The Art of Vern Dufford

 Sombre tones and images expressive of loneliness and despair define this marvellous group of  pictures from Vern Dufford. In this example the bright horizon brings an element of hope.

The depiction of a man's relationship with an expansive landscape recalls the pictures of Caspar David Friedrich but as far as I know he never used nudes. His theme was the mystery of God and creation, Dufford's mystery lies closer to home I suspect, but may amount to much the same thing if we're being philosophical about it!

We can probably guess the contents of this letter. The use of nudity here expresses the emotional vulnerability of the recipient. The subtlety of his sagging figure (which is well observed) redeems the slightly heavy-handed symbolism of the darkened, empty room behind him, representing what his world has suddenly become.

Thankfully there's an optimistic bright spot on the horizon, but he hasn't seen it yet.

The colours of this example seem to have been brightened 

It's darkest before the dawn, so the saying goes, but that's never offered much consolation to anyone stuck at that low point. I don't know if those Dali-like cracks on the man's head are part of the picture or a fault in the photo but they seem quite appropriate. The use of light and shade in these seemingly simple pictures is terrific.

 

In contrast to the gloomy 'Letter' series, this image of a man trying to control his vessel as it runs before the storm in menacing seas is full of positivity. It's nicely expressed by his leaning-forward pose, going with the vessel rather than trying restrain it. That's probably not good seamanship but it works artistically. Notice that much of the brightness is behind him, but he is still going forward determinedly into storm where the clouds ahead are tinged with encouraging light.

Notice how the artist presents him turned towards us, showing frontal nudity. This seems to assert his masculinity and taking control of the situation. Reversing the positioning of the two legs to show his backside would be more modest, but would create a different sense of turning away from the challenge or lack of control.

Voyager Series

This image with it's suggestion of bondage in the rope-wound body is a natural for this blog
It adds the element of entanglement to this marine saga of tormented emotions.

All these images have a flavour of Art Deco in the simplicity of the figures and the smooth facial features but in this case, the shape of the clouds top left is very typical of that style.

The waters are calmer here but the excitement of the storm is succeeded by weariness and maybe a feeling of despair. The entanglement seems to remain as a restriction even though the slackened rope suggests the moment of crisis has passed. Interesting psychology!

Adrift 2

This image from the same series also has interesting features,

there's a commentary at the mitchmen gateway blog (in post dated March 1st 2019)

Vern Dufford paints in a variety of styles but this group is particularly eye catching.

The subject matter is somewhat gloomy but thoughtful and reflects an aspect of (gay) life that we all experience at some point in our lives. The deco styling is a unifying influence that will appeal to many of our brethren!

I haven't a website for Vern Dufford but you'll find traces of his art sales if you search on his name.