RSA Scottish Art
Main Street
 | Artist: Gordon Cameron |
| Title: Main Street | |
| Year: c. 1971 | |
| Medium: oil on canvas | |
| Dimensions: | |
| Suggested topic: built environment | |
| Source: RSA Diploma Collection | |
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| Open print version of this work | |
| Description: Gordon Cameron lived in Invergowrie, and this village became the subject of much of his later work.Gordon Cameron's paintings are sensitive observations of village life. Main Street is a quiet yet richly coloured view from a house. Main Street used to be the main road between Dundee and Perth, but here it appears tranquil and sleepy with no traffic and only one person. The palette is unusually bright, and although the scene is bathed in sunshine it seems like the painter has deliberately enhanced his choice of colour to make the view even brighter. This is shown in the strong orange tones on the building to the right, which complement the blues of the sky but have been heightened to contrast with the deep shadows on the trees and bushes. The composition is complex. The cross of the window frame cuts the image into four, while the net curtain creates another layer in the painting. The artist has not cleaned up the scene to make it more picturesque, in fact trees and telegraph poles are scattered around and strong horizontals on the buildings, fences and trees lead the eye upwards. Other painters might have chosen to leave these details out. They all add to the air of a commonplace view of a simple, quiet village. The mood of the painting is dreamy and serene. It is late afternoon and the light is very pleasing. Not much is happening, but the quiet scene represents the kind of normality you might see from any living room window. The small figure with a splash of red on her hat is the compelling point of interest. We can only just see her, but without her the scene would be without focus or human interest. From a window in your own house, what elements would create a scene with a compelling mood? Would you depict everything you can see or would you rearrange the scene to create the best effect? | |