"Nature Never Lets You Down"

Warter, June 2011
Photos by NM

Exactly a year ago, I woke up excited to be doing my first session invigilating 'Bigger Trees Near Warter' at Ferens Art Gallery that afternoon. I didn't expect instead to find myself standing in front of the actual trees themselves, right where Hockney painted them. Searching for the photo NM took that magical afternoon also reminded me of the conversation we'd had before setting off, where we both discovered a mutual love of Celia Birtwell, Ossie Clark and 60s fashion in general, when I mentioned the Tommy Nutter exhibition I'd just visited. She encouraged me to write about it for the 'Mr Hockney In Hull' blog she'd just set up, as "a record and celebration" of our experiences while the painting was in Hull.  

That day remains vivid in my memory for both of those reasons. To personally experience the place Hockney painted was not only not only an unforgettable experience in itself, it greatly enhanced my experience of the painting when I returned. Hockney painted the scene much earlier in the season, when the daffodils were hinting at what we could now see, but his eyes saw only bare branches. But the trees in full leaf were not the only difference - the roofs of the house and greenhouse in the painting were not brightly coloured in real life, unsurprisingly! And Hockney added in other details not readily apparent ...reminding me of his remark "we see with memory". 

I found it fascinating to subsequently discuss Warter with visitors to the Ferens (not least to dispel the myth that the trees had been cut down - Rose Horspool, our obliging guide to Warter and guardian of the beautiful visitor centre, a converted English Heritage listed church, took us to the trees that had been cut down, to prove it), describing what I had experienced and how it compared to the painting. Some people had already been and seemed disappointed or dismayed at how Hockney's vision deviated from the 'real' thing. But that, to me, was the big revelation, and a great lesson in the value of your own personal interpretation of art.  As Hockney knows, 'seeing with memory' means there's no objective, correct interpretation of anything.  'Hockney's Warter' and 'My Warter' - and yours - will be different. And that's what makes it so special.

As Richard Hawley puts it so eloquently in 'Tonight The Streets Are Ours': "Don't let fear of feeling fool you/What you see sets you apart". At the Warhol preview at Ferens 4 weeks ago, NM and I marvelled at how we'd never imagined how talking about Celia, Ossie, Tommy Nutter and 60s fashion would lead to my involvement in 'The Times They Were A Changin': Inspired By Warhol' exhibition, also being viewed that evening. On the eve of my birthday, having walked in to my 1st Hockney Volunteer meeting on my birthday itself, it was the perfect ending to an unforgettable 365 days, including that trip to Warter just weeks later. I credit the conversations and encouragement to write for the blog and pursue the Artlink Cartwheels course from NM and days like the trip to Warter with helping me get to that amazing Warhol preview evening, where NM told me I 'belonged' there. That meant so much to hear that from her, not least because as the eternal outsider, a year and 1 week ago today, I had just had a sneak preview of 'Bigger Trees' in Ferens and felt exactly the same thing. To slightly misquote NM in her inaugural 'Mr Hockney In Hull' post, special relationships were indeed developing...