My solo show Recent Paintings 2015 is opening this week, and
instead of asking some kind individual to do the honours, we have decided to
have a informal introduction with Denise and Deirdre from The Doorway Gallery
asking me a few questions about the work etc, and hopefully some questions from
interested people that will be there on the day.
It is always quite difficult for me to put in to words what
I am doing or trying to achieve with my work, as painting happens in the
dynamic and is so much to do with the physical act of painting itself, its like
trying to describe to someone how to drive a car, when you break down the
process into seperate units it doesn’t really describe what is going on,
because it is about using a multiple set of skills together in union, that over
time have become part of the
sub-conscious.
Over the years, I have developed a style and subject matter
that is specifically my own and expresses what I want to say when it comes to
mood, colour, composition, perspective, texture, influences, and subject
matter. And therefore I am quite clear on what I paint and how I paint it. My subject matter is taken from my every day
life and I can see repeated themes cropping up over again, in an inexhaustible
need to create sense out of the random chaos of life. I need security and a safe haven to exist in,
and my paintings provide that calm resolve that seems so essential to my well
being. Colour for me is a vital part of
my life, we all respond to colour in an emotional way, it creates a dialogue
within us, and we react to it in all sorts of complex ways, but it is something
we can’t ignore. So as a painter I can
use this innate quality of colour, as a tool in which to construct my
compositions. I have gained your
attention by colour, then I will keep you looking as I take your eyes on a
journey around my constructed space. My
edict is too never become formulaic, or slick, as I need to keep a high level
of concentration up when I paint. The feeling of free-falling that I often have
when I start a painting creates the adrenalin I need, to bring that extra
something to the work. I love the
2-Dimensional surface of a canvas and I want to further enhance its decorative
flat qualities rather than create pictorial illusion and space, which has never
interested me. That is why I disregard
the rules of perspective, and twist and dominate it, so that it plays second
fiddle to the flat surface of the canvas.
I want to create very
personal and individualistic paintings, that honour the beauty of colour and
texture of paint, and I want to explore subject matter that has a relevance to
me and that I respond to emotionally. I take
inspiration from many eclectic sources either the people and objects and
landspace around me, or a response to other historial paintings or objects of
beauty that I come across through books, films, poems etc,. I also love to take on the challenge of recreating through paint, a mood
or feeling that I want to further capture and hold. Just my way of understanding what it is to be
alive.
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| Spring Walk 150x61cm oil on board part of Recent Paintings exhibition opening Thursday 7th May 6-7.30pm |
