| Although this article appears in the reviews section it isn’t a review in the strictest sense of the word. After all, who am I to be able to say what is a great painting? But what I am quite capable of is knowing what pleases me when I look at it. And I know that you have to be a lot more talented at painting than I, and thousands of other average Joes, to be able to produce work of this calibre from the brush of Mark St Jefferson, better known as Silk, who is an angler and a member of FM.
Silk has painted a pike (‘Pike Night’), a perch (‘Popping Out For A Bite’) and an eel (‘Rise And Shine’), and then had a limited number of 120 printed on canvas which, he says, is a better medium than paper, chiefly because it gives a closer representation of his original than anything else he has seen. And, he adds, in some cases it can even improve the quality of the image over that of the original. I do like the prints very much. They are very realistic, with natural colours and look, to my eye anyway, like an original oil painting on canvas. The prints measure 16 inches x 12 inches and have been limited to 120 of each one. I have No. 11 of the pike print to keep (lovely!) and three to give away; one pike, one perch and one eel, all Number 12 of the 120 prints of each. And each one numbered and signed by Silk and accompanied by a signed certificate.
For those unlucky enough not to win one of these prints you can buy them as follows: Canvas Prints Mounted Canvas prints All prices include insured post and packing. You can buy these fish prints, and other prints of wildlife, direct from Silk by visiting his website www.f-p-eye.co.uk. About Silk Mark St. Jefferson (AKA Silk) is mainly a self taught artist, although he did take both art, photography and engineering drawing whilst at school and college, (before they were all renamed Universities). His own style is one that has developed over many years of experimentation with both mediums and varying techniques. His preferred medium is acrylic, for their speed, versatility and easiness of mass layering, although he will also work in oils or pencils as the mood or subject demands. When approaching a new subject, he takes considerable effort to find the references he desires before making a start. When approaching wildlife subjects, Mark is a member of the ZSL (Zoological Society of London) and makes use of their extensive library facilities. When it comes to fish, he studies both subjects caught and photographed in their natural environment and those in captivity to get a better eye for what they appear like in the water, and although in both cases he freely admits the results may not be one hundred percent accurate in their depiction from a naturalistic point of view, he also points out that his aim has always been more towards capturing the spirit of the subject than a detailed analysis. His Piscine Predator series is the beginnings of a whole set of paintings of British Course fish, of which he hopes to finally include most of the species available to the British fisherman. The Competition Right, here’s how you can win one of these fantastic prints. The winner will get first choice of print, second will get second choice, and third will get the remaining print. Winners will be chosen by the editor. Unlike all the other caption competitions this one will be judged on meaningful captions rather than humorous ones, although that doesn’t mean you can’t be humorous, just that, for a change, the winning entry won’t necessarily be the one that makes me laugh most!
The Small Print |
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