Encountering Surrealism

I came to Surrealism and painting late. It was a process of fits and starts. As early as 12 I fell on a technique of using chalks and pastels to create an interesting background. Then I picked out in charcoal a face that had magically emerged before my eyes. With hindsight I realised that this was my first surrealist work.

Ernst’s Robing of the Bride, Brauner’s Le Surrealiste, (The Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice) and works by female Surrealists at an exhibition at the V&A were a revelation. I was transfixed and transported.

Surrealism in Wales

A chance encounter in a local garden centre with Trish and John Richardson and a conversation about Ithell Colquhoun led to my involvement with the Welsh Tribe of Surrealists.

Here is the link to the website of my friend John Richardson, who has a comprehensive list on his site of links to Surrealists far and wide.

I am  a regular contributor to the Surrealist Zine Patastrophe.

A Surrealistic Artist’s Understatement

I am a Surrealist oil painter. My style is traditional but with a very definite twist. The skills which give form to my inner visions were learnt at The Welsh Academy of Art. This was a traditional three year training. Starting with charcoal and casts we progressed to the human form and oil.

The “twist” came afterwards when I started to explore surrealistic techniques. Sometimes I rely upon objective chance and the interesting juxtaposition of objects  “as beautiful as the chance encounter of a sewing machine and an umbrella on an operating table” in order to spark a painting. Jigsaw Panda prays to Mushroom Death God evolved in this way. At other times, I may use the initial wash of oil to unleash my subconscious or combine this with decalcomania, a technique used by William Blake and Max  Ernst.

The dream-like quality of my visions are achieved by the detailed depiction of objects within the vastness of space. The deep blue nocturnal realm is a favourite, as is the mystical saffron one.

I am influenced by myth, magic, symbolism and all things contrary. I have spent many years exploring the archetypal images of the twenty two major arcana of the Tarot pack. Developing my own ideas on these subjects and evoking them as paintings has become the major theme of my work.