In November ‘19 I joined Degree Art and was interviewed for their “Meet the artist” blog. A few of the questions were inspiration-related, for example where it comes from and how it’s absorbed into an artists work. I really enjoyed thinking about the interview so for this excerpt l’ve illustrated some of the key answers with photos (I think the photos of Northumberland in particular show the colours and volume I love to use in paintings). The full interview link is at the end.
Where do you go and when to make your best art?
Every year I go to Northumberland to walk, draw and paint. The landscape in the North East is really inspirational for my work. It's ancient, beautiful, bleak and vibrant. It's the border county between Scotland and England and the architecture and flora is quite unlike anywhere else. The Cheviots from Scotland create air streams that affect incredible cloud patterns over the North Sea and it fires my imagination.
How do you describe your 'creative process'?
I like to do a lot of walking when I walk I'll collect leaves, take photos of the landscape and mentally record the seasons as they change. A favourite London spot I like to take my dog is Abney Park cemetery in North London as it's a different walk every time.
I read a lot about the folklore of the British Isles, it helps to appreciate nature as an energy and how we are connected to that energy. There is definitely an attraction to the Gothic in what I read - the light and shade is what I like to get across in my charcoals especially.
Which artist, living or deceased, is the greatest inspiration to you?
Is this one of those "only one" answers! Can I give a few please...
Andy Warhol, David Hockney, Norman Ackroyd, Käthe Kollwitz, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie will always be the top of an expanding pack of greats
If you weren't an artist, what would you do?
I have worked with scores of bands creating album covers, logos and directing photoshoots, so I'm happy with the paths I took. A friend of mine works at an arboretum and I would also love to work outdoor more, looking after the landscape and understanding nature more intimately.
What do you listen to for inspiration?
I've always been obsessed with music and apart from art materials, vinyl and gigs are where all my money goes - and I love to play music when I work. The music I play directly influences my brush stroke or charcoal marking. My most played bands in the Sheddio are Led Zeppelin and probably The Cure for the shade that permeates their work. Wolf Alice are always on the playlist and I'd love to work with them. Over the past year, I've been really getting into the label Erased Tapes and their artists - Nils Frahm, Ólafur Arnalds, Rival Consoles, at the moment I'm listening to David Allred 'The Cell' all the time as it's a beautiful, frail album that is very meditative to work to. Also! Sebastian Plano is an artist on rotation - his album "Verve" is superb. I saw him in a tiny gig last October and it was one of the best gigs I've seen in years.
If you could own one artwork, and money was no object, which piece would you acquire?
Flight Into Italy - Swiss Landscape by David Hockney.
What is your favorite book of all time (fiction or non fiction)?
'Precious Bane' by Mary Webb. I studied it in college. I liked it at the time - I find the sentiment resonates ever stronger as I get older. I still have my note-strewn college copy (liberated from my Gran’s bookshelf).
If you could hang or place your artwork in one non traditional art setting, where would that be?
A forest clearing