What makes us want to create? This is a subject I’ve given much thought to as I grow old. Is it something in our genes? Is it a search for perfection in what we do? Is it to achieve something that will last, a need for fulfilment, a quest for immortality? Life is short and we should make the most of it and do our best so, is it the transience of life that spurs me on? Is it a selfish pursuit which we want to indulge in at the expense of others? Some artists are completely driven or have made enormous sacrifices during their lives so that they can continually create because the process can be all-consuming – no marriage, no distractions, no children, a need for space even isolation. I paint pictures because I enjoy the experience most of the time and also because I want to bring bright and happy themes into my work even when times are difficult. I like to think that I care, I have emotions and feelings, sensitivity, love, and can be moved at times to create work with with a more serious message which comes from my heart!
I recently found a number of fairly old works painted many years ago which reinforced my conviction about wanting to represent positive, happy themes. Here’s one example:-
We were recently invited to a Golden Wedding Anniversary party for two friends and although there was possibly no need for any gesture of appreciation I wanted to recognise their achievement by recording a scene from a trip they had taken to celebrate the event by creating an imaginary scene from their celebratory visit to New Zealand:
When thinking about what compels me to paint, I admire enormously those artists who are able to produce complex, detailed and technically brilliant works that require time and patience. I am not able to do this and tried to remember, which works have stretched me the most . There are a handful which come to mind and I have shown two below:-
This was an attempt to to combine four subjects from art history in one painting-the female nude, a melancholy figure, a cityscape (Florence) and an element of still life (albeit a single one) – the wine glass.
In the above case, which was a commission, much of the composition was suggested by the client: sculptures by Peter’s wife Sue, a Spitfire, Eastbourne bandstand, the Cannes promenade, a horse woman (his daughter Katie) and a city-scape of Oxford. Ultimately this work became quite a complex composition which had to be balanced so I had to plan the layout and make changes during the process.
A complex creation of this kind brings me to my final thoughts about the way new technology is affecting art, music and film. Currently we are confronted with artificial intelligence where it is possible for works to be created by computers or robots able to ‘think’ like humans and it is therefore difficult to trace their output back to a creator or team of originators. Who are the creators in these circumstances? We also have spectacular computer generated imagery which is very impressive and virtual reality where an artificial environment is made with software and presented so that the recipient suspends belief and accepts it as a real environment using sight and sound. On top of all this digital currency is also a reality presumably to pay for ‘art’ created by computers, machines and robots. However, as we know computers can crash just as humans and their brains are prone to accidents or illnesses (as growing older keeps reminding me on a daily basis) and all this technology is vulnerable. Great ideas, emotions and feelings have played an important part in creating many outstanding works of art, music and film and my experience so far is that artificial intelligence and algorithms show no real signs of having the means to do this.