Philip French

The artist who intrigues and surprises
Artist profile of Philip French by Lynda Cookson
Published in December / January 2005

 


Meeting Philip French was like peeping out from beneath my fingers at an unexpected view. Each time I looked, I saw something I didn’t expect to see. Intrigued, I carried on peeping.

I was looking forward to meeting the man who owned the lovely deep voice on the telephone, but was quite unprepared for the dapper suit and cravat clad gentleman, with ruler-straight hair almost to his shoulders, who opened the gallery door. ‘Oh, here we go’ I thought. ‘Lots of show and not too much substance’. Ouch! Did I have to retract my catty thought, or what! Philip is a delight to get to know. He is an enigma to surprise and entertain you, with tales and perceptions to keep an audience enthralled.




He had kindly agreed to step in and be interviewed in place of his wife, Kate, a sculptor. Kate had seriously hurt her back that morning and I could hear on the telephone that she was not well enough to meet with me. Luckily Philip was free, and happy to stand in.

In no time at all I was ensconced on a comfortable couch at the back of Gallery 23 in Kinsale, with a hot cup of tea steaming in my hands and Philip happily telling me about his life and art. To say he exudes a love of life doesn’t quite fit the bill. It’s rather a deep appreciation of the value of life, a fascination with those values, and the pleasure he has found in his travels, that I heard from him. He talks a lot, he talks fast, and he doesn’t waste a word!

Time to rest my eyes and then take another peep.




After attending the Hornsey Art College, Philip studied for his BA (Hons) in Fine Art at the University of Central England in Birmingham. He was then invited to join the Royal College of Art to take his M.A. (RCA), but as he had spent too many years in an institutional environment, they suggested he take a year off before beginning. He was 21 years old at the time, so was more than happy to pack his bags and travel.

The first six months saw him working in Australia, earning enough so that he could tour the Far East for the remainder of the year. While in Australia, he was lucky enough to be able to visit the Aborigines-only Palm Island, off the Great Barrier Reef. No White people were allowed on the island unless they were involved in running the utility services. Philip relates one of his experiences during the one-hour bar opening time on the island :
‘Everyone is living on the dole, and because the pub is only open for one hour, they all rush in and get immediately pissed. There was an old woman sitting next to me, giving me her whole life story, including how her husband beats her up, and leading up to her asking me for a sip of my drink. I took one look at her inflamed and diseased mouth, and gave her the whole drink! Not long after that, there was sudden chaos with everyone joining in a big fight.’ An eventful day in the life of a one-hour pub.





Philip spent a fair amount of time touring Bali in Indonesia, and that country still has an influence on the colours he uses in his art. While there, he hired a motorbike to take him up into the hills. Twenty years ago, the locals were still relatively unused to tourists, and cheerily waved to him as he sputtered by. Philip waved back each time, but wondered why the villagers reacted in a horrified manner, ducking, and shielding their faces with their arms. He continued along in his breezy manner, absorbing the thrill of the temples, the reds, blues and greens of the people’s clothing, the rice paddies and the amazing sculptures everywhere. That evening, he mentioned the odd reaction people had to his wave, to a fellow traveller. The traveller asked: ‘Which hand are you waving with?’ Philip replied: ‘Well, seeing as my right hand is occupied with the throttle of the motorbike, I suppose I’m waving with my left hand.’ A prime case of West meeting East this time. The young Philip had no idea that to greet or to do anything at all with your left hand is the biggest insult in the Muslim culture. Indonesia is almost entirely Muslim.



Colour is big in Philip’s painting. Not necessarily big in contrast or purity, but big in lightness, brightness and catching the light. He knows how to use colour so that the viewer is almost not aware of the number of different colours he has used, or how skilfully he has used them to emphasise a light source or shadow. He works mainly plein air (on site outside) and uses watercolour on Fabriano Italian paper, or in his studio with oil on linen canvas which he has stretched himself. Philip considers his work to be traditionalist with an eastern influence in his choice of colour.

In the early days of his career, when his first-born, a daughter named Lucy arrived, he and Kate were living in London. After Lucy’s birth, Philip found he could not paint. He was so in awe of his child, the ultimate creation, that he felt he could not match it! He took to walking the streets of London for inspiration and began to see the great city from a different perspective. He went home to Kate and said: ‘Let’s get out of here.’ That is how, twenty years ago and two sons later, together with Kate’s parents, the family of five arrived in Kinsale as blow-ins.

From producing huge abstracts since his college days, Philip found himself living in a much smaller environment and having to reconsider the size, scope and subject of his paintings. He took to getting in the car with his painting gear, turning the key and letting the car find the painting. Often, he has been caught in the rain, and while dashing for the car, the raindrops land on his painting. He leaves them there and waits to see what happens. By the time he gets home, there is usually a beautiful, natural rain-drop effect to his painting!




Like the painter Turner, Philip has a studio upstairs from the gallery. He has more studio space at home, but likes to be near the gallery where he has the chance to meet some of the people who buy his art and take it away. For him, it’s a final touch of satisfaction to see the collector’s response to his work.

Philip has represented Ireland on a number of occasions, exhibiting widely, and with his paintings featuring in a number of prestigious collections in Ireland, Italy, Japan, Belgium and England. He has worked with galleries in Canada, London, Brussels, New York and Ireland. Right now you can see his paintings at Gallery 23, Chairmans Lane, Kinsale or by visiting www.artistfrench.com
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