Ian is a (former) Mad Man, Designer and a current full time painter. His work can be viewed and purchased here on his Etsy site.
Hello Ian and welcome!
Please tell us a little about what you
create:
Oil paintings mostly, although I like
to work with Conte Crayons on occasions, especially when experimenting with new
surfaces and textures. I have also played around with new technology by using detailed
high-res scans from small sections of my paintings, making use of the paint texture
to create entirely new images with a view to archival printing. In it’s infancy
at present but a Mac is a wonderful piece of kit to play around with. If it’s
good enough for Hockney it’s good enough for me.
Where do you do your creative
work?
Inside my head. All creativity starts
with the thought process. If I can’t visualize a finished picture I have
problems painting it. I feel that whatever an artist does, be it painter,
photographer or writer they have to have that initial image of the finished
piece in their head. I will always find a space to work although fortunately, I
have a nice studio at the end of the garden.
How did you get started?
The same as
everybody else. Drawing as a child. I was seven or eight when my Grandfather
took me on an outing to the Imperial War Museum in Lambeth, London. I was so
excited by the outing and could not wait to see all things military; Tanks,
Rifles, Field Guns, Howitzers, Warships, Fighters and Bombers – you name it, it
was going to be there (typical bloodthirsty boy of the late fifties). What
actually happened steamrollered me like an advancing tank.
His painting of ‘gassed soldiers’
during world war one, all 20ft x 7ft totally bowled me over. I could not grasp
that this was a painting. It put the viewer there, right in the middle of the
scene, like the cinema, only with all the time in the world to absorb its sheer
scale and beauty. From then on I wanted to paint. Of course circumstances often
intervene and although illustrating and design within the advertising industry
was to be my career, I knew at some point I would eventually paint.
How do you define art or creativity?
Sorry, I have genuinely never thought
about it. I leave it to others to fathom out. What I will say is that billions
of people wake up every day and, without even knowing it, are creative in one
form or another. For example, an accountant may be adept at depriving the
Revenue of taxes owing to them, they are said to have got the process down to ‘A
Fine Art.’ You can’t hang it on a wall but it is creative none-the-less,
although I’m not sure the Revenue people would agree. Creativity surrounds us all.
What did you study and where, or are
you self-taught?
What motivates you?
The sheer pleasure of painting.
Do you find drawing or sketching to
be an integral part of your process, why or why not?
Sort of. I love drawing and sketching
but they are separate entities. I tend to paint straight onto the canvas with a
brush once the picture is in my head, although at times I might draw small
references before transferring them to the canvas, especially if the object is
unfamiliar or requires detail, as in some of my aviation paintings. It is just
nice to jot down things you see that might be of use at some later time.
Are there any particular artworks or
artists that surprise you, inspire you or repulse you?
The amount of art and artists that
inspire and surprise me are endless. With the Internet you can spend hours
looking at art. Etsy is just one example of how many talented people there are.
Yes, there are artists whose work does not gel with me, as there are paintings that
I am indifferent towards, but to use the term ‘repulse’ is far to strong an adjective
to describe an artist’s endeavors.
Who are some
of your favorite artists or artwork?
LS Lowry,
Lucian Freud, Stanley Spencer, Francis Bacon, CRW Nevinson, Andrew Wyeth,
Norman Rockwell, Edward Hopper, John Singer Sargent and Uncle Tom Cobley and
all. So many.
Can you tell
us about some of your successes and challenges?
My biggest
challenge was my first one-man show at ‘The Millennium Centre’ in Norwich. It
is a very public venue and I was petrified at the idea of standing alone to all
the criticism and flak that would come my way. I was pleasantly surprised by
all the kindness and constructive views that were put forward which boosted my
confidence no end, plus the added bonus of making several sales and
commissions.
Starting to
paint was a huge challenge. After years of visualizing in the agencies, my
style of work was ingrained in me. However, it was not how I envisaged my
paintings to look but good fortune led to us living in Cornwall for two years,
a beautiful county steeped in artistic history (particularly The Newlyn School
of painters) and the images and how I would tackle them soon materialised in my
head.
When and why
did you decide to start painting full time?
2007. The
concept of painting full time is something that had been building up over many
years. It was as inevitable as Spring following on from a long, hard Winter.
What is your
most treasured possession?
My half litre
tin of Flake White. Because of health and safety gone mad Great Britain has
banned its sale due to the heavy lead content. It can only be purchased for
restoration work with written government authority. It has a wonderful
iridescent quality and over time it yellows slightly, something I have tried to
re-create but up until now, unsuccessfully. As you can imagine I use it very
sparingly.
What artist
either currently living or from history would you most like to have dinner
with, where would you eat, what might you order and what would you talk about?
LS Lowry.
Sitting on a bench overlooking the River Thames eating Fish ‘n Chips in the
only way they should be eaten – out of newspaper.
I wouldn’t
talk I would just listen. There has been no artist like him since he died in
1976 and there was no artist like him before he was born. He was his own man,
belonged to no school of painting, just totally original in his approach and
how he worked. He painted where he lived and loved and what he saw, often with
great humour. It was as simple as that. I have seen many wonderful paintings in
my life, both moving and beautiful beyond description but none compare to the
originality of a thundering Lowry industrial landscape.


Mind you, I wouldn’t mind popping down to the local Trattoria with Vincent or Pablo either.
What are you currently working on or
have recently completed?
We only moved to our new house in
autumn last year. Fields and woods surround us and whilst taking my Cairn
Terrier, Jimbo for long walks I am beginning to see potential subjects that I
would like to paint ‘en plein air’, something I have never attempted before. As
well as some new London Docks scenes in the sixties I am going to revisit my
passion for early aviation. Last year was the Centenary of the outbreak of World
War One so I am planning a series of paintings depicting the early flyers and
flimsy bi-planes of that period. I do like my history and nostalgia.
What is the most interesting thing about
you?
Pass!
Is there anything you would like to add or talk about?
Is there anything you would like to add or talk about?
No, just thank you for taking the time to read this.
4 comments:
Lovely interview of this incredible artist! I enjoyed every word! Thank you, Sue, your blog is great! and Thank you, Ian, for sharing your inspiring story!
Thank you Susan Foss
for gifting "motivation"
and Ian Garstka for the "fascination"!
It is my pleasure! I am loving how different everyone is…we all have such different paths to creativity and how we interact with our art. I want to do LOTS more of these!
I always like reading about other artists. Visiting from Etsy and now following your blog. Hope you follow me too at Portraits-by-Nc.com
Best,
Enzie
Post a Comment