I paint because...

Why do I paint and consider myself an artist? I have a job. This takes up a lot of my time and energy, earning me some money in to the bargain. That's not enough though, is it?

Work has always been my main protagonist. I like to work, but in my way and towards personal and meaningful results and fulfilment. Going to work and working for an employer has, particularly in recent times, drained my ambition, energy and motivation for life. I have in the past lost the reason of life; it's meaning and purpose. This has pushed me towards stress, ill health and sometimes despair. I'm generally good at what I do/am doing; anything I turn my hand to really. If left alone, I always achieve desired outcomes to my high standard. But that's not what working for an employer is about. It's about control, conformity, standardisation and grinding you down, amongst other institutionalising requirements.

As a result, I have difficulty keeping quiet, questioning the will and expectations of others, comparing my ethical stance against that which I am measured and expected to comply. I have been tagged a trouble maker and now is no exception. My work ethic is never reciprocated by others, in particular those that supervise and measure my efforts. Work is bad but a necessary evil to provide that means to an end. Money too is evil and immoral, creating disparities and false expectations, but that's another story. I am not a headless chicken.

My art drags me home giving reasons to leave work on time and not be dragged into the unpaid overtime I am not contracted for and the false expectation this creates. When I get home I am gainfully employed in creative and productive activities, avoiding boozing, watching television and spending money on the pursuit of leisure activities designed to combat the boredom of aimless free time. I do not need to escape and am more aware of myself and environments than some would like me to be.

Painting calms me. I can fully explore ideas and become absorbed in detail, single mindedly pursuing the results I require and demand. I can take my time and work at my pace to explore all possibilities and be the only influence and quality control of my efforts.

I am interested in art; processes, techniques, results, artists, their methods and lives. Whilst I have favoured artists of reference I don't rip them off. I bring elements of some in to my work and weave these ideas into my own fusion style.

I enjoy the challenge of coming up with new ideas to produce beautiful images as a reaction to the drabness and shadows life has become camouflaged by. Colour is everything. I use energy creating the right combinations, with varying degrees of success. I like unpredictability and new ways of creating the illusion that is abstraction.

My work, for me, is reactionary. I do not conform with rules and processes. I have always been a bit of a rebel, seeing things differently and questioning the norm. As I said before, I am a trouble maker. I don't have to do anything I don't want. If I decide to bend the rules, that's okay. I decide how to work, when to work, when to start, when to finish, what to paint, and so on.

I meet many like minded people through my art work. Some of the most thought provoking and searching discussions have come whilst selling or demonstrating my work. Many seem interested in the process and see opportunities to further share my work to help others. Colour and alternative therapists, clinical psychologists, tree lovers, genuine people. I am encouraged to continue and share more of me with the people who seem to like it. I appreciate all my patrons, especially those that come back for more.

I like what I do and what I paint. I love that I am surrounded by my legacy. These pieces brought me peace and joy (and stress and turmoil) whilst making them so why should I want to part with them? I love the thought that I could do it all of the time if I could just shake that fear and reconcile the economic turmoil self employment can produce. I know, I have tried it and had to go back to work to allow sleep at night. Oh the swings and roundabouts. The time will come, but not quite yet.

Finally, there is the economic motivator; my art makes me money; some money but not yet enough. This is important but sometimes quite difficult to reconcile. However, my mission statement includes ensuring my work is priced to sell, making it accessible to all, should they want to participate in my adventure. Thanks to everyone who has bought (and collect) my work. Commissions and reproductions alike. You make it easier for me to continue and will help me make that break for freedom when the time is right.

This is why I paint. I'm sure you understand. I may need to add to this at a later date.

Willow Rescued from the Rubbish Pile

I found this dejected, unloved and abandoned canvas a couple of weeks ago amongst the elephant grave yard of waste work I have been collecting and rejecting over the last 5 years. Apparently it had fallen behind a cabinet, was retrieved and left covered in dust and cobwebs, perhaps waiting for me to revisit and rescue.

This was largely how it appeared amongst the recycling pile. But why did it reach such a sorry state? I think I was going through a stage of tree denial. This was meant to be the most ambitious tree to date; intricate, challenging for the viewer and a step further towards abstraction. And it just was not working at the time. 

Having decided to emulate the shape of willow trees I see on a daily basis dotted around the Somerset Levels, I used my hand and wrist to give the spread and lean of the pollard. I added another limb to help disguise the basic design. And as the painting developed it just got a bit too intricate and confusing, moving to far from my original vision. So as usual my patience waned, I got bored and frustrated and moved on after dumping it. 

But why shouldn't it be intricate? Why not confusing? Why not challenging? Why not move it on a bit further and use it as a basis for painting motifs I have been storing for later use. So having found it I have been working hard over the last 2 weeks to get it sorted. It is naturally heavily influenced by Klimt, mosaic, textiles. It's also naturally got my own twist. And I have finished it this morning and here it is. A bit of a change I think.

Acrylic paint on box canvas, measuring 16 inches square. Completed on 10th  May 2015.

If you want to buy the original, I will part with it for £250 but not a penny less.

Mounted and canvas prints will also be available very soon. Keep an eye on my website markbetsonartist.co.uk

The first tree and a bit of background

Story of the first tree.

I am often asked why I paint trees in particular, and why I paint them the way I do. Firstly, 'Ceci n'est pas un arbre'. I painted pictures. Secondly, I paint in a way that is ornamental, excites me and whilst representing things actually are works of imagination. Thirdly I make images that I now know are popular, without setting out to please a following or make me money.

Where I am at this point is happenstance. I have been painting for years, returning to my passion in 2004 after a prolonged break. I experimented but mainly tried to create works based on landscapes. This developed to include more abstract elements. For example, landscapes made from coloured circles, or crude pointillist marks and strokes. I then incorporated Oriental effects, impressionism and tried oil paint. Then I stumbled on a painting by Paul Klee that had an irregular rectangular pattern background. I decided to try a proper abstract in oil using a small number of circles on the colourful background broken up into rectangles. I was happy with the result. But it was still not enough. Then for one reason or another I had another anxiety attack, leaving my job and moving far away from home to try and refind myself...again. I didn't make another painting for about a year.

I have for as long as I can remember loved the work of Gustav Klimt. I studied The Kiss for my A Level in Art History. I didn't pay much attention. Time spent at college was lost drinking/smoking/smoozing time. Little did I know or care the effect the work of Klimt would eventually have on me. But not just Klimt. Many others beside. Coupled with my love of nature, the ornamentation has become a mainstay of my work. But why?

Many people like to own paintings that provide another window onto the outside world. Accurate representations of another place, upon which they can gaze, dream and remenisce. Others like pure fantasy, preferring to appreciate works of imagination, another glimpse into the workings of the human mind. Coupled with beauty and colour, my work now, I think combines the two. Desirable works of imagination, based upon the real world with a twist.

I watched a program the other day, where an art historian theorised why some works had been painted, analysing what that artist was trying to say. No doubt art is used as a medium of communication, hiding meanings where necessary. Just look at allegorical works of the Renaissance. However, surely some pictures are made to be beautiful and nothing else. And why not? Looking deeply into paintings does bring a new level of understanding and appreciation, sometimes resulting in details absorbed that would otherwise have been overlooked. When you look at my work it is clear what I am trying to say. Look, look again and enjoy. Don't try and read anything in to this. It's not there, or if it is, it's not intentional.

Which neatly and eventually brings me to Tree#1. I went to the library in Bude one day and borrowed a book about Gustav Klimt. Having time to read through it properly, being unemployed, I marvelled at the intricacy of design, vibrant use of colour and interest of subject matter. How did this fella decide this was the way to paint? My brain started working, formulating a plan for a new way of painting different to any way I hhad worked before. But there was a fear in my mind, something that required using, liberating and overcoming. I waited until the time was right and I knew when that was. I started to struggle again with anxiety, needing a distraction to help cope with deep chasms of doubt. And the tree came.

The sky is based on some pieces by Paul Klee and painted with transparent acrylic. The tree was mine, although inspired by Klimt, incorporating gold in to the bark to achieve a more life like effect. The foreground again has the feel of Klimt. So the Tree of Life  from the Stocklet Frieze was the a model. I never set out to create a copy and I think that is the case. The tree is dressed with coloured flags to break up the sky and provide interest amongst the branches.

So, the 'tree' helped me crawl out of a pit. The reference, colours used and close association with nature, allowed me to start out in another direction. And it's hugely popular with people. The representation of the tree is not meant to be the focus of the picture. It is the skeleton around which everything else hangs. This is now a recurring theme and when I am told that I paint trees I have to explain that whilst there is obviously a painting of a familiar object in my work, there is much more going on around it, familiar and unfamiliar, open to interpretation and there to be enjoyed.

I don't copy, just adapt concepts and images I personally admire. It's my work. It would be a huge coincidence if an exact replica can be found that pre-dates my work. My brain works hard to create more intricate appealing designs, constantly moving forward. When the muse does not take me in the direction I want, I change my style, focus on something else and change the colours I use.

I am a part time artist, using my skills, experience and interest to enrich my life and as a happy by product enrich the lives of many more. My walls are covered with my work and I love it. Have fun and good luck.