David Campbell

Artist Interview

What medium do you work with, and why have you chosen them?

Oil paint on canvas or board. The medium is sensual, easily worked and is well suited to the palette knife. I find the colours and finish of oils to be rich, stable and sustainable. There is also a certain satisfaction is working with an age old medium such as oils. I do use charcoal and gouache but only for study and sketches.

How does your artwork get from initial concept to exhibition stage?

It can begin from different angles, sometimes an idea first and then seek subject to match that idea or the subject prompts the painting. For landscape, once conceived I visit a location to get a 'feel' for the area, make sketches or small gouache paintings and take photographs. Because the work is abstracted expressionist in nature the detail and even accuracy of form or colour is not the focus. I'm looking for mass and shape initially then move on to colour during the process of making.

Can you tell us a little more about your creative working environment/studio?

Painting with oils on 12oz canvas duck or board is a deliberate choice. Building the stretcher frames, cutting and stretching the canvas and then applying a size and primer is a rich part of the process allowing full involvement from beginning to end. The studio is one room in the house which forces a level of order and cleanliness that may otherwise not exist. Brushes are usually cleaned and washed at the end of each session but palette knives are much easier to clean which is satisfying. As for the process, it can be quite organic but usually begins with a fairly accurate sketch and blocking in of shape with one or two washed out tones. Scraping back the work with a large spatula is often part of the process whereby I'm left with a sort of under painting that is close to the finished outcome but without the texture of field. Colour may also change going into the top layers.