newsletter archive newsletter 1 - spring 2002 Johnny Jonas In 2001, with a grant from Arts and Business New Partners initiative, the Discerning Eye was able to organise its first 'Artist in Residence' project and commissioned the painter Johnny Jonas to work at ING's London Headquarters. With Johnny having full access to the trading floor, this was probably the first time that a residency of this nature has operated in City Stockbrokers. Johnny, 53, who was originally a graduate of the Fine Arts Academy in Perugia, has a rich and varied output ranging from the unforgiving landscapes of war-torn Kosovo, for a canvas commissioned by the Royal Engineers, to a portrait of the late Queen Mother, to mark her 100th year, for the Carlton Club.For this residency, he was commissioned to paint two canvasses (subject of his choice) along with two quick (one hour) portrait studies of ING employees. His only brief was to work as much as possible 'in public' so that people throughout the organisation could witness what he was doing and ask questions about his work.Having worked around the building, including the main foyer and on the dealing floor, Johnny was well known by staff and eventually exceeded his brief by delivering three canvasses of City Life (along with the studies for those paintings) and four portrait studies. All the paintings were very well received by ING staff and will now be incorporated into the already impressive ING collection.  ′The Trading Floor′ by Johnny Jonas "Our artist in residence, Johnny Jonas, recently came in to 60 London Wall so that staff could see him at work - painting two portraits from scratch - and also to display and discuss 'work in progress' on three large canvases - a view of the trading floor; the City at lunchtime; and a wine bar." Steve McCubbin ING intranet Here Johnny gives us his thoughts on the visit and his work in progress . . . . "Arriving in the City at 6.30 in the morning is a new experience - quite different to my old days broking at Lloyd\'s when anything before 9.30 just was \'not at all proper\'. I surfed London Wall on a tide of coffee shops and croissants and glided up the main hall to reception where I installed myself with the three large canvasses I've been working on, plus sketches, easels and paints and brushes.After a while Scott Anderson, an Assistant Supervisor, and I were beginning the first of the portraits I painted that day. I was painting in \'grisaille\', a style of painting which focuses on tone and not colour, using a blob of black paint and a blob of white (and two thousand tones of grey in between...).The lighting was practically directly overhead, producing dramatic light but not much general light down the head. A few early birds seemed to register our presence but not much more than that could be expected with the impending opening of the markets. We persevered with another coffee.As the morning and the portrait progressed, I was able to discuss the large paintings with people who were now more relaxed about time and who had stopped to look at the mid-stage of the three paintings which form the core of the Residency. Each subject is painted in a different style and here are my thoughts on each one as it was displayed in the foyer. The City at LunchtimeThis attempts to suggest the great City 'lunchtime', life about the streets and café bars, urgent errands and shopping to do, and the lulling, dappled sunlight seen about the quadrants and small corners of the City - hardly dejeuner sur l'herbe but out of the office all the same.Figures come and go against a general background, friends and strangers together, the initial planning of the falling shadows on the paving designed to shimmer with the breeze in the trees and the movement of the people, and there will be more action beyond the foreground figures to take the viewer into the painting and noise of the streets. [ CONTINUED ON PAGE FIVE ] Copyright © 2002-2010 The Discerning Eye ~ Web site by Shepperton Software |
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