Artist
Jonathan Schofield
Jonathan Schofield was born near Manchester and now lives and works in London. He studied Fine Art at The Royal College of Art under Peter Doig in 1996. His work has been exhibited at the Royal Academy and he is part of their permanent collection. Jonathan has since fused his interest for art and fashion, running his own art direction agency, whilst continuing to paint from his studio in Hackney.
Jonathan's Style
His lyrical yet expressive paintings are drawn from memory; inspired by dreams and a variety of cross-referential imagery archived in his mind. A talented colourist, he takes inspiration from the likes of Matisse and Picasso yet he also draws on motifs from trips to the Mediterranean and from the everyday. Jonathan’s work is just as much about capturing an object or a person, as it is about viscerally representing what is depicted.
The final piece is often thick with paint or oil stick. Remnants of smudges and handprints create ghostly marks across the page like fading memories. Works have clearly been pinned to the wall in a frenzy of creativity. This is what makes the work so interesting. Take the simplicity of the lemon for example - Jonathan makes us not only rejoice in their colour and the composition, but at looking at this series, we almost feel present during his process - Jonathan’s passion and energy is utterly palpable. As with all Jonathan’s works, we are transported - both to his studio, and to his Mediterranean dream-land.
"I think of my work as a visual form of Lyric poetry. The word Lyric comes form the ancient greek word for Lyre- a musical instrument played to accompany the words of the poet. I don't have a lyre, but I have colour and that in itself is the music. Colour is the thing, that binds my "lyrics" - the lyrics are from the thoughts and feelings I have- memories, ideas, physical sensations, dreams and wishes. Lyric poems are usually short- I like to work quickly." - Jonathan Schofield
Drop 1 - New Year 2021
"This series of works has been painted on Oval canvases. The lemons are painted nearly to scale and with a reduced palette of pinks, venetian reds, and turquoise. They are painted spontaneously and expressively, I was thinking about Summer, the pure joy of colour and the idea of being able to almost ‘taste or smell’ a painting. The oval shape echoes the form of a lemon." - Jonathan Schofield, Pink Lemons
Drop 5 - Winter 2020
"The works I have presented work together as a loose poem or "dream narrative' But, they of course also stand alone as individual works. I think of the female figure in these works as the same character- the leopard or the flowers could also stand in as "moods" or "states of being" I use Animals as avatars for feelings or situations- for instance in "jealous guy" I like the relationship between the characters- but the interpretations are open- Is she actually the "jealous guy'?
The works are oil on paper- I like to work very quickly, with few corrections, there are often failures along the way- but I want the final result to feel fresh, energetic and pure in feeling." - Jonathan Schofield, ‘Country Life’
Winter Limited Edition Prints
Drop 4 - Autumn 2020
“The works I have done for the Autumn drop are continuing themes I work on in my painting practice...These works are to do with the after affects of physical sensations or experiences- They are to do with remembering a smell, a taste or the flash of a colour glimpsed somewhere. ‘Tired Legs’ for instance was made after I had watched a ballet documentary, but also trying to evoke the feeling of a contented tiredness. As usual my preoccupations are colour and making images that work through metaphor, analogy and suggestion" - Jonathan Schofield, Tired Legs
Drop 3 - High Summer 2020
"Last Summer I made a series of work using a highly pigmented cobalt blue paint. mixing abstract forms relating to the waves, breathing, the body and figurative elements, the boy from Seurat, a turtle, a fish etc" - Jonathan Schofield
