As the world mourns the loss of much-loved Yorkshire-born artist David Hockney, local painters have paid tribute to his influence.
David Hockney died last week aged 88 after a career crafting a visual language that was
unmistakably his own.
And while his influence was global – from California to his native Yorkshire via Europe – his importance will also be greatly missed locally.
Garth Bayley, project manager for the 250+ artist collective North Yorkshire Open Studios
(NYOS), said news of Hockney’s death came during last weekend’s Summer Open Studios
event when many were displaying their work for the public.
“It’s hard to overestimate the impact that David Hockney had on the world of art but, here in Yorkshire, I think we feel particularly close to his work, his world and most of all his
gregarious attitude to life!”
In Raskelf, artist Jeff Parker said Hockney’s work was the reason he returned to making art after spending most of his career as a graphic designer.
returned to making art’. Photographs: Supplied
He said: “When Hockney’s East Yorkshire landscapes began to appear in the early 2000s, I felt an immediate connection with them. Here an artist celebrating a landscape I knew, using colour and a visual language that felt both contemporary and deeply rooted in place.
“His work encouraged me to look again at the countryside around me and to appreciate the changing seasons in a way I never had before.
“Like many landscape painters, I owe him a great debt. His work changed the way I see the landscape, and ultimately changed the course of my own creative life.”
Liz Harvey, a landscape artist from Grewelthorpe said her latest work would not have happened without looking at David Hockney’s work.
She said: “He has been an influence quietly in the background throughout my art life, from studies of his work in my A level portfolio back in 1989, right through to my current pieces, 37 years later.”
Bradford-born Hockney rose to become one of Britain’s favourite artists, and helped spearhead the 1960s pop art movement – using wartime Britain, California’s vibrant lifestyle, and iPad paintings to become a master across mediums.
Hockney has reportedly turned down a funeral in Westminster Abbey and it is expected to be a small, private affair in Yorkshire within two weeks, attended by close family.
However, a public memorial service at Westminster Abbey will follow in a couple of months with the dual event reflecting both his personal wish for intimacy in death and his stature as a national cultural figure.
