Alan Bateman: Get To Know

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Get To Know

I am just back from presenting awards to the winners of the Robert Bateman "Get to Know", art contest for the east coast, in Moncton. I have helped out for the last three years, although I am not an official "Get to Know " employee I like helping out and it's a great program that offers free educational material to schools, including a great interactive CD. You can have a look at the site her http://www.gettoknow.ca/ There is some amazing art coming from these young people.

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Artists Statement (under duress)

I usually do not write long expiations regarding any one piece of my art. I am a not a writer. The paintings, at least in my genera, are the message. If you don=t relate to them any enlightenment on my part will only help you develop a more academic understanding of why I paint. As with many artists of all disciplines my inspiration comes from living. There is a cyclical nature to my life. I am not sure if my art inspires my life or if my life inspires my art. The parts of my life that translated in to paint always leave me with a better understanding of how I see.

There are certain things that are missing from my work. This has only recently occurred to me. In a subtle way they lack any marks of modernity. I would not paint a traffic sign, or a cd player. I may even edit out hydro lines. I now know why I had an unconscious need to portray things this way. It has to do with a kind of visual literacy. It seems that you use a different part of your brain for reading symbols, and putting them in context, than you do for just experiencing something. A stop sign has a message, you can=t not read it. For me this interferes with a pure experience. Although timelessness is not an intentional component of my work, it seems to be there. I don=t feel that this is an overly contrived way of painting. It just happens to be how I see my surroundings.

My ideas come from my life. I may be out side pruning a fruit tree, as well as various other things over the course of months or even years. I am always open to situations that may reveal them selves as potential painting ideas. Fortunately, for my sanity, and unfortunately, for my prolificacy, this process takes some time. If I spent all day at the easel, there would be no influx of experiences. And if I didn’t=t paint I wouldn’t=t have the intimate parts of my life revealed to me.

Although it sounds odd, some of my paintings seem to complete themselves. One of the most difficult parts of painting is knowing when to stop. I will leave a painting when it is close to being completed, and just look at it over several days. It doesn’t=t really change, but I do. There may be a few spots that need finishing, however other areas may have been completed with in the first few minutes of work.

Alan Bateman

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Get To Know

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