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Many things inspire
me to paint - from walking the fields and woodlands that
surround the area where I live, to simply watching people going
about their daily lives. New ideas for paintings constantly
enter my head and I note many of them down on paper, so as not
to forget them.
When painting a
landscape, a lot of the information is there, but more often
than not something extra needs to be added, or changed slightly.
A cloud formation, a distant figure, or perhaps the way the
light is falling. With landscapes I feel it is not so much an
idea, but an ability to balance and compose, to a certain
extent, what is already there. I find the English countryside
very romantic. Fields and trees to me have their own character
and history, just as a person does. By taking plenty of time to
study the view that I am about to paint, helps me to decide the
areas that require toning down and the areas that need to be
made more vivid, if any, in order to emphasise it’s character.
Although I paint
landscapes, I also enjoy painting people. I find this work a
challenge, which is part of the attraction for me. Just by
sitting on a park bench watching the world go by can fill my
head with plenty of new ideas. The store of ideas is endless. As
with landscape painting, it is just a matter of looking,
thinking and using an imaginary form in my head. The image then
needs to be etched into my mind, as unlike a landscape, the
subject matter may not stay still for very long, leaving me to
reconstruct my ideas using models etc. |
