Influences: why do they matter?
This month I am interested in influences. What am I influenced by and why? What does that tell me about myself and how is my work impacted?
What are my influences?
Visually I’m most influenced by what I see when I go out walking which I do as often as I can. I usually walk in the local parks and I look at the growing things, the sunlight and sky. I love the constant change of the seasons, and especially this season of spring – this coming month is my favourite. Its when all the leaves will open and everything comes fully alive ready for summer. I also like art work that has a seasonal and nature focus.
I spend a lot of time with my earphones on whilst taking photos and working in my studio. I think that can have as much of an influence on what and how I paint as the visual cues.
I love listening to stories and my preferences are stories about good and evil, about human nature and experience, about human’s who are connected strongly to the natural world, about friendship, love and overcoming adversity, accepting life on life’s terms.
I’m a massive fan of Stephen King – favourite story is If it bleeds, Barbara Kingsolver – favourite story is Prodigal Summer, Richard Powers – favourite story is the epic Overstory, and Margaret Atwood – favourite is the Oryx and Crake, Madaddam and Year of the Flood trilogy,
If I am more in the mood for music I favour electronica for when I’m being creative and I listen to Soundcloud a lot when I’m painting. I like a sweet melody and a broken beat the best.
Over the last month my favourite podcasts are:
https://on.soundcloud.com/7X8irvq4rKXBbXL68 by https://www.instagram.com/NIGELTHREETIMES
https://on.soundcloud.com/1oyFm6jPqTZ7tcJR7 by https://www.instagram.com/law_repertoire
https://on.soundcloud.com/UoMyxYaRzCApb4YQ7 by https://www.instagram.com/dj.mantra
I get lost in the music or story and I don’t think about any of the painting decisions whilst the brush is in my hand. The resulting work is looser and more interesting.
What are my influencers influences?
I like to find out about my favourite authors and musicians influences are. I often find they have similar experiences or taste to me. I am amazed by that as in my day-to-day I often wonder why my taste seems different to those close to me. But when I find kindred spirits even when I don’t personally know them something clicks and there is a recognition and my heart leaps with excitement and joy. Its not just me….other people love this too. They notice this little thing too….I guess that’s why we make art, because we want to connect with likeminded others we may not yet know.
How do I filter all of that?
My creative explorations show me both my uniqueness and my connectedness and dependence on humanity, nature and the world around me. I am amazed by how studying a blossom whilst listening to a poignant piece of music can connect me to joy and sorrow, and then when I google cherry blossom I can learn that the Japanese culture has a special place in it where people celebrate cherry blossoms - Sakura. They have a word for viewing flowers – hanami. And so I realise my particular love for spring blossom is universal as well as particular to me.
How does it come out in my creations?
The work I make that I love is colourful, celebratory and contains expressions of feeling that for me are both joyful and somewhat bittersweet. I love nature and seasons and seasons are glorious but transient, so there is always a tinge of sadness when a blossom is just past its best because I won’t see it again till next year for example. I try and capture the moment of peak in my paintings, that glimpse and snapshot of time, the present moment…but of course its almost impossible to do because a painting takes time to complete. So it actually catches all the feelings and goings on of the artist over the time of doing the painting as well as that moment they were trying to capture. Maybe that’s actually whats interesting, that unique filter made up of who that individual was on the days they made the work and how it expresses the image they chose to make.
What do you think? I’d love to know.