Beschrijving

Hand Eye Heart presents a series of watercolour landscapes painted by Hockney during extended visits to East Yorkshire in 2003-2004. Drawing back to a region that first inspired him in his youth—when he worked summers in the fields—he seeks to capture the vast vistas, changing weather and diffuse northern light. The medium of watercolour, which he had used less often before this project, allows him immediacy and spontaneity: sketches made en plein air become the seeds for larger works in the studio.

A central theme of the work is the interplay between vision, feeling, and technique—what Hockney refers to loosely as hand, eye, and heart. The “eye” is his observation of light, color, and spatial relationships in landscape; the “heart” is the emotional connection to place, memory, and atmosphere; and the “hand” is the skillful, almost intuitive execution in watercolour, with its demands of precision and responsiveness.

Overall, Hand Eye Heart is not merely about depicting scenery, but about the act of seeing and feeling—and the way art allows us to dwell in those moments. It demonstrates how an artist returns to familiar ground not to reproduce but to re-experience, to refine perception and expression. The result is a body of works that are at once deeply personal and broadly resonant, intimate in detail yet expansive in vista.