DB: Well, the thread that binds all of my work is the study of movement.. When I was enrolled on my foundation course at Newcastle college, we did a project on that theme and I was introduced to Duchamp's "Nude Descending a Staircase", which just fascinated me... it was kind of like a eureka moment!
OC: Sounds exciting...
DB: It just seemed to make perfect sense, and, I thought, an endless field for study. When I delved more deeply into it, I discovered the work of the futurist painters, such as Severini, and was very influenced by their use of colour and shape which created a sense of kinetic energy on the canvas. I wanted to see if I could capture that movement... which is essentially intangible... in a 2 dimensional image. I also wanted to use the most expressive forms of actions, such as sport and dancing, which I felt would make arresting subjects, and also allow the viewer, an emotional reaction.
OC: Well your work is
certainly arresting! You have articulated that sense of
movement very successfully. In fact, your images sometimes
appear to jump off the canvas as you view them. There is an
added element of complexity to your composition in the way
that you use text within the image? How did that come
about?
DB: Well, I suppose
it comes from my illustration and graphics
background... I've always liked the use of text within
an image and the layering affect it creates. It's a device
I've used in several ways...in terms of the actual words
used... they can sometimes allude to the subject matter, or
provide a cryptic juxtoposition. I think it also adds extra
interest for the viewer as they see my paintings
as something to be "solved", and there is an
attraction in discovering new things every time you look at
a painting. I think they reward repeated viewing, and the
text contributes an added depth.
DB: Well, there is a great deal of work that goes into the design of each painting...they are always carefully and meticulously worked out before I even think about putting brush to canvas! I would say, to achieve that rythmn and real sense of movement is quite a paintstaking process!!
OC: Where do you start?
DB: My starting point is quite often photography....I tend to begin with a series of "stop-action" photographs that depict a particular motion, such as a man running, a bird in flight etc. and these are then superimposed so that all the action is overlapping...I then start drawing into these, picking out shapes, contours that appeal to my sense of composition... I have also used images from television...which works quite well...although it is quite tricky transposing onto paper!
DB: Well, lately I've become more interested in the use of colour and introducing more texture into the work, which is invariably worked out on the canvas after the design is completed.
OC: Your use of colour is already bold and is an important element of your overall aesthetic. But what do you think increased texture will bring to your paintings?
DB: I guess I've just become more intrigued by the application of paint for it's own sake, aswell as the design process. I think my work will always have that graphic element...it's fairly deeply ingrained!! However, I think that introducing a slightly more "painterly" quality would only enhance the paintings and give them an added depth.
OC: You mentioned previously your illustration experience. In fact, you were a reasonably successful published Illustrator. Tell us a little more about how that came about.
OC: So you knew when you started this activity that it was only going to be a temporary thing? Did this work influence your later activities as a painter in any way?
DB: I enjoyed the work and probably would have continued in that vein indefintely had my musical interests not got in the way! I suppose you learn something from each experience to a greater or lesser degree, but I don't think my illustration work directly influenced my later paintings...perhaps it gave me a solid grounding in the use of acrylics, which I'd not used a lot before that time, but stylisticly it was quite different.
DB: Well, I have always had two great passions, one being art and the other being music, so from an early age, I've never really wanted to do anything else with my life! There's not really a contest between the two! I had been playing the guitar since I was 8 years old but it was not until I went to University that I put together my first serious band. This was "roller", which I formed with a friend who was also an illustrator. We spent a few years doing the so called "toilet" circuit before attracting some management interest and it kind of took off from there. We signed to a small indie label and released a couple of albums, also touring extensively in North America and the uk, but after 2 or 3 years of this, of which I have many fond memories(!), we decided that it had gone as far as it could and we were really keen to do other things. In my case, I was getting increasing amounts of commissioned artwork, and it was getting to the stage when a decision had to be made to do one or the other. After a couple of years away from music, I've recently made some tentative steps back into the industry, but it's currently having to take a back seat to my painting!!
OC: It sounds like an
exciting time David! Is it easy to move from one career to
the other? There must be different priorities and
expectations. How do you handle that?
DB: I think
with hindsight, it was easy because it had just come to the
end of it's natural life, and I just wanted to do other
things...and particaularly get back to painting. When
you're in a band, the rest of your life goes on hold
because it's so demanding, and I just wasn't prepared to do
that anymore. I guess the main priority when I gave up the
band was to make some money!!!! ....It was nice to have
different, more realistic goals, you could say....I was
lucky that I started selling work pretty much straight
away, so some sort of tangible success came fairly quickly,
which was a great boost when I was just starting
out!
DB: Yes, as I'm sure all artists will appreciate, it is a comfort to know that you are going to get paid for the hours of work you put in! Also, with a background like mine - in illustration - I'm used to being presented with a brief, so I tend to see it as a challenge, rather than a restrictive thing. However, for your artistic development, I think you need a balance of both, if you are to explore your potential and try new things...I guess that's where the excitement comes in!
OC: You have an exhibition at the prestigious Biscuit Factory in Newcastle lined up for next year. That must be exciting for you. Are there any other ambitions you would like to fulfill?
(2006)
