On Inspiration
I have produced hundreds of scribbles, sketches, drawings, cartoons and paintings over the years, yet when someone asks me how I come up with ideas for work I tell them I’m really not sure. A truly original idea for a piece of art is always a gift from somewhere else, and you just hope and pray it might happen again.
I have thought about this subject a lot lately, about where inspiration or stream of consciousness comes from. The result is a large oil painting titled “Waiting for Inspiration”. It portrays a painter sitting on the floor of his studio adjacent to a large blank canvas propped up against the wall. A dirt road runs through the middle of the room, past the canvas and off into the distance The painter I guess is me, waiting to thumb that lift, to take that ride, to catch that inspiration before it passes through.
My jazz series on the other hand was a lot easier. The inspiration for those works came from a natural love of music and the opportunity to express this on canvas, paper or board. I really have to be “into” the subject I work on though. This is why the jazz series “Jazz Is Art, Art Is Jazz” is such a large work in progress…painting something you have a genuine affinity towards is an intoxicating, rewarding experience and a joy to continue investigating.
Sometimes inspiration can be conjured up in other ways. If you surround yourself with material to spark your interest such as favourite artworks, books and music it can often help you get into the right frame of mind to generate an original idea.
On creating art and personal style
I guess that the style of work I do might be described as expressionistic, figurative and even illustrative.
I am not usually trying to approach reality in my work and prefer to use my memory when applying details to a picture. This probably has more to do with my background in cartooning and love of line art illustration than anything else, and is quite indicative of my style and approach to a picture. I seldom use real scenes or models for any of my work but for the “Art Is Jazz” series I did refer to some photographic reference for some of the more recognisable facial characteristics and details.
On Jazz and Art..
I come from a very musical family and I love many different styles of music. In the last five years or so however, I have become particularly fond of jazz and blues especially the post 1950’s era of American music and even a lot of contemporary jazz being played today. This led to the current infatuation with transferring some of my jazz heroes to large canvas or as works on paper , and has become the music of choice when I am painting or drawing. My interest in jazz even led to me taking up tenor saxophone a few years ago….much to our cat’s disapproval, I might add!
I find a lot of correlations between art and music and I have been fortunate enough to be able to mix both pleasures for my jazz-art series “Jazz Is Art, Art Is Jazz”. The bulk of this series consists of large oils and pastels and up until recently was hanging in an exquisite Glenelg restaurant.
For the last two years I have also been producing promotional artwork for the Adelaide Jazz Festival, where my limited edition prints have been sold.
On influences
I have certainly been inspired and influenced by the many different art movements over the years but like music, my tastes have changed a little in respect to some.. although I have certainly gained from their presence. My earlier work was definitely influenced by Van Gogh, and I still enjoy looking at Vincent’s pictures along with other European painter’s such as Modigliani, Manet and Picasso.
These days I get just as much enjoyment from a reasonably unknown artist’s work than that of an experienced and respected artist. I do have some personal favourites and notable influences though.
I adore the illustrative work of American artists Brad Holland, Joe Sorren and the digital art of Canadian Chet Phillips. I also loved the cartoons of Mad Magazine in my youth and owe a lot to people like Segio Aragones.
I would also have to include our very own Michael Leunig and Bill Leak in there too.
On the painterly side, my old friend and Australian War Artist George Gittoes was a definite influence on me, as I have always been inspired by his work along with fellow Australians Gary Shead, Brett Whitley and
On promoting yourself
One thing I have found is that to be successful in anything you do.. you need to promote it, promote it, promote it!
You also have to be serious about what you do, and this should be reflected in the quality of your work and it’s presentation. The smallest details can often make a big difference and should not be overlooked. Letterheads, business cards, brochures, posters, framing and everything else involving your work should look neat and presentable.
Also, for an artist wanting to reach a wider audience I cannot recommend high enough having your work displayed on a website. The internet has opened many doors for artists like myself and given me far greater opportunities of promoting my work than ever before. In fact, during the phone conversation to the editorial department of this very magazine I was able to refer them to my webpage rather than rely on mailing photos etc.
Since having my own online gallery I have been fortunate enough to have my work featured on international jazz and art sites, have sold works to overseas collectors and discovered other like minded and interesting illustrators and artists on the net.
On drawing and technique
I draw a lot. It really is the integral foundation of all of my work. Everything starts with the drawing and the happy little accidents or sidetracks which come from that initial train of thought. I often wish I could capture the immediacy and vitality of the original sketch when working in pastel or paint, as it so often gut’s lost later in the labour of tone and colour. I also keep sketch books which I fill with ideas, doodles, marks and anecdotes. I usually create a lot of my initial ideas for pictures in willow charcoal or pencil and once happy with that, I’ll use a fixative to ensure there is no melding with the overlayed colours that follow. Occasionally I will purposely leave some of the underlying drawing to “peek through” a picture just to give the piece a sense of history or effect.
On Pastels
I really only discovered pastels about five years ago, and since that time I have been learning something different about them from each picture I do. I use mainly Schmincke, Rembrandt & Reeves soft pastels and a fixative for layering work. I now work in both chalk based and oil based pastels, and enjoy using a rag to loosen up my work when using the oils.
Pastels really suit my fondness for line and when manipulated with an eraser, can give marvellous effects. I really love the hands on feel of working with pastel where you can rub away or blend with your fingertips. It is a medium that can be pretty unforgiving however, especially if you muddy the picture by not cleaning your hands regularly throughout the session.
On art, computers and the internet
I used to hate computers and thought that they had no place in the illustrative process or art environment. It wasn’t until I started “playing about” with one that I began to realise that they could actually be an exciting and useful artist’s tool. Back then, even with an obtrusive mouse and basic paint program I could see the opportunities of creating interesting digital art.
Years on, I still don’t believe for a minute that they will ever replace the look and feel of traditional medium, but programs such as Painter and PhotoShop have become useful tools in my graphic arts arsenal. I have been able to scan, rework and manipulate my original works to create unique prints or reproductions and have used the computer to store high resolution copies of my work to disc.
In my view there is still a need for strong drawing skills to make the most out of digital rendered art and to retain individuality and originality of ones work.
The computer has also enabled me to introduce a wide variety of interesting fonts to some of my promotional poster or CD cover art. There are even quirky “hand written” fonts available these days which have saved me a great deal of elbow grease time when needing to introduce text to a graphic.
On new work
Although I am continuing my “Jazz Is Art, Art Is Jazz” series, I am becoming more and more interested in creating surreal landscapes within an interior setting. I have also introduced a lot more oil pastel into my work but still lean towards a warm palette. Away from the easel, I am doing a lot of new figurative charcoal drawings with a weird humorous bent about them. Just drawing for drawings sake really, but creating all these weird and wonderful characters along the way. I will be scanning these to computer before colouring and manipulating them slightly in a program like PhotoShop.
On his work area
My studio is an intimate brick building at the rear of my house. I have an easel at each end of the room, drawers full of sketches and drawing materials, walls lined with paintings, cupboards full of paint, charcoal, pastel and of course my musical instruments, computer and scanner etc. I like to listen to music or radio programs while working out there so I also have a stereo system set up.
On living in regional
I love living in the country, but it does have some drawbacks particularly when trying to obtain good quality art materials. There was also a time when I was limited in where I could exhibit my work.
The internet has changed this to some extent where I can now exhibit work simultaneously in real gallery spaces as well as on-line.
I still pinch myself about this little regional painter having his artwork viewed, praised and purchased by people all over the world.
Things like being asked to join a gallery of international artists at a prominent New York jazz site, supplying graphic artwork for a French newspaper, a Los Angeles production company, the US Coast Guard, a British University and major Australian and overseas companies. It also really amazes me when I get art enthusiasts and students from
I recently had an email from a youth group in
Yes, I love living in a country town, but there are not as many contemporary painters about to talk shop or bounce ideas off of once in a while. The internet has also helped me in this area, where I can now join discussions relating to the medium or art movement I am interested in and interact with artists of similar interest all over the world!
