Alexander Smith

In Smith’s work ‘Conceptions’, we see that the artist’s method of leaving out figurative elements leaves us with an exceptionally abstracted image. His paintings become still life studies, short moments of time expressed simply with just a few branches, a tree or some leaves. These details contrast with a vivid blue, or perhaps a threatening cloudy sky - all executed in a most revealing delicate manner. The branches sometimes seem to be characterised in a deathly or wintry fashion by the absence of leaves, buds, flowers or fruit. This starkness suggests a strong feeling of melancholy in so many of his works.