Alan Cotton is a much loved British Landscape painter. He uses pallet knives to create impasto marks which look rather uninformed and unplanned up close but from a distance make incredibly realistic, almost photographic, landscapes. The work in the exhibition is breathtakingly executed. The pieces have traditional and homely feels to them due to the safe, shared subject of "landscapes" but I also found some pieces challenge my mind with the almost Impressionist style of paint application. This was particularly true in the case of the Venice series, where Cotton painted the reflections of the Venetian buildings in the water.
It was wonderful to see such a distinguished artist exhibiting locally. The Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter never fails to provide a fantastic show. The exhibition was beautifully curated, I personally interpreted the layout as starting in distant lands (Venice, mountain ranges etc) and ending with more familiar scenes (the dull skies of England).
