Andrew Allanson

Creativity has always been a driving force for me. As a child, making models, drawing and painting, were always a preoccupation. The simple process of using eye and hand to create something was and still is, a thrill. These early years bore evidence that a formal art training was almost always going to be a certainty and once accomplished, a career as an artist and designer was to follow. This is by no means a unique state of affairs, but in common with many who share a similar affinity with the creative process, I feel that Art was always destined be a part of my life.

My experience as a professional artist is wide ranging and includes working in 3 dimensions and employing many different mediums and disciplines. But painting in particular, is something that I find both challenging and rewarding. Each new painting presents a multitude of possibilities, with decisions and choices to be made and problems to be solved.

I regard myself as a representational painter, but use a variety of paint handling techniques. I’m happy painting with the brush or the knife, and I like to paint anything from flowers to architecture, but landscapes are often my preferred subject. I don't consciously adopt a certain style or use a fixed method of working, but rather allow the subject to inform my choice of medium and my approach. I enjoy the immediacy of working ‘en plein air’ when possible. I work in Oils, Acrylic or Mixed Media, depending on my feeling for the subject. Light, colour, structure, and not least composition, all feature strongly in my work.

The filtering of visual information through human perception, is key to capturing something that lifts painting above a mere photographic recording. For me, that personal vision and it’s interpretation are the things that make the art of painting remain as valid as ever, particularly in this digital age.