THE SIT DOWN
01: W. WATSON-WEST
PF: Who or what has influenced your work the most?
Growing up in rural Yorkshire with the freedom to explore and exercise my imagination and perception is probably a big influence. The essence of my formative years surrounded by art and design in my parents’ house has undoubtedly influenced me as has their encouragement to draw when I was a child, as soon as I could hold a pencil.
PF: Walk us through your creative process?
Initially I will sketch and contemplate, often walking and observing daily life until I have some kind of initial theme or starting place for my work. Once I start painting I aim to reach a state where I can let my brushstrokes be as intuitive as possible and let each phase of painting guide and inform the next. I will often work on several pieces at once and then go back to them several times over the course of weeks or months until I am satisfied with them.
PF: What do you want people to feel or take away from your art?
I hope that my art will appeal on various levels, from an aesthetic to an intellectual, but I would love my work to have the capacity to offer some kind of release or moment of contemplation in the viewer, similar to that which I get when I paint.