Contemporary British Landscape Paintings
“As a painter, I am influence firstly by the quality of
mind generated from meditation, rather than any
external sensory reference.
Landscape paintings are a way for me to act from
within a state of emersion, and in some way
transmits a state of mind beyond myself.
So far I have painted only British landscapes, and
mostly Lincolnshire.
As a British painter, I am interested in a subtle
tonal and chromatic range, as this is primarily
what I see here.
Many landscape artists have a tendency to be “into”
colour, and this expresses its self as an
exaggeration of the colour they see. This does
make attractive paintings, but not necessarily a
true record.
I am aiming to sacrifice any leaning toward
creating a good, or attractive painting, for the sake
of recording what I see. I aim to feature a distinct
lack of drama in my work, as I feel most people
have enough drama in their real lives, and this has
a desensitizing effect.
The natural environment is always expressing a
state of equilibrium, a dynamic steady state. I feel
this is a better pattern for human life. We can
learn how to be human, from observing what is not
human.
There is no attempt in these paintings to be
original, yet also no attempt to be traditional. I
consider them contemporary, as I am
contemporary. They are happening now.
As a rule I paint ‘En plein air’ as what can be
learned from working from my imagination, or
from a second hand source?”
Christopher Paris