3. THE HOCKEY PLAYER, MARDEN RUSSELS by KAYE HODGES

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY  London   
22.9.10 

                                                                                             

(1360X500) acrylic on canvas, ©KAYE HODGES

This is another portrait of an artist’s child from the 2010 BP Portrait Award show. Leon plays for his school and a local team in Kent. Just how relaxed is he in this picture? A stiffness around the shoulders and that cautious look at the viewer betray another sort of vulnerability, which contrasts with his stature and stance.  

This is a young man who is strongly present in the room, his hockey stick pushing towards the viewer and the picture plane. It’s a large painting, life size I guess, and hung quite high so that the viewer is as aware of the yellow bands circling his legs (which are nearer eye level) as the rectangle of yellow which is his shirt. His mother, who ‘wanted to capture his growing self confidence and physical presence’, says she was inspired by the luminosity of the yellow shirt.I was doubtful about the inspirational effect of luminosity until, on the way back from the gallery and outside the Royal Festival Hall, I saw a year-old baby in a buggie clad from top to toe in a hand knitted suit: bobble hat, jacket, leggings, the lot.

All the same brilliant yellow as in the picture.

I  feel that this is a colour which is not kind to many skin tones, especially white ones, but the impact was tremendous.  When the baby was whisked away over the bridge, I felt as if we on the South Bank had enjoyed a glimpse of a brilliant sun lightling up a grey day. 

http://www.npg.org.uk/