Picture of the Month for February 2024 is To Britwell Salome from Britwell Hill by William Redman. It was chosen from the Members Gallery by Richard Cave.

I am naturally attracted to paintings with subject matter that appeals to me executed in a manner that I could not emulate. I was immediately attracted to William’s view from Britwell Hill. It is a vista from a hill that could be anywhere along the Chilterns in Summer and one that I have attempted myself with far less success. My own style and use of watercolour tends towards reality which exaggerates the ubiquity of the view whereas William’s interpretation creates a unique jewel-like abstraction with distance and structure. The use of oil paint also introduces texture, unavailable in watercolour, which enhances the view and a link with reality. The hints of magenta, not a colour often seen in the countryside and non-existent in my palette,and the absence of sky add to the quality of abstraction and creates the ‘sparkle’ of the painting.

I had at first thought that this was a large canvas and queried the stated size of the painting, but having bought one of William’s paintings several years ago, I realised that this, like much of William’s work, is a very small painting and this size tends to emphasise the jewel-like quality in both this and the painting on my own wall.