GALLERY

ARTISTIC STATEMENT

There are as many ways of painting as there are artist, and if you are happy with the way you paint then your way is right for you.

I have my own way of working that has slowly evolved over the years and is continually changing albeit in a minute way.

You might say my approach as two segments to it one I call the thinking segment the other my creative segment.

In the thinking segment it works like this.

First and foremost I am continually seeking out new ways of accomplishing the effects of light on texture, when I find one that works for me I practise it until it is instinctive like driving a car. When that happens it goes into my repertoire where it stays until I need it.

Field sketches in watercolour are also carried out on a weekly basis honing my observational skills and increasing my knowledge of values and the way light behaves under various conditions.

So how does this work with creative and intuitive painting?

For me it works like this, I find a subject that I want to paint and there’s no shortage of them around.

I pre plan the paintings composition, colour, and value keeping in mind what I want to say about it.

Then I make a drawing of the major shapes onto the paper and lay in the first washes.

By then my creative side kicks in, and the painting then starts to speak to me telling me what to do next to reach my goal.

Unless stated otherwise all content and pictures the work of the artist Gordon Townsend