What’s my art about?
I met up with Leo from the Rafiki Gallery and the Rafiki Studio recently. He was kind enough to come and take some studio shots of me painting. It was a lovely day and I got to work on three oil painting commissions - check them out here.
He posed a good question - something I should have already thought about and had an answer to. I probably thought I did have an answer but never said it out loud. It seems obvious that the first question you would ask an artist is “what’s your art about?”. I don’t think anyone has asked me that before. But now having thought about it - I think it’s about art. The process, art history, methods, techniques, pigments and colours.
Although I am interested in a range of things that could be very interesting subject matter and influence compositions etc… It adds a lot more thinking and mental energy, as well as time and planning, to the process of making art, which is an extra obstacle and holds me back from getting on with the creative process. At this stage of my artistic practice, I want to be making as much as possible because this means more learning and improvement.
Instead, my thought, reading, study and ultimately interest goes into the process of and art itself - I could bore you on pigments and the properties of certain colours all day long. I love learning and experimenting with the techniques from the greatest painters in history and was delighted that Leo described me as “thorough” and an “old master” (I don’t think I have taken that out of context too much nor let it go to my head).
My artwork is always looking to emphasise the process and building up of layers - that is what makes oil paint the most amazing stuff. The final piece still has every layer revealed, from the Indian Yellow ground, Burnt Sienna and Prussian Blue underpainting to the final layers of opaque impasto, which is usually some strip of coloured reflected light. The red Sharpie can also be seen but I don’t think Michelangelo, Rembrandt or Caravaggio used them.
Everything is considered and mostly deliberate. There is lots of preparation that goes into a painting. It starts with drawing, usually oil pastel on paper to make sure the lines and marks work well. If you isolate the drawing with just bold and dark lines on paper (or anything to get the contrast needed), you can see if the drawing, lines and marks work - if they do, great! You can then explore the next stages with colour. I use pen and ink for this, because it is quick and the layers of colour work similar to oil paint. If that works then I move onto canvas.
“A man paints with his brains and not with his hands”
Michelangelo
I try as much as possible to stick to traditional techniques and pigments, although I am planning on exploring new pigments and colour combinations to emphasise particular moments in history, with characters to match. But that is a future project.
My art might not bring about a revolution but I think it qualifies me as a fine artist and my work as fine art - why can’t art be about art itself?
Anyway, thanks to Leo for a great afternoon and the awesome photos that feature here and I leave you with a wonderfully inspiring video of Jonathan Freemantle from Leo’s various endeavours and projects.