GEORGE LARGE & CHIPPING NORTON

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ONE ARTIST'S VIEW OF CHIPPY

George Large is one of the country's most distinguished contemporary painters. You either love his work or you hate it. Its difficult to ignore. One critic wrote..."George�s work is totally distinctive. His paintings are typically complex and vibrant compositions of figures in urban landscapes – monumental, distorted, sculptured men in their everyday work or play - engrossed in their activity and surrounded by exaggerated, expressive props. Dramatic, impactful and often humorous too". His subjects were typically fishermen in their boats, men working on the roads, or craftsmen carving stone and wood. George often came to the Manor House Gallery and slowly fell in love with Chipping Norton and eventually decided to come for a weeks stay and try and capture his own personal feelings for the town. He had no problem in finding monumental workmen involved in everyday tasks. But the things which made the strongest impression on him were the buildings and the streets. I remember him describing to me the striking mixture of grand stone public buildings and the narrow lanes and back alleys - all set at unexpected angles which provided him with a series of powerful backdrops and allowed him to explore new ideas of perspective. That week he made hundreds of sketches and subsequently painted a series of paintings of Chipping Norton - all long since sold. Five are reproduced below.

� George Large 2001