I find it terribly difficult to write an artist’s statement. In fact most of the ones I have written are in my own words “garbage. With my time in salaried employment rapidly coming to an end, I am trying to polish up my websites and literature to promote my art and photography.
People that know me will know that I have a passion for wildlife that is my saviour. It is that time spent outdoors that calms my mind, the first flowers after the winter soothe my soul and those fleeting magical experiences and brushes with the wild are wonders to make me smile. I am at my happiest watching butterflies in the meadow, watching the birds gathering food or wading through muddy ponds and streams delighting in the dragonfly wings.
The winter is not easy for me, it restricts my outdoor activities, the lack of light reflects upon my mood and of course my photography also takes a back step because winter scenes do not inspire me terribly.
This is probably why writing a statement right now is so difficult. I also find it very difficult in any way shape or form to be pretentious and I like to introduce a little humour somewhere because otherwise it is just not me. So, I am trying to formulate my thoughts to explain my art.
Lets be honest my art is pretty much always animals, birds and insects through choice. Although it has been said that my pieces are of photographic quality, in fact they are not and I don’t ever aim for them to be so. I try to portray the creatures as I see them. Through my eyes I see many things depending on the subject. In big cats I see a wild spirit, that beautiful intentness that they need to survive and the vulnerability that is inherent in them all.
In pet portraits, I see real characters sometimes tough, sometimes soft but they all have traits of their own. The most amazing thing that I realise as time goes on is the differences between them. I have been requested in the past to do archetypal pieces but, it is impossible. If you were to take five different animals of the same breed, every one of them will be different in a unique way ~ just like people.
When I work on birds, inevitably they are a shared moment. There will be a time where I have been privileged enough to be in their space for an intimate snapshot in time. Although I often work from photo’s, I hold that moment in my head and can see it, the photo merely provides me with the detail for technique.
So how do I fit all of that into an artist’s statement? Hmmm, I think I will procrastinate a little longer and write it in the Spring!
