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Hello Paul and welcome to NotRandomArt. The current issue is revolving around the problem of communication and identity. Is there any particular way you would describe your identity as an artist but also as a human being in dynamically changing, unstable times? In particular, does your cultural substratum/identity form your aesthetics?
Hello Not Random art and thank you for your questions, I will try my best to answer them !
I was born in 1966 and started drawing at a very young age, spending hours copying Marvel comic book heroes. In my teens I was always buying records and loved albums not only for the music but the cover art as well. I was also heavily into playing the guitar and instead of going to the local art school to do a foundation degree, I moved to London at the age of 19 with an alternative indie band, spending my early 20’s gigging and touring the UK. It’s from this background that still informs a lot of my art, along with a ‘Just do it and see what happens’ attitude.
A great deal of my work is engaged in a deep love and respect for nature, so I hope that it provokes similar feelings in others. We’re all connected to the natural world and I hope to bring that into focus, either through the shifting energies of the abstract landscape paintings, the incredible power and beauty of animals expressed in the digital work, and the female archetypes in the drawings.
I would not consider myself a political artist, although I find the rise of Trump in the US deeply concerning, and the whole Brexit situation here in the UK a complete farcical waste of time ! I’m just not into nationalism or elitism of any kind, and think we have to respect all cultures, as the future surely has to be one of greater integration and equality.
Throughout history artists have lived through chaotic times, and those artists still produced great work in the face of adversity. So it’s important to stay centred and focused, without being too distracted or dragged down by the chaos of the outer world. There are all kinds of environmental, economic, political, racial, religious and social issues causing problems and divisions, and a great many people working towards resolving them. It’s just that we are up against old regimes that are clinging ever more tightly to the power structures that they benefit from, while trying to manipulate situations to their advantage. People all over the world are waking up to this and I think we will see great changes in the coming years, which hopefully, will be positive for the majority of us.
Being self taught and a bit of an outsider (although I am not regarded as an “Outsider” artist), has helped to define my artwork into fairly unique aesthetic styles. In fact, all of life’s obstructions and challenges, have forced me to channel experiences into improving what I do, and to develop the necessary tools to dig my own escape route towards a greater sense of freedom.
Would you like to tell us something about your artistic as well as life background? What inspired you to be in this artistic point in your life when you are now?
After spending my late teenage years and early 20’s involved in music, I started working with the emerging digital technologies of the late 1990’s, designing posters, flyers and websites in the early stages of html web design. This evolved into a full time graphic / web design profession, with a very wide client base. It was during this period that I also created my first portfolio of imagery using photo manipulation and digital collage, which eventually led to me working with a digital pen and tablet.
Around 10 years ago I started painting, mainly as a reaction to working on screens so much of the time, and found the fluidity of oil paint to be incredibly liberating, fascinated with what I could do with the medium.
More recently I have returned to the discipline of pencil drawing. There is something very meditative about this process and I like the fact that it is what it is, really no explanations needed !
So I think this multi disciplinary approach has helped to keep my work fresh and focus my interest through the different mediums - digital work, painting, drawing and music creation.
Having missed the formal art school education I felt a strong need to learn about art history, through artist biographies, monographs, exhibitions and documentaries, and I think it is essential for contemporary artists to understand this history. I am interested to know why certain movements happened, when they happened, why certain artists are considered to be so revolutionary and the issues, struggles and context that they worked in. It all helps me to understand my own work and motivations, and serves as an eternally rich source of inspiration.
It’s also vital to keep an eye on the contemporary art scene, as there is amazing art being produced, by so many artists everyday. I quite often gather material from many different references, synthesising these into my own projects. I work in series around themes, and can quite easily switch between painting, drawing and digital, abstraction, surrealism and figuration subjects, without the need to combine these into a single style.
Could you identify a specific artwork that has influenced your artistic practice or has impacted the way you think about your identity as a participant of the visual culture?