..I came to a conclusion that the Düsseldorf painting was a beautiful “question” whereas the Museum work was a beautiful “answer”. There is an amazing spatial coda being played out in this red interior - and one created like the vast majority of Matisse’s works through synthesised observation.
Read MoreFocal Play
When I reverted to looking at the scene with both eyes they popped back into focus and retained their original green sparkle. This subtle shift of focus, this "focal play", this flit of our eyes moving fractions of millimetres in our heads but yards or miles in our field of vision fascinated me.
Read MorePatience
Patience is an important quality in the studio especially if the work is not going well. Often an artist gets less studio time than they would like and there is a temptation to resolve things before the next block of time as if this will somehow justify the time spent...
Read MoreFresco Poem
I pick up a piece of card
shiny white on one side,
buff manilla on the other.
Read MoreWhen does synthesis become artifice?
One of the most satisfying features of abstract painting is its expressive plasticity – no other visual art seems to have such possibilities. Surprisingly though, there are not many great abstract works of art..
Read MoreMatisse and those black lines
...If you could step into a Matisse painting nothing would bruise you, yet you would always feel the gravity of the situation and never lose your orientation
Read MorePersistence
Painting takes persistence. the role of practice - day to day, week to week studio routines are seldom if ever considered in any assessment of an artist's work
Read MorePeter Hide Sculptures at Poussin Gallery
...I did not really consider issues of weight or mass in apprehending the sculptures. As a painter I probably come at it from a slightly different angle anyway.
Importance
Just a thought...treat anything that makes you feel important with - at best - suspicion and - at worse - contempt.
Olitski versus fear
I was flicking through a magazine the other day and I became increasingly aware of the style of adverts in there. Then walking through town I saw the same thing everyhere
Time and the riverbank
It was my youngest son’s birthday the other day – he is two years old. I bought him a video of Tales of the Riverbank
Milan Kundera and the ethic of the essential
Milan Kundera writing recently quoted Proust from "In search of lost time "In this novel...there is not one incident that is not fictional...not one character à clef says Proust
John McLean exhibition
I went to see John McLean’s new show at Poussin Gallery Bermondsey with Steve Lewis the sculptor. The show had works from various times including a painted sculpture, a couple of small constructions in wood and card and several oval paintings
Colour space in Matisse
Matisse's colour moved towards the ultraviolet end of the spectrum
The How not the What
Too many artists try to say something with painting rather than saying something about it.
Read MoreCataloguing
I used to go out of my way to try and classify my work in terms of series, times, etc - but I less interested in this system anymore - for one thing it seems to deny the haptic, fluidity that is a constant in my ambition
Read MoreMatisse influences
Matisse stands out as a major influence in my work. As much for his approach to art as the results. He practised his art in a methodical way with such an emphasis on questioning that his visual language never seems tired or mannered
Drawing
We have no claim as painters to be at the top of a hierarchy of creating a colour experience. Painting 'competes' with the everyday. What is often forgotten is "how" this experience can be shaped - paintings condense our visual experiences and through an artist's colour selection and intent can produce a maximised version of this experience
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