Enviroment

Artwork is so amazingly personal that it could be argued unless you know the artist you will never truly understand their work. I think that is why, seeing that fleeting snap shot of the painting process seems so profoundly romantic.

Len Tabners work has been influential to my work for a while but it wasn’t until I saw this photo that I felt truly inspired. You can truly see the raw power that his work is drawn from; you can see the landscape physically forming in his style as the waves encroach on his space.

The concept of space is also incredibly personal. Some artists like to block of the world around them while others immerse themselves in it. When I paint I like to keep a sense of order but usually during the process that descends into something a little more chaotic but that chaos seems to be more personal. I know that I order things in strange ways; however I suppose everyone’s way is strange to someone else. But nothing prepared be for seeing a photo of Francis Bacons studio; every time I see it my eyes widen and I have to sit forward, it’s almost awkward to look at but gradually the ‘chaos’ seems to make sense. You can see where he walks and where he stands and you can see him working despite his absence. This is very different to the comparatively sterilised environment that Gerhard Richter chooses to work in.

Jackson Pollok seems to embody the ‘action shot’. Indeed the power in his work fits this portrayal. However the capture of this moment seems to almost be a capturing of the thought. The action is immortalised in a completely new way. Although when looking at a painting it’s fundamental to the understanding of it to visualise the brush marks and how they were applied; I find there remains a block between knowing they were applied and imagining them being applied. It feels to me that the works weren’t constructed but somehow grew. It’s a very odd sensation.

The building of an environment seems to be an insight into the personality of the artist while the work is an insight into their mentality (in some cases for both claims). The mystery of an artwork seems to draw us into wanting to be inquisitive and on the whole it seems to be quite common for great claims about an artist to be made from how they work.

Synesthesia effects me, but i don't really call it 'a condition' . Odd though it might seem I realise that this effects how I build my environment. Light is crucial, I find nothing more annoying than strong artificial lighting as it feels claustrophobic. I picture time around me and so I spread out all of my equipment to sort of mirror this sense of time and space. It’s a little difficult to explain and its details that I’m only just discovering myself so I’m not even 100% sure. But you don’t need a so called ‘condition’ to set up something personal because how you work naturally is your ideal environment.

There seem to be many artists that become icons because of their appearance. One that springs to mind is Andy Warhol. But that brings into question how we want to be seen and how we are seen. It wasn’t until recently that someone pointed out that I tend to stand on one leg when I paint. I’ll be honest I have no idea why I do it, or how often but what I do know is that when my friend tapped me on the shoulder to tell me something very odd happened. I found working for the rest of that day incredibly difficult because I was so conscious about it. I might carry this on at some point but I’ll leave you here for now, goodnight!