One obvious appeal of the little paintings, which it is easy to believe must be a simple consequence of their size, is their physical immediacy and a feeling of intimacy. They are frequently described as disarming. The possession, holding or just momentary being alone with one of these can feel radically personal, as if the possessing is going both ways. You don't approach them after you see them; you have to approach them in order to see them. And then you lean in. And there is a talismanic effect which transports you to the moment of its making. Quite distinct from other kinds of aesthetic experience, this archeological feeling is an essential aspect of all Bloore's work.
Examining the painted surface, enquiring into its making, rather than discover how Bloore achieves his effects technically (which even close examination almost never reveals, not even to his fellow oil painters) we seem to intuit, to our astonishment, not how but why. A kind of revelation takes place. Instead of finding a way of relating to the artist as a maker by understanding his method we somehow connect directly with him as a person and feel his purpose. It is our shared purpose. We are individual in nature, as we participate in Creation. We are the means by which Nature is Creative.
1968-74 White on White
Facture Facture, Paint Paint
c.1969, 87 x 139mm, oil on masonite, Estate Collection,
1975-76 Byzantine Lights Maquettes
Variations Within a Theme
c.1969, 87 x 139mm, oil on masonite, Estate Collection
1980-84 Black Oil Maquettes
Space is Not Negative
c.1980, 127x178mm, oil on masonite, Private Collection,
1982-86 Stick Painted Maquettes
Not Just Scratching the Surface
c.1985, 122 x 268mm, oil on masonite, Estate Collection, click to see ridiculously
large
This piece can also be glimpsed
here
on the “Bloores at Home” page.
1984-86 Micro Monumentals and
Shaped Works Maquettes
Paintings as Sculpture
c.1980, 127x178mm, oil on masonite, Private Collection,
