When realist painters step outside the door, they are immediately confronted by an overwhelming range of possibilities for subject matter, just at normal eye level. Turning their heads one way or another, up or down, provided they are paying quite, concentrated attention, they encounter a complete range of choices that embrace the relationship of forms, observation of light radiations and every other visual permutation, all factors that are filtered through their personality, background, knowledge and memories. The artist must select stringently from this abundance.
Tony Irving has wisely chosen to restrict the range of his subjects to his immediate and familiar environment. Sketching what appeals to him, returning many times to observe the most suitable light and weather, selecting according to his temperament, he learns to respect and understand the motive that attracts him. He takes what is required and leaves the rest untouched. It is an act of love – deferring to the other.
Tony Irving was for some years almost overwhelmed by the formidable traditions of Western art, aesthetically and technically. In conversation he is likely to reverentially mention such artists as Canaletto, Gerome, Sargent and Etes, names that the standard art world has shunted into darkness. However, fine paintings have immense patience. When backs are turned, they are likely to quietly reappear after an absence of many years, as though they had always been around.
Irving is a completely modern artist, existing fully in the contemporary world. Not unlike the American hero Edward Hopper, he does not deviate from or compromise with his obsessions in spite of – or to spite – the pressures of art fashion, dismantling, then meticulously transforming the exterior world of facts his way.
Brian Dunlop
2004