Despite its name, this blog has always been about the Outer Cape. And it’s no secret that last year I moved my center of attention from Provincetown to Truro/Wellfleet. This summer I’m starting to think more consciously about making work in Wellfleet and also building community with the amazing artists who live ‘out in the country.’
I gave an artist talk last week at AMZehnder Gallery, where I’m represented and also just had a show of new work. During the talk I announced a new initiative, Fieldwork Saturdays, and also spoke about some elements of my fieldwork practice.
People often ask me if I am a
plein air painter. I’m not. My approach to landscape painting is more about fieldwork and a return to the studio. I take notes, collect images and try to bring my experience of place into my body. I take this field research back to the studio and making paintings from what I’ve seen. If I need more data, I go back into the field.
My approach to fieldwork includes:
- Look. Look again. Describe to yourself what you’re seeing. Go back and look more. Spend a long time looking.
- Remind yourself the world is alive. And it’s looking back.
- It’s all interesting. Even when you think it’s not.
- Think about all the other people who’ve looked at what you’re seeing. How might they have seen it differently? How was it different? Research that.
- Compose. See existing patterns and consider how shifting elements of what you see might add your dynamism to the world. Think of that as a dialogue. What does the world say back?
- Document. Take mental notes of the colors, light, temperature, feeling, ambiance, sound. Note what’s moving. What’s moving super slow? Make a drawing in your head. Make a drawing on a pad. Take photos. Write a poem.
This summer, starting June 7th, I’m inviting people to join me on Saturday afternoons in Wellfleet to explore the landscape in relation to our creative practice. Here’s the invitation:
Fieldwork Saturdays in Wellfleet
Organized by Pete Hocking & AMZehnder Gallery
This summer, we’re inviting creative people — including visual artists, photographers, writers, and others — to join us for community fieldwork sessions in Wellfleet on Saturday afternoons from 2:30 – 5 PM. This is not a workshop and there will be no instructor. Spending time in a place, looking deeply, taking notes, and allowing the place to soak into memory allows one to bring meaningful experience into the studio — and to ultimately work more intuitively. The sessions are also designed to strike up conversation and relationships among Outer Cape artists. You’re invited to look, to draw, to paint, to photograph, to take notes, to write — and especially to connect with other creative people in our incredible community. These sessions are free and you’re welcome to join us as your schedule permits. Come for one session or all sessions!
We’ll meet at AMZehnder Gallery at 25 Bank Street at 2:30 PM on Saturday and we’ll conclude the start of Gallery Night at 5 PM.
Questions? Contact phocking@gmail.com
