The presentation of work in the Past Local Artists series is part of an ongoing project between the Not Just Hockney website and Bradford UNESCO City of Film, who manage the Big Screen. Nearly every day, since 2016, artwork images by past and present local professional visual artists, have been shown on the Screen in Centenary Square, regularly at 12.30pm, in a six-minute colour presentation.
Big colours and eye-catching images always look good on the Big Screen, and it’s been a real pleasure for me to research the stories behind why the featured artists chose to paint in the way they did.
Dorothy Wade from Silsden, for example, was an award-winning art and dress design student at Keighley Art School before working as an art tutor at Bradford Regional School of Art in the early 1950s; one of her students was David Hockney. She moved to London to teach art and design at London College of Fashion and later told a friend that the rather foppish students there amused themselves by mimicking her Yorkshire accent. However, Dorothy had the last laugh – she became Head of Art at the College. She also grew to love colour, influenced by the work of British colourist Matthew Smith and enhanced by her sun-drenched travels across Europe and India. In 1980 Dorothy told the Telegraph & Argus: “I’d lived so long in the greyness of the North, but I always wanted to live in a colourful background. The first time I ever travelled abroad, I went on a train to Venice. The impact was tremendous: I don’t think I’ve ever got over the brightness and the light. I couldn’t go back to the North now; the greyness is over everything; I see everything in colour.”
Another Silsden-artist, the late Tony Jarvis, became fascinated by Japanese culture. When he was younger he learned then taught Karate and in recent years studied Japanese calligraphy. His expressionist paintings subsequently reflected his love of Japanese images, symbols and colour.
The fascinating artwork style of Baildon-born Jack Coulthard defies easy generalisation. Essentially though, it was an original blend of his many interests and studies, including the literary works of Ezra Pound, James Joyce and Kafka. In his paintings literary references connect with ideas from philosophy, myth, legend, and historical symbolism. He once said of his work: “The pictures are in praise of human beings, specifically in praise of something we call IMAGINATION.”
Two other locally-born artists, Bobbie Beswick and Derek Hyatt were drawn to local landscapes and, instead of attempting to copy and reproduce the scene before them, painted how they felt about the subject – particularly the impact the land, its diverse shapes, and changing colours had on their senses and emotions.
Bradford-born Denise Rooum also interpreted and painted what she saw, particularly what features of the subject struck her the most – whether the patterns, colour, or the arrangement of shapes before her. This can help us too to look with fresh eyes at familiar objects.
This district is a fabulous gold-mine of talent in the visual arts, past and present. I hope we all get chance to see more of it next year during our City of Culture spotlight on the district.
* The six Big Screen artists:
* Bobby Beswick (1933-2015): Bradford-born painter studied at Bradford Art College then the Royal College of Art. He was a lecturer at the Dewsbury and Batley Art College and exhibited his own impressionist landscape paintings widely across the UK. The Hepworth Gallery, Wakefield, has examples of his work in its collection.
Summer Landscape by Bobbie Beswick (Image: Colin Neville)
* Jack Coulthard (1930-2016): Baildon-born painter and writer studied art at Leeds School of Art, graduating in the early 1950s. He later spent a year in Italy which impacted on his work. His colourful artwork was a creative blend of his many interests, fascinations and studies, which included literature, philosophy, myth, legend and symbolism.
Sharing by Jack Coulthard (Image: Colin Neville)
* Derek Hyatt (1931-2015): Ilkley-born painter. Whilst his style tended to the abstract, he claimed that he did not have a style, only a subject: the Yorkshire countryside. He studied at Leeds College of Art then on a scholarship at the Royal College of Art. His award-winning paintings were widely exhibited in the UK and overseas.
* Tony Jarvis (1946-2024): The painter and cabinet-maker was born in London but lived in Silsden for over 40 years. He studied art at Goldsmiths College, London and worked as a picture restorer at the Tate, London, then as a cabinet maker and freelance painter in Yorkshire. His later paintings were influenced by Japanese culture and he exhibited work regularly across the north of England.
Wave by Tony Jarvis (Image: Colin Neville)
* Denise Rooum (1929-2018): Bradford-born painter and illustrator studied at Canterbury and Chelsea Art Colleges, and in 1959 married a fellow artist, Brian Vale. Denise and Brian moved to Heaton, where they established an art studio. Her paintings were exhibited regionally and nationally and she had commissions for book illustrations.
Bottles by Denise Rooum (Image: Colin Neville)
* Dorothy Wade (1913 -2009): Grew up in Silsden, studied art and dress design at Keighley School of Art and later taught art at Bradford School of Art. She was a tutor at the London College of Fashion and became Head of Art. Her semi-abstract paintings were characterised by strong use of colour.
* Colin Neville curates Not Just Hockney, a website profiling more than 470 artists past and present from the Bradford district. Visit notjusthockney.info
