"So What Do You Paint"

​I am regularly asked this question… and I have to admit to quite often struggling with the answer! I hesitate and say something vague like ‘a wide range of things’. Oops, foot in mouth. Sometimes it would be so much easier to paint one specific thing but that doesn’t work for me - I get bored easily! In fact that’s why I love being an artist, I have the power to create an endless array of different images and I unapologetically have a diverse range of artwork. So, how do I answer?…
 
I detest labeling… Why?...because I find it terribly limiting! Yet I still do it… It seems it is human nature (or at least the ‘left brain’ side of human nature) that wants to or even needs to, pigeon hole everything… I attempt to do this by grouping the variety of images I create into series. So the answer to what I paint might be: animals (creation series), landscapes (exploration series), ideas (ideation series), baches (bach series), and geometric landscapes/cityscapes/still lifes/abstracts (geo-graphica series). There is some overlap between these series and some of my artwork could go in more than one… but that would be confusing.
 
So what is the common thread? Image making is uniquely human (animals do not chose to actively draw/paint etc) and my artwork is all about remembering the good side of our humanity, remembering what we are capable of… and what we are responsible for – appreciating what is good in life and on our beautiful planet. So maybe that’s a better answer… “I paint about humanity, especially the good things that make us human” …and that’s why I have this statement on my website (and business card):
 
 “I believe in the power images have to uplift us. They help us remember the good within us and within our world inspite of how the world might sometimes appear. They help us remember our humanity. I create my artwork to do just that...”
 
What do you think? Please comment below…

 
In future blogs I’m going to write about why I’m often drawn to paint sheep and other groups of animals (hint: they are metaphors for humans). …and How I go about it… Oh and if there's anything else you'd like me to write about please also comment... 

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