About the artist

Drawing came first in my life. I felt I wanted to document images that I enjoyed looking at. Pulling a pencil or piece of charcoal to match a shape, to form a curve. When you get that right, the pencil becomes an extension of the hand, arm and body, it feels great. If you have ever hit a golf ball cleanly, trimmed on a wave, or prepared a meal with intention, you will know exactly what I mean. The name given to this is the ‘flow state’. Not thinking, moving on instinct, a kind of meditative focus we see in animals in the wild, where time passes unnoticed.

Then came colour, in the form of oil paints and the challenge of placing that paint in a way that appeals to the eye. A strong influence came from the artist Robert Lenkiewicz, a flamboyant figure from Plymouth in the UK where I am from. I consider him to be a modern Rembrandt; his work is intriguing and meaningful. Lenkiewicz described his painting technique, distilled pragmatically into three basic principles and I quote directly from him: “The shape of the shape. The colour of the colour. The tone of the tone.” Sometimes the answers come in the simplest of forms.

I work in oils on textured surfaces. My main goal is to produce images I enjoy looking at and keep wanting to look at over time. Meaning is a personal thing; we can take different meanings as individuals whilst contemplating the same painting. Beauty, form and shape are most important for me in my work. Would you listen to a meaningful song if you do not like the sound? As in music the lyrics are personal to the writer, they can be relatable to the listener but not always in the way the writer intended, hence the potential mystery in music and in painting and in the arts in general.

I hope you enjoy looking at my works eternally, and draft your own emotions, your own story whilst viewing them.

Andy Rodmell