The Painting that changed everything
During the Covid lockdowns I was producing daily sketches in my journal, using everyday objects and colour was more and more a part of them, which in turn influenced my Indian ink drawings, using watercolour washes. Although my drawings were using my plein air sketch reference material, there was an element of memory and play in my work, especially as our freedom to go anywhere was very restricted during this period. I had become bored of drawing in just black and white.
Whilst undertaking the Pure Arts Group on-line course in 2021, in one of the exercises I used oil painting with an element of play and imagination in the compositions. I loved it so much and I had missed painting a lot, having done my first oil paintings many years ago in my teens. During a meeting with Lesley Samms (Pure Arts Group), I was encouraged to continue and I was challenged to paint a picture from imagination. This was my “House In The Woods”.
House in the Woods
I found a very old, small sketch from many years before, when I used to walk on the Tunbridge Wells common, which was of an old, characterful house set in bracken. It was quite eerie. This was the inspiration behind the picture, although using my architectural background to design the actual building in the piece of artwork. It felt very freeing for me and it connected the dots with my art and design sides together. It was a major turning point for me. It was like discovering oneself and it is fun to work this way for me. I used to draw from imagination in my youth.
After completing this painting, I was challenged to paint 3 more, to show together in an exhibition, which grew to a minimum of 20 pictures. I used more and more of my imagination and let the Surreal narrative of the work to lead, so that the viewer could decide on their own story/interpretation. I would be walking my dog in my village and spot quirky things that would trigger ideas or elements to incorporate, further adding to narrative. I was able to include my sense of humour in the artwork, as each piece developed on the canvas.
I always start with a preliminary sketch or sketches that are quite detailed but I add things or adjust them as I paint each picture, so it evolves and adds more depth to the work; like I am in a conversation with it - feeling my way through the process. I usually know when a picture is finished, when all of the ingredients come together and I feel that there is enough for a narrative to show through, for people to interpret. The random objects add to the visual experience and humour.
For me, painting is very much drawing with a brush, allowing the marks to show and being honest with the medium. For me, I love the handmade quality in artwork and it not pretending to be a photograph. It just adds that very human element to the character of the paintings, giving them personality and warmth.
The experience of working on my first surreal painting is that it has allowed me to be freer with my imagination, incorporating my love of drawing (a life long passion), my vast experience of designing buildings and also allowing me to use colour, which I enjoy mixing. I now paint much more for me and it encompasses a lot of my creative elements and skills. My painting seems to be getting more and more quirky (sometimes with a serious message within it) and even with my drawings, using my many plein air sketches have much more play within the compositions, with more narrative in them. With my surreal work, I don’t have to travel anywhere, as I just travel in my head. It is a form of escapism from the relentless bad news that the media love to push. It often harks back to a more nostalgic/“safer” time.
It has taught me that my art practice is quite broad, that I love the time that the process takes with oil paint (as I did with etching and engraving in the past), with it allowing me to reflect, review and to let the pictures evolve more on the canvas, despite carefully sketching it out initially. My life had been spent too much on deadlines, so it suits me to slow down and to go more with the process. It is not a race! I am now being more myself and not worrying too much about what others may think.
Each picture is different and being deaf, I like to observe things, which is also a key part of all of my art practice.