RSA Scottish Art
Brighton, November
 | Artist: Willie Rodger |
| Title: Brighton, November | |
| Year: c1972 | |
| Medium: woodcut and linocut | |
| Dimensions: | |
| Suggested topic: | |
| Source: RSA | |
| View full screen image of this work | |
| Open print version of this work | |
| © the artist | |
| Description: Willie Rodger works in a variety of media including oil paint, stained glass, pen and ink as well as producing book illustrations, but he has concentrated largely on relief process printmaking. Figures are an important feature of his work, even in this landscape print, Brighton, November.Willie Rodger was working as an artist-in-residence at Sussex University in the early 1970s when this print was executed. It represents, as the title states, a cold winter's day by the sea.It was printed entirely by hand using various relief printing techniques. The bold, angular breakwater walls jutting out from the beaches are printed using linocut, as are the small stylised figures. The quality of the unmarked surface of the lino and the black ink used has created a dense, intense brooding effect, which contrasts with the energetic movement of the waves.The waves have been printed using a wooden block, the surface of which has been shaped by a chainsaw and ink applied, to show how the winter wind has whipped up the sea. The texture of the shingle beach was created using a rubbing technique over embossed wallpaper. Rodger has chosen semi-abstract shapes, pattern and texture to create the mood he wanted to show. As befits a cold wintry day, the colour scheme is bleak and monochromatic. The sweep of the bay, the gradual reduction in the size of the breakwater, along with the tiny figures, emphasises distance and isolation. The power of nature contrasts with the vulnerability of man. | |
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