The Encyclopaedia Series

As Ella Cole continues the epic task of cataloguing Dave Pearson's work, we have now exceeded 11000 pieces while recording the 'Encyclopaedia' series (see previous blog). These pieces number at least 200 sheets, each about 60 x 85 cms, and are of gouache and ink drawn and painted over series of photocopied adhesive sheets.

The majority of these works contain quotations from philosophers, politicians, writers and others. Dave frequently incorporates self-portraits among these, along with other drawings and a rich colouring; without obvious comment or reference to the written statements.

These works were done during Dave's last years, when he had totally filled up his studio spaces, and was too frail to continue to work on a larger scale. They have been in piles on plan chests in his studio until Ella got round to them for cataloguing. The inventiveness running throughout this series of work is impressive, as in everything Dave undertook. Having an opportunity to look more carefully at them is stimulating, and yet they are ultimately mysterious - I think that the combination of the texts and the seemingly unrelated imagery makes this so.

Number 11000!

Ella has been busy with her work at the Dave Pearson Trust - she has now moved from the top floor of the studio to the middle floor, and has just begun the process of cataloguing the works stored on that level.

I walked in the other day and she had just reached number 11000 in the cataloguing of  Dave Pearson's work. I couldn't resist taking a photo of the handwritten entry on the back of the painting. 

It's one of the large 'Encyclopaedia' series...when Dave was bedridden towards the end of his life he focused his energies on relatively small, manageable works on paper. This series used photocopied texts which he then worked over in a variety of media - gouache, pencil, ink - combined with self-portraits. 

Dave Pearson on Pinterest

To see a great selection of some of Dave Pearson's work go to his page on Pinterest. It's at https://uk.pinterest.com/bobfrith/dave-pearson/ and there's a wide choice of great paintings, drawings and prints. You can follow the board if you wish to see new additions to the page, such as the large pastel drawing of the Minehead Hobby Hoss (above), and the graphite drawing from 'In the 7 Woods' (below).

The Pinterest page is maintained by the Dave Pearson Trust. 

Prints

We visited Alan Birch in Prospect Studios again this morning. Alan has continued to proof nearly 60 of Dave Pearson's etching and drypoint plates. So Ella and I have been able to go through the whole selection and decide which ones for Alan to take to the next stage. 

The prints fall into two series. First steel plate etchings, nearly all of which are from the early 1970s series of Calendar Customs, that explore British traditional customs and place them in a formalised landscape setting. These are large (mostly about 70cms x 45cms), really attractive and highly detailed. We've asked Alan to take 15 of these and print up top copies.

The other main group, of which we've chosen 11 for Alan to print, is a looser, more expressionist set. Still fairly large, these are drypoint from the later 1970s, hand etched onto a soft metal (aluminium) plate. Many of them are a development in terms of subject matter from the 'Calendar Customs' series - still relating to traditional customs, though with a few interiors of his studio, and one simply of trees:

Our hope is that Alan will finish the next set, which will be printed on top quality paper with a good border all around, next month. I'll then start looking for interested galleries for an exhibition of the work. The Whitaker in Rawtenstall has already expressed an interest, and the whole process of rediscovering these plates should make for a very interesting exhibition, especially for anyone interested in printmaking. 

Reviving Dave's prints

One of the very recent developments with Dave's work is that we have asked the printmaker Alan Birch to look at the etching and drypoint plates left by Dave and see whether any can be brought back to a usable state and, if so, select some for creating new editions from. 

Alan came to the studio and selected a good number of plates to work on. The process involves cleaning them of their dirt, ink, rust and other layers of material, and then making an assessment of whether the plate is in good enough condition to print from. If Alan believes that they are, he will then print a proof. 

This morning Ella and I went along to Alan's workshop at Prospect Studio in Waterfoot, and looked at four large plates that he had just taken proof copies from. They were all remarkable images, from the Calendar Customs series of the late 1970s, and in surprisingly good condition. In each case we were enthusiastic about Alan following this up by taking the process through to edition stage.

Above are some details of two if the plates. They're extremely beautiful images, and we're convinced that these are very collectable. We're also asking Alan to continue with the process; there are at least another 30 or 40 plates good enough to explore in this way.

10,000

Ella has finally passed the 10,000th piece of work in the cataloguing of Dave's work. The works she chose for this august occasion were from a small selection of pastel drawings that she uncovered in one of the 20 or so plastic box folders that have recently been the focus of her cataloguing work. These contained a wide of range of Dave's work including a high proportion of early student drawings, but also a number of very special series from later in his career - including these pastels, three of which are shown above.

There remain two of these boxes still to be processed, and a mezzanine attic above the workshop space that contains a number of shaped canvases and a few early seminal paper-mache pieces from the 1960s. Once these have been done Ella will be able to move from the top floor of the studio to the two lower floors to continue her catalogue. 

The Art Trail 2015

The decision to return the large ground floor front room at Dave's studio in Haslingden into a gallery space really paid off this weekend at the Rossendale Art Trail - the renamed Reveal Open Studios weekend. 

It meant that at least a small selection of the work can be viewed in optimum conditions (above) and this was clearly appreciated by the 80 or so people who came through over the two days. It was also reflected in a good number of sales being made, and a lot of interest from people who want to make an appointment to visit when they would have more time to look through the work.

Ella Cole, who is managing the process of cataloguing Dave's work, has now reached 9,999 pieces in the catalogue. Purposely holding back from the ten thousandth until we have a bottle of champagne at hand! This quantity  of work is still all contained on the top floor  of the building, and the ground and first floor have yet to be sorted through.