The essay about 'The Palette - John Borg Manduca'

John Borg Manduca was interested in Art as when he was a student at St.Edward`s College where his participation as a water colourist in the Gainsborough Commonwealth Competition. In this competition he came in the top ten and from there he starts his artistic career. From every painting he was being judged by different poetic and romantic artist. Basically he always paint when he had the mood and he inspired mostly from the French Impressionists, from Turner and most of all from the great Russian marine artist Ivan Aivazovsky.

In the Sixties Manduca had the first experience of looking at the beautiful and inspirational parts of Malta. He was inspired from many paintings and “The Malta Suite” that was published by Editions Electo.  Malta was discovered from different artists such as the British Artist Victor Pasmore, J.MW.Turner, Edward Lear and more. Manduca was also interested from Ian Hamilton Finlay, from the history of ideas and the first two subject titles that he did in the Palette Drawing were ‘Fishing Boat’ and ‘Oil Rigs’. He did several sketches that they were very modern and original. He didn`t used any colours or something but only black colour. The shading was brilliant as how he applied it and how he painted these boats and oil rigs were abstract.

This is a sketch that Manduca did of a boat.

A sketch of an oil rig.

If we look at Manduca`s canvasses were influenced from the Impressionist Movement and there are four particular artists that they were focused to form and build both the grammar and language. They are Cezanne, Monet, Renoir and Pissarro. Manduca seem to have interested from them from his land and seascape compositions, in both painting technique and handling of form and colour. He had another influential work that he was focusing on the neo-classic tradition mostly from transfigured war machines. These drawings were titled ‘Allegory and Metaphor, The Hamilton Finlay Collaboration, Drawings’. These drawings were also seen as a rendered war machines iconography and they were all blessed by Finlay`s verbal magic touches.

A sketch of a transfigured war machine that it is a canon.

Another Fascinating works were the ‘Landscapes of Memory, Sun-Lit Stones and Shadowed Streets’. Manduca`s paint strokes were marvellous and he produce a sensual tonal images that shows an artistic townscapes. He used light colours, faded painting, seen as an abstract and also shows a movement from the brush strokes. I like the fact that he shows a feeling of calm and also shows the different weather on the paintings. These paintings were also shown the interests on the geometric forms and shapes.

A view of a building near the boats.

Another view of a building near the nature.

A view of a church.

The last work that is shown on this book is very interesting and the subject was about ‘Waters of an Island, The Architecture of the Sea and The Dance of the Waves’. Manduca`s work that was about seas are not the subject he view, but he wants to make a personal translation of the vision of his mind`s eye that he creates an abstract compositions that were shown like a textured surfaces and woven colours. The mood was about seas and also from angry storms.

The wave.

A view of some waves and a boat.

Some other waves.

From now on John Borg Manduca did many other works and he says that he is tired but happy, doing other works because he always wanted to create or do something artistic paintings and drawings.