At the risk of being controversial, it seems to me that in the present climate when little weight is given to the Arts by governments, and when so much seems to be going wrong with the world, being creative and expressing yourself through words or pictures is more important than ever.
I could give you 1001 different reasons why I feel the absolute need to paint, but if you’re reading this, you probably also feel the need to get involved in the arts, whether as a viewer, a creator or both.
For me, putting my feelings and observations from life into pictures is quite simply a driving force constantly wanting to burst out. When I’m not painting, I’m thinking about what I’m painting, or researching or thinking about my next painting. I can live in my creative world for a while and it drives me forward.
Expressing yourself in pictures can be beautiful or ugly or somewhere in between. It can be photographic, impressionistic or abstract. It may or may not have a story to tell. It might work or it might not work.
The thing is….. it’s a release, and its making use of one half of your brain which importantly needs to be exercised. It’s a way of being yourself and saying what you want to say in ways where pictures so often work better than words.
I paint from personal experiences, but my stories are not exclusive. I use everyday objects we can all relate to, which mean more than a first glance suggests. They can be taken at face value, or thought about. For me, that is what painting is all about.
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