Exploring Margret Preston's Wood Cuts:

Picture from Queensland Art Gallery website. Australian Rock Lilly by Margret Preston



What do I see?



In this wood cut I see a variety of organic shapes. The first thing you look at is the dull, Rosemary green leaves that pull that your eyes in with the black background in that area. The reading path shows you around the leaves that have been placed around across the painting in all direction to give the painting a natural, unshaped feel. You automatically get the feeling of movement. Your eyes, moving away from the tonal leaves, direct their attention the cream coloured flowers shooting up from behind the leaves. They pull your eyes to the right hand side of the picture as you get the feeling that the wind is blowing in that direction. You notice their thin stems with small daisy like flowers. When you have finished examining the flowers your eyes are pulled to the thick brownie orange, bamboo like stems of the leaves. Their light, but in comparison to the leaves and flowers, bright colour helps you to look closely at them. The vertical lines pull you eyes back to leaves where the whole process begins again.

Looking closely at the colour:

The dull colours of the leaves and flowers create a fantastic contrast with the steams. The colour choices make the artwork more inviting and easy going. The colours, used tonaly, create a subtle organic feel. The colours are divided into three main groups-this creates a clear reading path. The simple colours that take you on a journey through the picture give you a unique insight into the creation of the wood print.

Looking at Line:

The lines of the artwork create the feeling of movement. The varied styles of line - straight, curvey, rounded- show the natural movement. Showing that movement does not neccasarily need to be represented by curves the lines make it imaginable that the print was actually moving. The lines greatly influence the feel of this print.

Last but not least-Placement:

The three obviouse colour blocks of the work are placed very carfuly to create an organic and moving feel. They are placed with a blank section in the top right hand corner to give the work a definate background. The leaves are placed with utmost care, in all directtions, with the steams placed with no real end to creat mystery.

This wood cut print is an exceptional example of Margret Preston's work. With all the visual elements created with utmost care and presision creating a fantastic artork for generations to come.