The plein air painter shares his passion for nature …
I remember picking up pencils when I was around four – something must have spurred me to want to draw. I began by drawing birds, copying them from books. At one point in the 1970s, my dad filled our house with prints of Van Gogh flowers, a Picasso blue period painting, a Utrillo, a Signac and some Lowrys. I used to gaze at those for hours – they kickstarted something. However, nature was my first love and I loved drawing it.
I studied art and biology as I thought I might be a wildlife doctor, but then I decided art was for me. I completed a foundation course, and then studied fine art at Newcastle University where I learned so much. I created light installations, I did printmaking and painted the industrial areas of Newcastle. That’s when I started painting cities actually; I started to travel around the world painting urban landscapes en plein air with oils.
I’ve traveled all over the Middle East from Palestine to Yemen and Jordan. I’ve also painted in the Far East, all over Europe, in South America and New York, to name a few. I’ve also painted in the less likely poorer suburbs. I got to know a lot about humanity doing those urban paintings. Nowadays, I’m getting to know a lot about nature – painting in forests. I’ve just completed a whole series of the temperate Atlantic rainforest along the west coast of the UK and Ireland.
I’ve never really tried to have a style. I’ve always tried to let the subject dictate how I paint it. I think my style has developed from painting outside. I have to paint quickly, usually two hours is the average because the sun moves so quickly. This sense of urgency gives my paintings a natural energy that I then bring into the studio. If you look closely at my paintings, they’re very expressive. The mark making is really important and as I’ve got older the paintings have become much more complex with more layers.
What I enjoy most about what I do is being in nature and forest bathing.
My general practice is to work outside in wild places and then in my studio. I’ve been painting trees for the last seven years. I usually start my studies outside and then the studio, picking one of the views to make into three or four big paintings. The initial study is really the painting of my experience and I want to bring that into the large studio paintings.
The advice I would give to young artists or anyone trying to make art is to be honest to yourself and in what you’re doing. Don’t get too sidetracked with the art world. Immerse yourself in great art and go to as many galleries as you can. You’ve got to love what you’re making art about; you have to concentrate and love every part of the work that you’re making. Don’t try and put too much into a composition as a painting should speak and not chatter. I always say to young artists to sketch everything that’s around you as this will help with your craftsmanship. Fundamentally, art is vocational – it’s something you have to be bit obsessed with.
Need to know: Andrew will be painting en plein air at the Festival of Gardens & Nature at Ballintubbert in Laois from May 2-3, giving visitors a chance to experience his process live. @andrew_gifford_artist @johnmartingallery
SEE MORE: Botanical Artist Isik Güner
