A Slight Change Of Direction

I think it’s fair to say that I’ve never been very good at staying in the same lane for too long…

It’s not the first time I’ve had a swing at landscape paintings, but this is the first I’ve shared since most of you joined me on this journey. I’d say I’m still like 90% a portrait painter, but occasionally I get bored and want to try something completely different. This usually coincides with me filling a bag with paints and booking a flight to the other side of the world, but we can talk more about that later.

This has been such an incredibly interesting challenge so far. The last time I did landscapes was at the start of covid after my travels got cut short and I was still lusting to be out on the road, and it’s been fascinating trying to bring everything I’ve learnt over the last couple of years to the new subject matter. It definitely feels like I’m starting from the beginning again, which is both terrifying, and incredibly liberating. There’s been a lot of repetitive self-talk trying to convince myself to not be too precious with the new work. Trying to lean in to the fact that it’s going to take time to build up the kind of confidence I now have with portraits, and embrace being back at the steep end of the learning curve.

There was a serious internal debate going on as to whether I should share any of these early paintings or not. Don’t get me wrong, there are about a dozen dirty attempts will never see the light of day, but this is the first one I’ve done that I’ve been genuinely proud of, so it seemed worth putting out in to the world. My imposter syndrome and crippling self doubt will have to take a back seat for a minute. I know logically that I’ve got a long way to go with this new style of work, but I also need to remind myself that what other people see in my work will be completely different than what I see, and it would a shame to hold back sharing something that other people might enjoy. Also there’s that small factor of - if I hide away, put my head down, don’t share new work on the internet and just paint and practice in peace, I’m going to tumble quickly and deeply in to the starving artist stereotype.

I have a lot more to say about this painting and what’s coming next for me, but I’ll keep rambling on another post soon. For now, genuinely curious to hear what you think of this one, so please let me know! Fingers crossed you like it.

I also wanted to try and keep the cost down for these new paintings, especially while I’m still firmly in the learning and experimenting phase. I’m sure it all comes back around to a confidence thing again, but I think it makes sense for the moment, especially when comparing it to my portrait work. Hopefully we’re striking the balance between relatively affordable art and me still being able to buy sandwiches.

There is a real (hopefully irrational) fear that I’ll start doing something different and the career I’ve built over the last couple of years will crumble around me. Everyone will immediately unfollow, and I’ll go back to the obscurity with the feeling of a seriously strange short lived career behind me. However, I’m pretty sure that’s just anxiety talking, and I’d be more than happy if you proved the voice in my head wrong :’)

Last weekend there was a livestream in celebration of @richardschmid, where artists from around the world gathered to chat, share stories and paint in his memory. I only managed to make it for a few hours of the stream, but it was so packed full of inspiration and I think caught me at such a perfect time when I’ve started exploring new avenues with wavering confidence. This celebration, combined with starting to re-read Alla Prima (which, for those who don’t know, is basically the bible for representational artists everywhere), filled me with the confidence needed to knuckle down, and really have some fun with this new body of work. You can probably see elements of Richard’s lessons creeping in to this piece, though this really does feel like a new beginning, and I’m looking forward to a lifetime of striving to achieve anything close to the mastery that Richard possessed.

The other factor of inspiration, was my trip last month to Madrid. I hadn’t realised it, but I think it’d been 3 or 4 years since I last visited a gallery or museum, and oh boy had I forgotten what I was missing. It took a little while to find my corner of the Prado, but once I did the inspiration of so many masters flooded in to my little brain. There was a pair of plein air painting by Valezquez from a trip to Rome that I absolutely loved. I know that I’d already been thinking about more travel and getting back in to plein air, but seeing work by masters who did both figures and landscapes so brilliantly was a real reminder that I don’t need to stick in one lane if I don’t want to. (Not that I’m Valazquez or anything, but you get the point.) It was the same with Goya, and how the gallery housed everything from his realistic portrait commissions, to ‘The Dog’, which is a super loose, abstract piece, almost reminiscent of a darker version of a Turner. The feeling was then compounded when I visited the Thyssen-Brnemisza Museum, where they have such an incredibly broad collection it’s fascinating. I swear you could name any well known artist from any time period or artistic movement, and they would have at least one of their pieces. A welcome reminder that the possibilities are endless.

This painting is based on a photo I took back in April 2018, somewhere in the Alps between Zürich and Florence, on board the Bernini Express train, whilst on my first solo travel trip interrailing in Europe. As if I wasn’t already lusting for more travel, spending time trawling back through past trips for references really doubles down the desire.