Reviewer: Michael Keith
Title: Ashley Jackson: The Yorkshire Artist. A Lifetime of Inspiration Captured in Watercolour
Author: Ashley Jackson
No. of Pages: 156
Rating Scale (1: very poor, 10: excellent): 9
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In this volume’s Introduction, the author writes the following: ’The Yorkshire moors have always pulled at my inner world …I can honestly say I have grown deeper in love with her. For she is a woman to me; with her soft and wild nature, the perfumed scent of heather blowing around you and her voice; the wind blowing in your face. How can you not paint her beauty when she enthrals you?’ A beautiful book, about a beautiful part of England, by an artist who is in totally besotted with his subject. As a visual declaration of his adoration, it can have few peers.
The work opens with a Forward, this being placed behind the Contents page. A Dedication follows, and is in turn followed by a Preface by the author’s daughter who has acted as complier and motivator for the volume. An Introduction follows. Within it the author sets-out his rationale for the book. The 62 colour plates which comprise the bulk of the volume then follow. Although they are originally watercolour, they have reproduced well and convey the many moods of the moors and their environs. These images are placed on the odd-numbered pages within the section, with the image’s title, description and several lines of interpretative text appearing on the opposite (even numbered) page of the work. Where necessary, photographs also accompany this narrative. The author is rightly considered to be a local treasure and unsurprisingly, the object of media attention. Within this volume, this takes the form of two pages of colour photographs in the centre of the book where-in three photographs show the artist at work while being photographed by a television crew. All concerned are in wet weather gear and sheltering under umbrellas, reinforcing the narrative that only the most ardent lover would pursue such a path in his adoration for his subject. A four-page Biography that commences on page 140 uses both photographs and text to provide background to the author’s life and artistic endeavours. It is followed by a section titled Final Words from Ashley, within which the author pays tribute to his wife, accompanying this with a painting which above all the others holds special significance in that relationship. An Index of Paintings is place after that section. Surprisingly, this is not a list of the paintings appearing within the volume (the latter appearing on the Contents page). It is rather a list of pieces that are ‘Available to View in the Gallery’, and which may presumably be purchased at that location. The final section of this volume is titled Appendix. Within it are listed various important dates in the artist’s career, Television programmes which have featured or included him and lists of books that he has either published or which are concerned with his art. The Appendix also includes n awards sub-section (termed Accolades). This lists academic and social awards bestowed upon the author in recognition of his status as an artist of the Yorkshire moors. A separate list appears on the final page. Titled Photograph Credits, its title is self-explanatory.
On several pages, and in addition to the explanatory texts, the author has included personal thoughts relating to the specific painting being viewed. It should be noted that the volume contains no maps of either Yorkshire itself or Great Britain. This is an omission which this reviewer finds odd, believing that it may limit the volume’s usefulness and confine sales to only those who know the area intimately. Foreign readers (and even those within the greater United Kingdom), looking to find the location of the paintings (and perhaps to even visit them), may find the lack frustrating. Finally, only the odd-numbered pages of the volume have been allocated numbers. The reasons for this are not known.
As previously noted, this is a beautiful book. The details listed above notwithstanding, this volume will undoubtedly appeal to all and any native of Yorkshire, irrespective of where they may be located; it says ‘Home’ in a way that only they will understand. The quality of the images may also appeal to those who appreciate fine art and unique water-colours. Students of meteorology may also find the depictions of Moor weather to be of interest.
On a Rating Scale where 1: very poor, 10: excellent, I have given this volume 9.
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