When did you first become interested in painting?
There is not a time when I wasn’t interested in painting. I loved colouring books and tracing books and looking at pictures.
Did you always know you would become an artist or did you have other ideas?
As a child I only ever wanted to be an artist. Sadly I wasn’t good enough to pass the exam for art school so had to work in a factory after leaving school. The reality is I needed to make a living and I wouldn’t do that from painting. That didn’t stop me from painting and drawing as a hobby.
It was only when I retired that I could start painting seriously. The internet and on-line art galleries, especially Art2Arts, meant that I could show my work to a huge number of people and sell my paintings on a regular basis thus fulfilling my childhood dream of being a professional artist.
Where do you get your inspiration?
My inspiration comes from admiring paintings by other artists. When I see a painting that I really love I have to have a go at creating something of my own. By this, I don’t mean copying, but rather using my own techniques to achieve the same effect that made the original painting so appealing to me.
How did your interest in abstract art develop?
Abstract art frees me to create a work of art without the constraints of perspective and accuracy needed in other genres. Painting is now fun and if the result is interesting and pleasing to the eye, I am satisfied. Squint at any painting and it will appear still beautiful even though the elements are no longer recognisable. To begin with, I painted landscapes using oils or watercolours and later I favoured pencil drawings. Painting abstracts in acrylic is a relatively recent preference.
Are you influenced by any famous artists, if so who are they?
There is no single artist that I can say has influenced me. I enjoy art by artists from Michelangelo to Mark Rothko.
Could you please describe the practical process you go through when making a painting?
Nowadays my paintings are on canvas usually ranging in size from 50x50cms to 100x100cms. I never use oil paints any more (they are smelly and take ages to dry), instead I use mainly acrylic, sometimes with metallic, markers, gold leaf, etc. Occasionally, I will add texturing paste or a photo, but always one that I have taken myself. As well as brushes, I paint mostly with pallet knife, rag sponge or anything else that comes to hand, including fingers.
What does a typical day look like for you?
There is no such thing as a typical day for me. My pensions provide my daily needs so I’m under no pressure to paint every day, in any case there is more to painting a picture than painting a picture; I can spend days thinking through what I want to create.
View more work by Art2Arts artist Paul Chambers.
