Paul Wadsworth
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Gallery
Total number of images: 3
- desert mosque
- call to prayer
- after the event
Biography
| Painting has and I hope always will be a journey of change and exploration. Studying the figure and painting from the nude model was my main love when I was at college; a great way to learn about drawing, colour, observation, and how to put something of myself into a painting.
Drawing is something I find essential in all of my work. The drawn or painted line is about expressing what you feel about the particular subject matter on paper or canvas, it is the most basic and important tool an artist has. From painting the nude I moved into exploring the surface of the canvas. Texture and therefore the materials used became the important factor in creating the image. Plaster, paint, collage, varnishes, whatever seemed to work, were and still are some of the materials used. Alchemy comes to mind, trying to create something beautiful from combining raw materials. At first its all experimentation but gradually it becomes part of your own language of painting (or constructions). I'm always looking for found objects to include into works. Old lino, which I have found underneath carpets in derelict houses, is great. Generally the patterns are of Middle Eastern origin and work great in conjunction with work based on travels in the Arab Emirates and Oman. Working with so many layers takes time, not only because of drying times, but also considering what to do next; I therefore have at least seven canvases on the go at any one time enabling me to jump from one work to another. Some pieces can take up to two years before completion. Over the last four years my interest in painting with just oil paint has rekindled. In a way it's picking up from where I left the nude, although this time the subject matter is the landscape. Painting out in the landscape in Cornwall is a great inspiration; the moods of the sea, the big skies, the changing colours through the seasons, the pure energy it gives you that you can transfer onto the canvas. To me it's not about trying to illustrate what you see but more to do with capturing the essence of the day through the use of oil paint. The tools I use are brushes, pallet knives, large paint scrapers and quite often my hands. Paint is applied and quite often scraped off then reapplied until I can feel my way into the painting. This process can sometimes take awhile before something starts to happen on the canvas. I try not to start a painting with too many preconceptions thus allowing for the work to change and develop with as much freedom as possible. All the paintings that I work on location are taken back to the studio where I have time to live with them and possibly make some changes over a period of weeks. The pure physical act of painting is what allows me to put myself into the work; sometimes throwing the paint, flicking paint , scraping the paint or working the surface with my hands are all ways that I can find a way into the painting and start to find what I'm looking for. Some paintings , before I consider them finished, have been through so many changes that I feel they could have been one of four or five other paintings. A painting is a combination of many things but, for me, becomes finished when a balance of chaos and control is found through the use of composition, colour, movement and self. Travel is so important in keeping new ideas flowing. Over the past six years I have spent a lot of time in the Arab Emirates and Oman. Taking a lot of photos and doing a lot of work on location, I build up a lot of information for paintings back in my studio in Cornwall. The photos I tear up and make collages with, working on top of them with paint or plaster. This is done on quite a small scale and I generally consider them sketches for larger pieces. |
Contact Info
| Paul Wadsworth | |
| ... | |
| www.paulwadsworth.me.uk |