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Roach Bank by John O'Connor

Roach Bank by John O'Connor

When John O'Connor was a student at the Royal College of Art he was taught by John Nash who was a prolific landscape painter and also specialist in illustrating botanical forms for publication. The influence of O'Connor's teacher clearly lies in his subject but is not evident in his painting technique. This is not a meticulous and tight depiction of a landscape. These marks are raw and quick and seem to suggest more of a feeling of a place rather than an accurate illustration of it. Roach Bank is very similar to a number of other Suffolk paintings he did in this period in terms of palette, mark-making and overall atmosphere. The title may refer to a part of the River Stour which is well known to anglers as a good place to catch roach (as well as pike and bream).