“To know something we have to experience it, to know something intimately we have to experience it again and again.” - Nan Shepherd, The Living Mountain.
Whilst it’s impossible to repeat the fleeting nature of light and cloud, the familiarity that comes with knowing the terrain of a place is vital for my practice; so I tend to revisit certain places. As I come to know the place; it becomes familiar, and experiences form memories.
Visual and experiential memories are important aspects of my work, calling to mind the sensations and experiences I’ve had in a particular location. How to recall that memory and render it in paint or charcoal is the constant challenge I relish; technically which mediums and mixtures when mixed with paint and applied to a board or canvas will allow me to create an object that evokes a particular memory. At the moment I’m enjoying pushing the materials to find new ways to represent the fleeting experience. By revisiting a place, getting to know it, I find I can work without visual reference, allowing a way of working which is fully focused on my memory and the painting.
I paint mainly in oils on board or canvas, I find oils more receptive to my way of working. I like to build up steadily, sometimes scraping back but finding the resultant textures add to the painting. I naturally paint quickly, at times using energetic mark making, but I also try to include areas of stillness within the work. I tend to allow the painting to progress naturally, but am also mindful of the effect I’m trying to evoke.
I’ve held a lifelong love of both Art and rural spaces, especially wild places, being drawn to mountains and the coast. I especially enjoy being out when the weather is inclement, when the cloud is low and the light creates fleeting moments of magic; or when the waves are big and crashing. Whilst walking I will stop and sketch, this allows me to really see what I’m looking at. Back in my studio I work from these sketches to begin a painting, but then allow memory to take over. A painting for me is far more than reproducing a scene; as I walk I use all my senses to experience my surroundings, the energy and power of high winds and rain or the calm tranquillity of misty days. If a painting evokes a memory, for me or the viewer, I know it has worked.
- Amanda Watson
