POLAR BEAR HIDES by Rupert Cordeux

The Michael Harding Watercolour Award, Second Prize

Watercolour and pencil

60 x 76 cm

40 x 57 cm

£700

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Artist Statement

Last year, it was my privilage to be allowed to stay in the Canadian Arctic. These watercolour paintings, three of forty, were made on site, at the Inuit hamlet of Pangnirtung in Nunavut. Whilst the subject matter of a few of my paintings may be deemed controversial by some, one has to remember that the Inuit were once a nomadic people whose thousands of years of tradition and culture, based on sustainable hunting and a deep regard for nature were practically destroyed by European colonisation. Today, the harvesting of Arctic fauna is still a vital part of everyday life, in a place where for most of the year, the ground and the sea are frozen and snow covered. The painting of the polar bear hides, pegged out to dry, was made in early Summer, in relatively mild conditions. The other two watercolours were painted in Spring, in temperatures well below freezing, causing ice crystals to form in the washes of paint. I have always painted directly from the subject, believing that the intrinsic qualities of watercolours are best matched by unpredictable and slightly uncontrollable working conditions. I am a lifelong artist and, at an early age, was always encouraged by my parents to express myself through drawing and painting.