James Mackinnon, Artist
The Gentle Author will be giving an illustrated lecture, showing David Hoffman’s photos from ENDURANCE & JOY IN TE EAST END 1971 -1987 and telling the stories behind them next Thursday 7th November 7:30pm at Wanstead Tap, 352 Winchelsea Rd, E7 0AQ
Twilight at London Fields, 2012
The streetscapes of James Mackinnon (born 1968), especially those of the East End and of London Fields in particular, captivate the viewer with their powerful atmosphere and magical sense of possibility – an effect compounded by the breathtaking accomplishment of their masterly execution.
“I grew up in South London in Lee Green, so I used to go to the Isle of Dogs through the foot tunnel under the Thames and I was mystified by the area north of the river. Sometimes I would bunk off school with a sketchbook and go wandering there. It seemed a mysterious land.
Later on, having left home and gone through college, there was a big recession and it was tough, all the students were scrabbling around for work, I had an epiphany. I was sat next to the Thames and I realised I just wanted to look at buildings and paint them.
In the early nineties, I moved to the East End because it was affordable and I had always wanted to explore there. I was slowly drawn to where my heart was guiding me, I would go round the back streets and explore the hinterlands. There is something compelling about going somewhere you do not really know about – the mysterious world of places. The atmosphere of places is born of people and their residue, it’s about people living there.
I lived near London Fields and there is this little terrace of Georgian houses with a railway line and overhead electric wires, and there are some tower blocks in the distance. It was such an interesting juxtaposition. A lot of East London landscapes have that, you might get a church sitting next to a railway line, next to tower block, next to the canal and a bit of old railing and some graffiti. That funny mixture. So I would just go and paint what I wanted. It was an act of faith, I knew it was what I had to do.
I tried having a studio but I was always a struggling artist so, when it came to rent day, it got tricky. There was a lot of signing on the dole and I lived in my studio for a bit to save money on the rent but the landlord found out and it was a cat and mouse game.
By the time I left, I think I had found myself. There is something in the painting that says it is by me rather than anyone else and that has evolved from having done it for twenty years. I just about managed to survive. I learned I have got the tenacity and self belief, that this is what I love. You find your path after a lot of struggle but it only comes by doing it.
You realise that a great painting can come from something very ordinary, you can go for a walk and there might be something round the corner that knocks you out. There was a lot of that in the East End and I am still obsessed by it though it is changing hugely. Some of the landscapes have altered already and some of the shops have gone.
I miss Hackney in many ways but I do not miss struggling and rents going up. I was there until around 2013, I had a great time and made some good friends. So now I have moved to Hastings. I had a little boy and it became untenable to carry on living in the East End. I had no choice.”
Homage to James Pryde, 2009 (The Mole Man’s House)
Broadway Market
Shops in Morning Lane, 2014
Hackney Canal near Mare St, 2012
Canal, Rosemary Works 2014
Savoy Cafe, Hackney, 2012
James Tower, London Fields, 2012
Alphabeat, 2007
Paintings copyright © James Mackinnon
Take a look at some of the other artists featured in East End Vernacular
I would buy every one of this chaps paintings if I were to have such a thing as money.
Perfect article! and a copy of East End Vernacular should be on everyone’s bookshelf.
This artist is masterful at creating vivid moods, and taking us along for the ride. I was stopped in my tracks by the illuminated windows in “Twilight”. I longed to know more about the scenes “within”, the conversations, the silences, the pauses. Come to think, even the darkened windows
had me enthralled.
On this chilly morning, the warm glow in the “Canal” painting warmed my face, front, hands, etc.
The color palette communicated so strongly HOW that sun would feel, and how soothed and enriched one would feel, with that sun against us. This artist is a master colorist.
And the Savoy ! — This establishment has a twin in downtown New York city. Called The Odeon, it is a trendy restaurant downtown and the full-frontal design of the facade has always reeked of elegance and rarified priciness. I long to slip into the Savoy, order my favorite drink at the bar, and just sip.
As a sucker for alphabets and fonts, this last image made me cheer. If I lived near this wall, I would constantly be photographing friends next to the massive letterforms. “Here! Alex, pose with that vast A, will ya? Come ON, just pose. Do something silly.” Am working on an art project right now, involving A to Z, and this added fuel to my fire.
Thank you, GA and James Mackinnon.