Mark Tennant’s figurative paintings are a reminder that classical training and painting and drawing from life are never old fashioned, always inspiring and will forever play a key role in the development of art.
Life drawing and painting nudes can be seen to be outdated but the mere technicality of the process is a good lesson in composition, light and form and Tennant has obviously been working hard on developing his technique for many years. It is assured work, the loose brush work, single light source and attention to detail creates an evocative picture that revels in the splendour of the human figure.
Like many artists who draw and paint from life most of what I’ve found out about Tennant concerns his education which is really rather dull and boring. Quite frankly who cares. What’s important is his ability to translate the beauty of the figure onto a canvas in paint.