Wrong side of the track

Robert Hodgins' self-proclaimed modus operandi was as a "optimistic old sod", Hodgins (1921-2010) once described painting to be "a bit like surfing" in that a good deal of time is spent bobbing about, waiting for the right wave to come along. Having said this, it's not about instant gratification. Where Robert Hodgins was concerned, paintings may only come into their own months or even years after their genesis. But beyond it all, he described being a painter as a "very nice way to live." Not restricted by the need for technical support, for him it was about accepting the responsibility of the mark of one's hand that is negotiated by no one other than oneself, quoting Francis Bacon's words of "courting accidents", but then choosing the ones that work. Another Hodgins maxim is that "subject matter is not content." For Hodgins art was an "auto-intoxication that allows one to live through marriages, divorces, deaths and unhappy love affairs, and come up smiling all the time."

"There are paintings that stem from memory and from a sombre look at the human condition. Paintings about the construction and confusion of contemporary urban life, but also paintings about the pleasures of being alive, pleasures that crowd in upon the pessimism everywhere - that crowd in and refuse to be ignored." Robert Hodgins, 2000

"Being an artist is about putting something into your subject matter that isn't inherently there. You are not at the mercy of your subject matter, it's the content, and what you put into it, what you do with it, what extract from it, and what you put it with, that is so exciting. If you are aware of this, then you begin to build on the content of your whole life. Before you know where you are, you're already thinking about the next work, and you could live to be 300. Paintings can be one-night stands or lifetime love-affairs - you never know until you get cracking." Robert Hodgins

As a young child in London, Hodgins used to hide out in the Tate Gallery, where it was "warm and open." Despite having exhibited since the early 1950s, it was 1981 before he was taken really seriously. A major retrospective was hosted by the Standard Bank National Arts Festival in 1986. An early career highlight was a two-man show with Jan Neethling titled Pretty Boy Floyd, producing some sixty experimental silkscreens of the gangster and hanging them on washing lines in the gallery. Hodgins cited this as a true "corroboration" of minds.

Hodgins worked at The Artists' Press for many years and it was always a pleasure to have Rob's energy, sticky tea buns and humour in the studio. Mark Attwood has a special place at his press for Hodgins as he felt that the "old man" pushed him harder and challenged him more than most other artists. When the printer and artist collaborated the energy in the printshop was tangible. Hodgins used monoprints as his starting point and then developed ones that he liked most into lithographs. He also experimented with hand coloured gravure prints.

With thanks to Kathryn Smith and Artthrob magazine on whose writing this page is based.

Robert Hodgins passed away on the 15th of March 2010 at the age of 89, from lung cancer. His passing has left a huge gap in the studio, his energy, humour and insight is missed by us all.