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Notes
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In this painting Peter Gilbert has depicted a scene close to his New Forest home showing a wooded glade under a canopy of small trees. The technique of bold brushstrokes and strong unmixed colour gives the impression of an English broad-leaf copse rather than a larger pine forest. Gilbert has used strong yellows to show light falling through the leaves and this colour is echoed in the flowers in the undergrowth. The viewer’s eye is drawn to the middle of the painting with a darker foreground diagonal that leads to the blue light filtering through the central contrasting dark trunks. Colour has been used to create a sense of depth with warmer orange tones in the top right (foreground) through to cool blues for the sky and distant trees.
The title is anecdotal as the artist explains that he set up his easel in the wood when he saw a New Forest pony grazing. After he had spent time creating the scene and capturing the light effects, the subject matter (the pony) had wandered away. This story reveals the sense of humour of the artist and makes the viewer imagine the pony in the picture.
After leaving school in the 1960s Gilbert painted but did not take the traditional route through art college. He had many career changes, from advertising and restaurants to night-club owner but he always found the time to keep painting, exploring and developing his own style. For the past few years he has made a living as an artist, painting mainly contemporary landscapes of the New Forest or the Dorset coast. He says: "Now living in the New Forest my passion for painting the landscape has rekindled, rejuvenated and increased year on year. I tend to work out on site to capture the immediacy of the moment with pastels and watercolour and then, using those sketches, either finish them back in the studio or use them as reference for larger canvases in oil or acrylic. Although working in the moment I try to capture more than a snapshot. I want to feel the landscape."
Pete is also a volunteer for ArtCare, the art service, at Salisbury District Hospital, and has helped deliver workshops and participatory projects and co-painted the mural in the Burns Unit children’s playroom.
Salisbury District Hospital
Salisbury
Title
And the Pony Was Gone
Date
2005
Medium
oil on board
Measurements
H 43.5 x W 36.5 cm
Accession number
333
Acquisition method
purchased, 2005
Work type
Painting
