Why I paint outside
Having worked as an artist for many years I enjoy the constant challenge of painting outside in all weathers. But more importantly, I believe that working in this way enables me to create paintings that are subtly but profoundly different to those made in the studio.
In the past landscape and seascape painters had to work outside, directly from life, in order to record and study their subject matter. Their sketches - like Constable’s studies on Hove beach - have an energy and an intimacy that is quite different to their studio paintings. I want my paintings to have these qualities too.
In the studio I am a world away from my subject matter. I’m inside using two dimensional images (sketches and photographs) combined with memory and imagination to create a picture. Painting outside on the beach is a completely different experience. My subject matter is anything but two dimensional and there’s always a new element to surprise and challenge me. I am surrounded by a huge sea and sky that are constantly moving and changing and I’m directly experiencing the sunlight and the wind that animates them.
The studio still plays an important part in my work but, in these paintings, I have reversed the usual practice of landscape painters who may sketch and photograph outside but who generally produce their final paintings in the studio. In my seascapes I use the studio to develop and refine the techniques that will enable me to produce my final paintings outside at the waters edge - in the short space of time available before the tide comes in, the paint dries or it begins to rain.
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The emotional content of my work
Standing on the shoreline looking toward the horizon can be a powerful emotional experience. Seascape painters often focus on the dramatic elements of the sea’s emotional power. But I am interested in exploring the quieter, more meditative aspects of our response to it.
This response is largely a result of the things it is most difficult to represent in a painting – sound and movement. The repetitive beat and hypnotic effect of waves breaking on the beach; the ever-changing brilliance of light on water; the steady movement of the clouds above; and the infinite space suggested by the constant horizon line.
I have always respected the work of artists like Giorgio Morandi, who continually return to the same subject and who can give the simplest of objects a strong emotional resonance. I also paint the same thing over and over again, focusing on subtle changes in tone and detail from painting to painting.
Each seascape takes about an hour to complete and during this time I am surrounded by, and absorbed in, all the elements that give my subject its emotional power. I’m listening to the waves, being dazzled by light on water and watching the passing clouds. Through the process of painting I feel I participate in the natural events that surround me rather than simply observing them. And when you spend time looking at one of my paintings I hope the quality of that experience reveals itself to you.
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How I paint my seascapes
The key elements of any seascape are light, air, wind and water. My technique, together with my choice of paint and pigments, help me to represent the luminosity and fluidity of these elements.
I have used acrylic paints throughout my career. My canvases are all prepared in the studio and the process I use has been developed over time. I pay particular attention to the quality of my paint and pigments because I want my colours to be pure and clear and because certain pigments (like cadmium and cobalt) are especially reflective and using them enhances the luminosity of my work.
I also apply my paints much as a watercolourist might - using the brightness of the prepared canvas to illuminate the painting. However because I’m using acrylic I can build up the paint in layers, giving my seascapes a depth and richness it would be difficult to achieve with watercolour.
