Andrew Cowdell, Snow at Hermitage, 2018

Andrew Cowdell, Snow at Hermitage, 2018, oil on board, 10 x 8 inches

My low-key paintings are defined by their subdued tones and colour mixtures that tend towards neutral browns, greens and greys. They seem a natural progression from my earlier monochrome works and allow me to explore the possibilities of a limited palette. It is precisely these sober tones which propel these landscapes into the gloomy, contradictory universe of romanticism. This of course makes sense as they bear witness to my admiration for Corot, Courbet and Friedrich. It is possibly my preoccupation with 19th Century painting that is somehow channelling timelessness into these paintings. They are imbued with a quality which seems to owe very little to our present epoch and, on reflection, these landscapes are totally devoid of people. It may well suggest that our information age is enticing people away from nature. However, I think nature will cope.

Gustave Doré, Sister of Charity Saving a Child, Episode in the Siege of Paris, 1871

Gustave Doré, Sœur de la Charité sauvant un enfant, 1871, 38 x 51 inches

Gustave Doré's engravings won him worldwide recognition as one of the foremost illustrators of his time and yesterday at Tate Britain we were given a rare opportunity to stand nose to canvas with this fine example of his oil painting. The scene shows the awful human cost of the siege of Paris, when the French capital was encircled by Prussian troops after Napoleon III's surrender on 2 September 1870. Whilst other artists fled, Doré joined the National Guard to defend the capital. Here, painting that winter, he seems to be recording a scene that he had actually witnessed. He shows a nun carrying a child to safety along a snowy blood-stained street, by a wall which might belong to the religious house where she hopes to take the child. A part of the city burns behind her, and someone sprawls wounded on the pavement further back. Ahead of her, a jagged piece of shrapnel lies on the snow, and at the side is a large bloodstain. The painting showcases Doré's unique vision as both fine artist and illustrator.

Andrew Cowdell, Abandoned paintings

Half-finished canvases by Andrew Cowdell

These abandoned canvases are reminders of moments when, for whatever reasons, my vision was racing ahead of execution. During these times fears arise - is it a good composition? will it be worth the time or the effort? who will appreciate it? But what separates artists from ex-artists is that those who challenge their fears, continue; those who don't, quit. I have since acknowledged that vision is always ahead of execution, mastery of materials is my only contact with reality, and uncertainty is a virtue.

Andrew Cowdell, Corvid, 2018

Andrew Cowdell, Corvid, 2018, oil on board, 10 x 8 inches

The raven is, in my view, the most imposing species of the family Corvidae. It is easy to see how people, struck by the intensity and completeness of the raven's plumage, might conclude that this bird must also be black on the inside - be black at heart. But look closer at the gloss and brilliancy of this corvid and you will notice the sharp sculpted feathers which, in certain light, glow iridescent with purple. The raven is not so black, in this respect, as he is painted. He may transform into an ideal of beauty, to which it would be a delicate compliment to compare the dark eyes or hair of a loved one.

Andrew Cowdell, Betty, 2015

Andrew Cowdell, Betty, 2015, oil and gold on linen

Betty Grable danced, sang, and acted her way through the 1930s to become the biggest box office star of the 1940s. She had honed her famously gorgeous legs to the extent that her studio reportedly insured them for $1 million with Lloyd’s of London. The same legs were soon captured in the most iconic photo of bathing-suit-clad Grable, back to the camera and glancing over one shoulder. As most of her popular roles occurred in the early 1940's American servicemen voted Grable their favourite pinup, and painted her image on the sides of bomber planes.

Veronica Lake: cabaret noir

Andrew Cowdell, Cabaret noir, 2015, oil on canvas

Veronica Lake exudes a guileless charm as a nightclub singer in This Gun for Hire (1942). 

This classic hard-boiled thriller was adapted from Grahame Greene’s novel A Gun for Sale and made Alan Ladd an instant star. Ladd’s gun-for-hire Raven is a brutal assassin with a benevolent affection for cats; the scene where he silences a stray moggie is particularly portent. Lake’s character becomes a symbol of redemption to Ladd’s murderous anti-hero who holds her captive. United by fate, the singer and the killer form an uneasy alliance to expose a chemical company suspected of treason against their country. 

This Gun for Hire was the first film of several to pair Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake together.

Andrew Cowdell, The Return, 2014

Andrew Cowdell, The Return, oil on canvas

This monochrome oil painting takes its inspiration from the movie Laura (1944). The concept explores the theme of the ‘magical portrait’ which characterises many noir thrillers and gothic melodramas of the 1940s. The gothic exists in the core of the portrait not only in its classical style, but also in its true representational meaning; it is a ‘symbolic body’ replacing a ‘mortal body’. In choosing this concept I am exploring the same underlying theme of presence and absence as dominates the film’s narrative.

Andrew Cowdell, The allure of night, 2014

Andrew Cowdell, The allure of night, oil on canvas

Hello everybody, and welcome to Art in Noir.

The black-and-white cinematography of the classic era is a mood which still colours my childhood memories of the 1970s. It was both comforting and exciting to bask in the monochromatic glow from our big old television set in the living room. It's of no surprise to me now that those same black-and-white dreamlike qualities are permeating my artworks.

Taking my inspiration from the 1946 film noir The Killers, this monochrome oil painting fuses various elements of the dark narrative to represent a conceptualized image. Ava Gardner as Kitty Collins is the ultimate femme fatale; sultry and sardonic, she at once embodies everything that is beautiful and terrible. Kitty's lover, Ole, takes the rap for her stolen jewellery and is sentenced for a three-year prison term. Ole's cellmate Charleston passes the time by gazing at and studying the stars. When Charleston describes a bright star in the night sky, Ole is thinking of Kitty:

"You see that bright star in the center...brightest star in all the heavens. Only it's so far away, it don't seem like it."

But Kitty hasn't written or visited Ole in prison during his entire incarceration. Kitty dominates the fate in store for those who embark upon nocturnal adventures. Her mysterious attraction corresponds to the unfathomability of the night itself.

Thank you for reading.