This video is an outtake from David Hockney: A Bigger Picture, an award-winning documentary by filmmaker Bruno Wollheim.
Watch the full film here: vimeo.com/onde...
Please watch to the end, past the end credits, to see Hockney out in the landscape painting the clouds.
David would say that green is the most difficult of colours, especially in capturing the Spring when the greens are so many and varied.
We start at the Constable ‘Great Landscapes’ exhibition at the Huntington and David’s admiration for a painting of Wivenhoe Park of 1816 (in fact not in the Tate but from The National Gallery of Art, Washington DC). At this stage of Hockney’s immersion in the East Yorkshire landscape, Constable has become a kindred spirit. The exhibition itself had originated at The Tate Gallery and David had gone several times. What Constable had said in a lecture in 1833 could have come from Hockney himself, in a more modern idiom:
There has never been an age…in which the love of landscape has not in some way been manifested.... [Man’s] nature is congenial with the elements of the planet itself, and he cannot but sympathize with its features, its various aspects, and its phenomena in all situations.
Filmed over three years with unprecedented access, A Bigger Picture captures Britain’s most beloved painter at work. David Hockney’s return from California to paint the East Yorkshire landscape of his childhood - outside, in all weathers, through the seasons - culminates in the largest picture ever made outdoors. It’s an inspiring story of a painter in creative dialogue with nature and photography, and a revealing portrait of Britain’s most popular and celebrated artist.
“This wonderful film … will be of lasting importance for future generations who want to understand Hockney’s art.” Saturday Review, BBC Radio 4
“Bruno Wollheim’s portrait of this forthright magus is an unqualified, life-enhancing joy from start to finish.” - The Sunday Times
“This film may well be the best anyone will ever make about Hockney’s process.” - The Times, London.
“As gently hypnotic and fulfilling as one of Hockney’s own works.” - Time Out
“This impressive documentary is almost cinematic in its scope… both majestic and intimate” - The Observer
Watch the full documentary here: vimeo.com/2248...
All streaming supports independent documentary filmmaking.
Videos © Coluga Pictures. By respecting this copyright, you’re supporting independent documentary makers.