Description
Now Then and to Come
Oil on Board
50 × 29 cm
R15 000
Now Then and to Come is a moody, cinematic scene set on a misty railway platform. A man in a flat cap and dark suit looms large at the left, his face turned toward us in careful detail, while beyond him the space opens onto a fog-filled quay — a lit sign reading QUAI, steel carriages and small, solitary figures standing in the haze. Julie Tugwell paints in a cool, low-key palette of greys, muted blues, greens and soft yellow lamplight.
The atmosphere is quiet and filmic, layered with a sense of waiting, memory and passing time that the title gently underlines. The large foreground portrait and the distant, half-lost travellers set up a play of near and far, past and present, that gives the piece a narrative, storytelling quality without ever spelling anything out.
An absorbing, characterful work, this original suits a study, hallway, living space or gallery wall where an evocative, mood-rich painting is welcome. Its cool tones and cinematic light bring atmosphere, intrigue and a touch of the theatrical to a contemporary interior.
Style
Julie Tugwell is a contemporary South African artist whose work shares qualities with expressive, painterly traditions, favouring energetic brushwork and an emotional response to her subject over strict realism. Here she works in a cool, tonal palette, using soft light and loose handling to build atmosphere and narrative rather than a literal record, capturing the mood of a scene and creating an original artwork that brings depth, character and considered sophistication to a contemporary interior.
Please note: Images are provided as a guide to the artwork’s size and style. As each original painting is photographed under different lighting conditions and viewed on different screens, colours may vary slightly from the original artwork.
