Aeolus 

 

 

Gillian Ayres (born 1930)

In the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool I came across this painting which caught my attention because of the texture of the work. Her technique of dragging one thick colour over another, wet on wet, produces sensuous effects. Amidst the density and apparent chaos of her imagery: trees and flowers, hedges and fences, a wheel and bridges, as though a garden or a farm provided inspiration for the painting. Ayres usually gives her work poetic or literary titles. In Greek Mythology Aeolus if the ruler of the winds. I choose this particular painting due to the texture of the thick mark making being used to create sharp edges of different lines and shapes. The colour is also a main key feature of the painting as it stands out and brings the image alive.

Oil on Canvas, painted in 1987.