Writings

Ian Gaskell artist

WRITINGS

I believe that it is only through the arts that we can understand the nature of mankind and his relationship with the world. It is through relationships that the artist can suggest the mysterious truths that underlie existence; truths that cannot be expressed or explained in any other way. The painter uses relationships of shape, tone, colour and rhythm whilst the musician uses relationships of tone, pitch and rhythm. The architect uses shapes which suggest the human form, and the poet uses the rhythm and colour of words.

Whilst subject matter is enmeshed in most of these forms to a greater or lesser degree, it is of little significance and is used only as a means towards the expression of meaningful abstract relationships. However, I have little interest in pure abstract art. It too often leads to the expression of some of the more unpleasant aspects of the artist's personality.

The artist who creates work in order to sell is in danger of following the tastes and fashions of popular culture rather than his or her own natural development. This is the path to shallowness and banality in art.

The Mystery of Art

The act of painting is for me an intuitive process. When I start a picture I may have a vague idea of what it will represent, although the subject matter is of little importance. Each applied brushstroke affects what the next one will be, and the intuitive part is in sensing what is required of that next brushstroke. This process becomes a dynamic act of creation that is largely driven and guided by one’s subconscious nature. Rules and systems are of no help and are best forgotten. My finished pictures are often very different from the original concept.

It has taken many years for me to see my own pictures clearly, yet a picture may be truly seen in an instant, when one comes face to face with a stark but lovely expression of something which is of great importance for mankind. What is this thing that is expressed in art? It is a great mystery that evades description or explanation. For me it appears to be an exploration into the nature of man and it has become a profound and obsessive adventure into the unknown.

Ian Gaskell

May 2004

Ian Gaskell artist