Recognised as one the leading Scottish painters, Jack Morrocco started his studies at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design in Dundee. During his time here, where “…It was all about draughtsmanship and classical training….”, he was tutored by renowned artists, David McClure, Jack Knox, Gordon Cameron and, of course, Alberto Morrocco.
In 1973, he was selected to study at Hospitalfield House, Arbroath where the visiting tutor was the celebrated pop artist Peter Blake. He was also awarded a post graduate year of study in 1975 as well as the Farquhar Reid Travelling Scholarship which was spent in Paris and Florence.
Upon graduation, Jack spent time as a free-lance illustrator whilst also painting and exhibiting and went on to set up a marketing and design consultancy in Dundee in 1980 which he ran until 1996, returning to painting full time in 1997.
Today, Jack works from his studio here in Fife, Scotland and has developed a powerful and unique style, which is distinctively his own. Whilst technique and application of paint may vary with subject – the dappled light across a French market square, the captivating reflections in his traditional still life paintings and his modern studio pieces – each work shares the vibrant, sensuous palette associated with the artist which sees him move with ease and confidence from still life, both traditional and modern, to landscape and then to figurative.
Jack has worked with Fraser Gallery St Andrews for many, many years and has developed a strong following of collectors, showing successfully in Edinburgh, London and New York as well as several in the South of France.
Speaking of his relationship with Fraser Gallery St Andrews he says, “For some years now I have worked with Fraser Gallery St Andrews to mount a large biennial exhibition of my work which serves as an opportunity for me to consider both the direction and progress of what is a constantly evolving artistic journey and to reflect on the influences and timbre of each genre within the overall body of my work. This is a process I am happy to say that I don’t have to tackle alone. In an association which dates back almost 40 years I would suggest that the Roderick and Louise are perhaps uniquely placed to offer a perspective on how my work should now be described – whether colourist, impressionist or just figurative, whether dynamic or contemplative, whether more intense or more tonal. Working as I do on just a few paintings at a time, it is difficult to see the overall trends in one direction or another, so to have a collection of over fifty pieces together offers the chance to reassess and make plans for future study.
“I constantly strive to paint more freely and develop my artistic language; to say more with less, which has the effect of teasing the eye of the viewer to fill the spaces where the detail is left to the imagination. This presents challenges across a wide variety of subjects, but I seek to change the artistic vocabulary rather than force the subject through the sieve of any particular style. Thus, the range of “styles” which now form part of my artistic character. This can probably best be seen is my approach to a relatively new subject for me, waterlilies. Whilst the subject itself includes one of my favourite themes of reflections on water, as seen in my previous paintings of Venice and the Canal du Midi, it requires a different approach and different brushwork to make a less literal image. I am still delighting in the possibilities afforded by the ever-changing scene of the lilypond at St Andrews Botanic Garden.
“My work recalls and records many trips – mainly to the sunnier spots of Europe and the Mediterranean, together with many hours in the studio working with images and souvenirs, with lessons learned using light and colour, form and subject, distilling an essence to put down on canvas.”