HILARY ADAIR RE - PAINTER & PRINTMAKER
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Recent Work & Work in Progress

Some paintings, drawings and ideas that  are  “work in progress”​
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“Apocalypse, Pompeii A.D ‘79”  Painting by Hilary Adair  2020 126 x 95cms
The spread of Corvid 19 has similarity with historical catastrophic  events : earth-quakes, destruction, plague, famine, floods, in being life changing for us all. The sense that powerful forces are at work that are beyond our control gives me a feeling of  dread and anxiety. There was an irony in seeing the death  rate rising while we had such  wonderful, spring weather with a soft, golden light bathing towns and countryside like a painting by Claude or Edward Hopper. Perhaps there is some comfort in knowing that we will survive, as did the world after the tragedy of Pompeii, so my painting is made in the spirit of hope for a positive outcome.

I often paint gardens and was deeply impressed with the frescoes from Pompeii on exhibition at the British Museum. I loved the depiction of flora and fauna and particularly liked the quality of paint and my picture alludes to things I relate to as a woman , the domestic scene, incorporating bread, fruit and wine with the central figure of a woman looking out at us with a quizzical stare. She is part of frescoes in the Villa of the Mysteries which portray some kind of initiation ritual, though no one knows the secrets therein. A fountain is in the foreground, being explored by a tentative bird and a peacock  from Nero’s villa, where Poppea lived, surveys the scene. He is flamboyant  , useless and decorative, but with anguish in his warning call . In the distance is Vesuvius, peaceful for now, but indicating that soon Pompeii will be submerged in volcanic ash, rocks and lava.In order to evoke the quality of ancient places I wanted  texture  and have used sand  with the oil paint to give a rough surface and evoke the atmosphere of heat and dust. I haven’t portrayed the body casts, which are so moving,  because this painting is primarily about Art and its power to bring us back to life in times like these.
“I love the “Pompeii” painting and its symbolism: the peacock which the Romans  believed  represented immortality, the bread and figs, wine in the amphorae, the stuff of life, the pomegranates a rebirth, such powerful images. Then in the background the smouldering volcano, destroyer but also life giver, in that the rich soil around the perimeter brings forth such plentiful produce.  A clever painting and beautifully executed” JH ​

​“Whistler’s Paint Pot, or Fireworks on Minehead Beach” An etching of the row between Whistler and Ruskin about a painting called ‘Falling  Rocket’ ,  which was described as being like a pot of paint thrown at a picture.  A court case followed, won by the artist, but with one farthing damages to Whistler. My etching was exhibited in “Print-REbels” a touring exhibition  for the Royal Society of Painter Print-makers.
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​One of my favourite artists is  Piero  della Francesca  from 15thCentury Italy and his painting of the Resurrection of Christ is often in  my thoughts, especially the group of men guarding his tomb, fast asleep at the most  critical moment, when we all want to know ,,,”what happens next?” It is thought the figure on the left is a self-portrait by  Piero,  here are two etchings and a drawing
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Time traveller 36 w x 42 h cm Etching
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Sleeping guards at the Resurrection, after Piero 60 w x 42 h cm Etching
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Study in pencil 80 w x 60 h cm Drawing

​Three recent oil paintings of trees in blossom :  wisteria, mimosa and magnolia, life affirming subjects for me.
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Magnolia 50 h x 65 w cm Oil
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Mimosa with fruit and flowers 75 h x 58 w cm Oil
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Wisteria tree 50 h x 65 h cm Oil

​Finding the Temple of Harmony, a perfect 18th Century  copy of a Roman temple, sitting between Taunton and Bridgwater in a field, was a surprise.  A  marble sculpture used to be inside but can now be seen in the Museum of Somerset; she is a muse, Goddess for music and dance and has been the subject of some of my paintings and etchings recently.
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Study for Temple of Harmony, six variations. Etching
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Temple of Harmony, with four figures in a classical landscape. 70 h x 100 w cm. Oil
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Nereids at Halswell Park. 50 h x 40 w cm. Watercolour.
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The Temple of Harmony with muse and dancers. 50 h x 40 w cm.

​A recent acquisition of a neo-classical  head of Aphrodite in our garden has been a source of interest to me,  birds and cats and I try to convey her serene beauty  in the midst of so much chaos in the outside world. 
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Goddess with Lily. 60 h x 48 w cm. Watercolour.
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Goddess with white cat. 65 h x 57 w cm. Oil.
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Goddess in the garden. 50 h x 50 w cm. Etching.

Please contact me if you have any questions at all or if you would like to arrange to come and view pictures at my studio in Minehead.
  • Home
  • Biography
  • Galleries
    • Landscapes
    • Gardens
    • Windows & Interiors
    • Greece & Travel
    • Poems & Music
    • Early Work
    • Myths, Legends, Gods & Temples
    • Recent work
  • Exhibitions & Collections
    • Changing Places - Bridgwater--Homberg - July 2019
    • Previous Exhibitions & Collections
  • Contact
  • Buy
  • Printmaking