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.
PF: How important is the viewer’s interpretation versus your intention?
Whilst I would love for people to understand where my paintings come from, I know that that will not always be the case. So whilst it’s important, it is not essential, especially if they can get satisfaction from the paintings in another form such as joy.
PF: Have you ever felt pressure to create work that "sells" rather than what speaks to you?
Yes, but I have tried to stay true to myself and believing in what I am producing is worth more to me than selling out. I’ll caveat that with the fact that bills also have to be paid so I know it’s not always as simple as that! I think if you believe in something, there will be other people that “get” it; it’s just a case of finding those people.
PF: If you could have dinner with any artist, living or dead, who would it be?
JMW Turner - since researching him at school I have been fascinated by how ahead of his time his work was and the striking relation to 20th c. Abstract Expressionism. It would be fascinating to hear what he was thinking!