“I am an emotional painter. A male painter trying to grasp at his insecurities, question the world around him and confess his emotional break the stigmatic world of toxic masculinity. “
Hi Conor, can you tell us a bit about your work?
“I have been working towards an understanding of my own anxieties, memories and emotional experiences. Projecting my inner mental fears about my health, my relative’s health, past lovers, loneliness, distress and mortality.”
“Recently, I have developed an excitement for the ecstatic movement of impasto paint on the canvas. I acquire large quantities of medium mixed paint and a range of brushes to carve into the canvas, overlapping layers of colour whilst juxtaposing images; treating my pieces like I would my sketchbook with oil pastels and pens. I attempt to break up my linear mind-set by stretching large primed canvas to the walls of my studio, painting on the floor, flipping them to different angles and reworking canvas’ multiple times before completion. Some of my pieces somewhat develop narratives as I paint.”
“As I paint, I stand back and investigate the painting as I go, reworking when I see something interesting develop. I enjoy the variation of my painting techniques that expanding my knowledge of medium and colour whilst drawing the viewer into my paintings to see the variations of colours, figures and textures. This allows me to indulge in a vigorous, playful mind-set of creative freedom without the physiological barrier of understanding to how it will be completed holding me back from expressive mark-making.”
What are you plans following Graduation?
“I will be continuing to live down in Brighton for another year. Enjoying the seaside and exciting arts environment here, developing skills in volunteer works at galleries and hopefully acquiring a studio and participating in shows. I have applied for the Phoenix Studio Award, and if I am successful, I will continue to develop my understanding of expressive painting and myself as an artist with the same vigorous curiosity that I have been exploring in my studio. Additionally, I am interested in exploring my arts practice through new means like woodcuttings, sculpture, life drawing and setting out time to participate in volunteer work.”
“I have ambitions to apply for Post-Graduate courses in London like the Royal Drawing School, of which I did my Foundation Course, where I can develop my drawing skills and see how they can be conjoined with my current expressionistic practice. Additionally, I’ll be applying for artist residencies abroad, with hopes of traveling to China, The Netherlands and Germany at some point in the future. Past that, I’ll continue my studies of art into a Masters Course.”
How was studying here for you?
“I am very happy with my time on the Course at Brighton. I have many opportunities to explore my interests within my studio space, with my course mates and my welcoming tutors who were always available for a friendly chat about painting. Something I will heavily miss is the critical opportunity to commune with fellow artists in such a welcoming, artistic freedom drenched environment.”
Come and visit us at Graduate Show 2018
Find out more about BA(Hons) Fine Art: Painting
