Page 13 - For the purpose of this essay when I refer to ‘spirit’ ‘devine’ or ‘spirituality’ I am referring

1. Do you believe that there is a spiritual dimension (such as divine influence,
connecting to something within ourselves but also greater than ourselves) to creating
your art?

The aim of the artist in making art is usually to impact in some way beyond the
physical. That is not to deny that there must be a physical impact on the viewer, for
example that achieved in the work of say Bridget Riley on the optics and the impact of
colour in general. Nevertheless, it is the intention of the artist to move/stir the viewer
some way beyond those physical reactions, through the use of the physical.

In the broadest sense of definition of the Spiritual, there is little doubt that it plays a
significant part in the creation of work, and I believe I experience some vital force,
either of Self or of Other at certain stages in the making of work. Because the act of
painting is a physical thing, this is expressed in a very physical way, in the flick of the
brush and impulsive addition of the unexpected, indeed those choices made with no
base in rational thought. While subject wise, I respond to both the material and the
immaterial, (I regularly revisit aspects of the physicality of painting in my objectives ) I
consider that I am closest to achieving good work, when I am working beyond the
physical, and indeed beyond the intellectual, which I don’t believe to equate with the
Spiritual. Expressed in a physical way, painting at that stage seems to be driven by
some other force or compulsion. This experience tends to present at a later part in the
exploration of the subject.

2. Do you believe great art can be created without being open to this influence? Is it a
necessary part of the creative process for you?

It is difficult to summarise, or be definitive about all ‘great art’, and whether great art
can be created without being open to the influence of the Spiritual. I do think that the
creative urge in itself is a basic fundamental urge, which could be described as
‘spiritual’. We do not always understand the why, but can be described as a
compulsion, and it does seem to fulfil a huge need.
In reading what good artists write, and in listening to what they have to say with regard
to their working process, it seems to me that in general, those processes do not appear
to be that different to my own, and so I will refer to what I find in relation to my own
work. Generally what we see in the work of others reflects our own experiences.
Exploring subject matter beyond that which I can predict, which I believe to be in the
realms of the ‘Spiritual’, is part of where I hope to go in the making of work.
Furthermore, I am regularly struck by the way threads of connection go through what I
do as an artist. Sometimes these are not connections I see instantly, and it is frequently
in looking retrospectively at work done that one sees them.

What is great art? How do I define it?
Great visual art, for me, has to include a strong visual dimension. While I look for
aspects of the physical – shapes, surface, texture, composition - it is still some
unassailable quality

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