Editorial essay published in “la Atencion”, San Miguel de Allende, July 15, 2005

Adrian Livesley's painting studio is at the back of the top floor of a dusty building on Zacateros street. Small tables are covered in drawings, pencils and other bits and pieces. Dozens of canvases in various states of completion are stacked against the wall. The British-Canadian painter is, admittedly, a slow worker.

"Usually I have about 8 or 10 on the go at one time. I'm really envious of painters who can just finish a canvas in one go, but I have to go back to them again and again to get them just the way I want."

Livesley is busy completing work for his first solo show at the "El Sindicato" cultural centre on Recreo [street]. The show coincides with the completion of a Master of Fine Arts degree at the Instituto Allende. The painter says that the decision to come to Mexico from Vancouver in early 2004 was influenced mainly by the Instituto's renown, and a desire to avoid the teaching approach of North American universities.

"The last thing I wanted was the kind of academic training that a Canadian or American university offers - where most of the professors are into piles of bricks or 'my toaster is art' philosophy, and you spend hours debating the validity of oil painting. I'd gone through all that doing my BFA. After visiting San Miguel the year before, and checking out the Instituto, it seemed the perfect place to develop a style without negative pressure."

What quickly becomes apparent from talking to Livesley is how much his ideals are rooted in Modernist art philosophy, which has been challenged by some Post-Modern artists and historians. Modernism began with the Impressionists and ended roughly at the end of 1960's abstract painting. Its chief tenets are order, balance, and the unity of the flat picture plane. Modernist painters include Matisse, Picasso, Morandi, Pollock and (Livesley's favourite) Pierre Bonnard. The artist is preoccupied with the idea of creating tranquil worlds within the picture's frame.

"At the end of the day, if you're honest, you can only do the kind of painting that you believe in, that you would want to put on your own wall and look at again and again. I think many artists today have lost sight with the importance of creating lasting images. I did go through my 'wanting to shock' phase in art school but it got tired very quickly. I feel very strongly that in the contemporary art environment, the most radical thing one can do is paint a tree in high summer."

Radical conservatism. It’s an odd idea to contemplate. Even though he does paint the landscape environment of San Miguel, Livesley still isn't comfortable with the label.

"People say to me, 'oh, you’re a landscape painter', which sounds strange because I never really thought of the paintings as celebrations of landscape – probably they're more celebrations of painting, or gesture, or feeling. They are expressions of my feeling, but it is sometimes overlooked that artists have the power to choose the feelings they put into a work. I've never wanted my own paintings to be aggressive or angry."

Livesley paints in a dusty studio with two small windows. The unfinished walls, the dusty floor and disorder are startling at first, but what is more startling is the contrast between the rough working environment and the finished paintings. Soft cerulean blue skies vibrate against hillsides that initially appear brown but on deeper viewing reveal tones of magenta and violet. Jabs and swirls of dark grey paint define a tree and provide a framework for delicate strokes of pale green that depict not only leaves but movements and gestures. The landscapes provide the most subtle colouring, but the paintings of interiors and patios reveal the artist switching gears in terms of colour, and in "Red Patio", Livesley paints floor tiles with the brightest, richest orange-red. The colour gains intensity from the restrained colour in the buildings and background beyond a balcony railing, but a chaotic ultramarine blue sky answers back as if defiantly equal to the red.

This exhibition offers a subtle yet rich collection of images that are quietly rewarding to those able to receive their energy and rhythm. They take to heart Henri Matisse's quote that the "secret of creativity lies in the play and balance of forces."

Exhibition: August 5-15, Inauguracion August 5, 7pm. 4 Recreo Cultural Center "El Sindicato".