Q: What inspired you to paint?
A: Everything.
People, places, an object, a situation, a piece of music, a smell, perhaps changes in my life, a feeling. I am constantly being inspired. I see how colours make people feel; they make me feel too; good and bag things. I see beauty in everything I suppose, but truthly I never really knew I could paint until I dared put paint on the canvas. As a child, yes I was somewhat creative and used to draw with pencil as most kids were encouraged to. However, this was something that often made me feel good and I pursued it to a certain level until other things in life took presidence, like going to college, finding love, losing love and in a way finding it again, etc. The bottom line - I had some oil paint, say why not? And the rest is history, as they say.
Q: Do you allow an audience as you paint in your studio?
A: YES AND NO.
My studio isn't necessarily a particular place. even though I paint mostly at home in my workshop. Something tells me to wait; to find a place or both; find a place and wait. When I do this, I hope I am prepare with paint and, canvas and an idea of where the journey of painting will take me. In these moments, a piece may take hours or in some instants several weeks or more because some pieces can be layered in the moment and others have to be revisited to pull out particular colours on the canvas that needed more time to develop. If I am in one place, I don't mind. This is not a distration but more so an interaction because curious eyes about the journey is also inspiring.
Q: Does it get lonely painting all day?
A: No.
I am never alone in painting or writing. Even when there is a void, it seem as though the void is intentional like spaces or time left vacant between moments of inspiration. I either never think on things too much or I empty my mind and allow it to slowly be filled with what may be required at the time. Music, the scent of a candle or of nature takes me places in my mind. There, I see people, things and objects. And when I am transported back to myself, without words or instructions I have a clear sense of what to paint or write, and when to pull away so time and timeless may take place to empty whatever voids need to be filled or left empy.
Q: How are you preparing for your museum gallery exhibitions?
A: I don't. At least not for the moment.
I am in favour of museums and galleries and the support they provide artists in showcasing their work, but I want to say that I prefer the singularity of my work when pieces or a particular piece is interpreted by a view and a larger audience. I feel somewhat that the flow is not muted or interupted. I welcome the display and resale of my work commerically on the secondary market, but I don't get too involved in it.
Q: Which artists are you most influenced by?
A: The list is short.
Jack Vettriano, of course. He was the first artist work I collected. I am also drawn to the use of colours by Todd White, Iain Faulkner and Sam Toft. The list is long, but I would say that unless I know the artist, I am more attracted to and inspired by particular pieces of art more than what the stories the artists are telling.
Q:Where can I get prints of your paintings?
A:On my site, of course and the secondary market.
I try to limited the number of original pieces I make available for sale as I believe this keeps my work undiluted. I am humbled and grateful to make available my work through my own publishing house/ gallery and welcome resales from collectors on the secondary market for my limited edition pieces.
Q: How much time does it take to complete a painting?
A: This varies depending on the piece.
A small handful of my paintings were completed in one sitting. However, the majority of my work takes days and in some cases several weeks.
Q: What’s your work-day like?
A: It usually starts with a large glass of water and a banana.
I ease into each day by clearing and cleansing my mind; emptying it of all thoughts, good and bad. I then plan, organise and prioritise units of time for activities which may include going for walks, exercise, organising and preparing paint, canvas, notebooks and pencils. I then contemplate the levels of discipline I may need to achieve things on my list before the day ends, whilst factoring time for general admin as well as communicating with or seeing family members and/ or friends. On the odd, occasions, I may go for a coffee and banana bread slice at my local cafe,, The Canal Market just off Mildred Avenue on the border of Marina Del Rey and Venice, Los Angeles, California.
Q: Tell me about the texture in your paintings.
A: texture gives life to my paintings
I want to say I not only want my viewers to look at my work in appreciation and interpretation but to touch it as it may touch them. I believe texture gives depth to my work enabling some kind of evocative emotional transferrence to take place.
Q: What do you like most about being an artist?
A: The freedoms afforded in the complexities and complications of colours while being creative.
Art is a kind of madness, I suppose, like love. Throughout a lifetime, you may find it, lose it, find it again, appreciated it, take it for granted and do all sorts on the journey. Maybe it is blindness and the ability to see things that others don't but it uses you as a vessel or a vehicle to interpret or translate colours in a way like speaking one universal language in the world that is felt, not spoken and is understood without explanation.
Q: Do you do custom paintings (commissions)?
A: only on particular occassions, in particular settings for particular clients, institutions or causes.
The process for taking on and completing commissions is somewhat more organic and complicated than my usual work. I must have a very clear understanding of the clients' motives for the piece, the cause it may represent and the time taken and space for hanging are non-negotiable as some pieces may need to be revisited before they can be considered completed or ready for hanging.
Q: How does living in Los Angeles impact your art?
A: My mindset has changed.
LA is an amazing place. That has to be said. Each place has a particular feel and energy about it. I am still myself, but I found that at first when my eyes were still fresh, I had to take a few steps back and slowed the pace of my thinking, my interpretation and perception for my new environment. All first impressions were and still are "super-positive", until I felt neutral because I had also become a product of my new environment. I am smiling more, and saying hello to strangers when I leave my house each day. My work feels more alive and proactive. Perhaps this is a byproduct of something awakened that was already there or something new that surfaced simply because it needed to.
Q: What is the hardest part of creating a painting?
A: the first brush stroke and colour blend.
The idea of a piece is secondary. The idea is formed and developed as the painting progresses. There is no real identifiable process or structure to how a painting begins or ends; everything happens between point A and B. Something in the madness of painting tells you when to step away, or what emotions to turn on to pull out certain colours or colour blend. It is a mixture of discomforting and satisfaction all at the same time. A kind of itch that you can't scratch, but if you wait a while, it goes away and become soothing.
Q: How do you know when a painting is done?
A: A painting is never really done because the idea of what it is or could be lives on.
A paint is done when the viewer gets it; understands the message in their own unique and quirky interpretation. If it speaks to them and they feel something or nothing but is still contented and satisfied with the unresolved conflicts and idea then that is when a painting is truly done. In some ways, that is the most difficult and complexed part.
Q: Are you glad you became a full-time artist?
A: Even as a reclose an artist must still live in the real world.
A full time artist means that inspiration isn't 9 to 5 or "choose your own hours" of work. You simply don't choose when or how to paint. The process is not that simply. You are committed to perform a service and there is not real retirement from that or vaction.from that. The pay comes from the satisfaction that a piece is completed and appreciated, and that some memories of the journey is still with you, and not lost in any kinds of distrations. So, the short answer is yes.
Q: Did you always want to be an artist?
A: I never knew I was an artist until I began painting.
I don't believe that anyone consciously want to be an artist, even those who study the artform at school, colleges or other institutions. I think most artists become artists despite wanting to be or not. It is a calling that cannot be ignored.