Description
Time
Oil on Stretched Canvas
90 × 75 cm
R8 500
Time is an ambitious, surreal composition worked almost entirely in cool blues. Across the upper register, small figures stand along the tops of tall grey plinths beneath a clouded sky, while a large dark bird sweeps across the canvas on outstretched wings, trailing a ribbon of pale yellow light. A clock face and a solitary faceless figure occupy the middle ground.
Below, an arched niche frames a crucifixion figure, flanked by a russet protea and a pale, sculptural protea bloom. A seated figure curls at the lower right, and a scatter of shells, keys and small forms fills the foreground. Julie Tugwell holds the whole scene together with a restrained palette of blues, greys and soft teal, lifted by touches of ochre and warm red.
This is a contemplative, narrative-rich painting that rewards slow looking, its many passages revealing themselves gradually. The muted, atmospheric colouring makes it surprisingly easy to live with, suiting a study, a library wall or a quiet, considered interior where an intriguing, thought-provoking work can hold attention. Its cool tonality sits well against pale, neutral or grey-toned walls.
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. She moves freely between bold colour and restrained, tonal palettes, and between observed scenes and more imaginative, symbolic compositions. Whatever the subject, she pursues atmosphere and feeling rather than literal description, creating original paintings with texture, movement and character that bring warmth and considered sophistication to contemporary interiors.
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.
