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The work of Canadian artist Alan Bateman
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.
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