INTERVIEW LONDON CALLING… What are your favourite painting locations in London, and why? I think I have been painting London for 30 years or more. I love South Bank, you’ve got so many interesting iconic buildings all the way along the river and, as I like to include water in my paintings, it’s the perfect combination of both water and landmarks. The light that settles as the sun comes down is so distinctive, it sets over the Houses of Parliament, casting shadows over South Bank. I also like the view from The Shard looking down on Tower Bridge, it shows a fantastic perspective as the river runs away into the distance. If you take a boat out onto the river itself, it’s great to see the docklands looking down to the bridges. Another view I love is from the Tate Modern, where you can view St Paul’s Cathedral over Millennium Bridge. Bridges and water definitely link these two special cities and are common themes in my work, because they cast
remarkable shadows, create shapes, angles and give perspective to the scenes I capture.
Painting en plein air is a difficult thing to do as there are so many people constantly moving through your line and sight, which continually plays with the way the light falls and the energy of the scene. It’s tricky but rewarding, and I do paint on location a lot as it really gets inside your blood. I think because you really get to experience the scene in real time, you retain a feeling that you’ve really done it. I feel that if you only use a photograph for reference, you don’t get the full and instant feel for the location. It’s the energy of the city that fires me up. What entices my eye is not the location, per se, but the way the light reacts on a whole spectrum of surfaces, that is the city to me.
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