is awkward (I do not think of him as a strong draughtsman) but in his paintings of small, intimate woodland settings, and musty ponds, he captures smells and memories of an English landscape that reside deep in my own memories; and his own deep connection to English nature is incontrevertible. Growing up I did not encounter his paintings that often but his work was striking in it's relationship to the work of the abstract expressionists. There is a connection to the work of his contemporaries in England (Peter Lanyon comes first to mind, or even David Jones), and later British artists, especially Howard Hodgkin. Inevitably his work also harkens back to that of Constable and Turner, and shares something of a raw mysticism with Samuel Palmer, a protege of William Blake.

I want to highlight the work of artists who impacted me at an early age though remaining somewhat outside the mainstream. So I am not focused on providing links to the work of William Blake, or John Constable, or William Turner. I imagine images jump to mind for most folks when seeing these names. The BBC Art Library is phenomenal, as are those, of course, to be found at The Tate and The British Museum, each of which are referenced above.