Paul Compton

Next up in the series of artist interviews that started here is the marvelous John Douglas.

My first encounter with the work of John Douglas left me reeling and I have been ever since. He can turn his hand to any medium and format and create something thought-provoking, emotive, edgy, soulful and uniquely his own. His knowledge of artists and art movements is vast and his support to other artists is commendable. I would personally like to thank him for his input on Redbubble and for his beautiful art and nature. So without further ado here is my interview with John Douglas..........

How does being a creative person and pursuing your creativity affect other aspects of your life?
Apart from reading (I am an avid reader) my existence centres on creativity, and all else is secondary. My ‘day job’ is as a travel photographer.
My great love is painting. I also dabble in ceramics, film, composing music, drawing, printmaking, writing.
I have so many ideas rushing in, clamouring for attention, it is hard to keep up. But I try; I am always writing notes so I can come back to an idea later.
I generally work until I am exhausted. Late at night when I am about to go to sleep an idea will come and I think, “NOOOOOOOOOOO! Let me rest!”, or the inspirations come knocking in dreams and won’t leave me alone until I get up and do something. But if it came to it, I would rather have this way of life than not.
I’ve given a long-winded reply, but basically I have no other life than pursuing creativity; this is the way it has been since I was a young child. I have no concept of what it must be like to have a life that has other aspects to it.

Tell us about one person or moment that has made your time on redbubble particularly special or meaningful.
Victor Barker I am very happy to know he is on redbubble. I have been friends with Victor Barker since my late teens. Together we have seen each other through many ups downs and arounds in life, and I love and admire Victor’s drive to create and explore.
Currently Victor primarily focuses on writing, though his creative interests have a broad range, from film to painting to music to photography and on… I admire that he is never afraid to leap in wherever his muse calls him.
Victor to me embodies the idea of “your life is your art”.
Conversation with Victor is a delight, for his artistic sensibilities, his humour, his intelligence, knowledge, his anecdotes. From meditative practices in remote mountain ashrams to tales of drinking binges with Francis Bacon and Lucien Freud; from discussions on novels with Paul Bowles to working with the early pioneering use of LSD as a psychoanalytic tool; to talking music with Billie Holliday to outrunning Fijian coups; life on the sea, life as a yogi devotee – conversation with Victor never fails to inspire me to reach ever higher.
When I think of significant writers of the last fifty years, writers who have also explored other creative avenues and who have led BIG lives – Paul Bowles, William Burroughs, Gore Vidal – I cannot think of these writers without thinking of Victor Barker .

Show & tell us about five works on redbubble that have moved or inspired you.

Industrial I by Susan Grissom

Susan’s background in restoration of ninth-century architecture in Italy, her vast knowledge of modern art, her love of jazz and blues inform this work with a combination of deft, painterly texturing, savvy cool and hints of underlying passion.
I admire this painting’s successful combination of emotion, technique and knowledge. That it references art history while making it’s own statement. How effortlessly Susan manages to make the work monumental yet intimate.
Industrial I dances on the tightrope and makes my heart sing.

Home Page by Helen Bascom

This work by Helen Bascom is one of the more important works on redbubble. With a few quick lines, Helen manages to convey rage, love, social commentary and humour. The themes explored by this work range from redbubble content, the status of women, standards in society, Helen’s soul. Home Page covers many big themes with great heart and a simplicity of line and technique, and a damn cheeky wit.

Cityscape by Shayne Chester

Shayne always inspires with his drive to create and his determination not to give ground to the intellectual gymnastics and posturing of so much celebrated contemporary painting. I love Cityscape for the elegant brushwork and superb composition. I love the diversity of Shayne’s abilities, from his adroit photography to his strong and challenging sociopolitical poster work, to his sensitive paintings. Cityscape uses a bold landscape format to create a consummate portrait of introspection. I love that Cityscape uses an outer image to reveal an inner world; it is for me a compelling argument why well-crafted traditional painting will always have relevance, no matter how post-post-post modern Mary Boone et al. say we should become.

Galway on a Good Day! by Joni Philbin

I am a great lover of the naïve technique and composition in Joni’s paintings. There is a freshness to Galway on a Good Day! that delights me. I like how Joni’s work, no matter the apparent subject, seems to be primarily about exploring an inner world with honesty and an open heart. Joni’s painting is fluid yet charmingly childlike, and develops further with every new work she presents. Joni reminds me that making art is primarily about the process and evolving the soul, not about making a so-called finished picture.

Apartment One by Martin Venit

I admire Martin as he is a musician who has explored further and successfully with his photography. I like Martin’s no-nonsense technique in his photos, the hint of urban musicality, the eye for rhythm and the gaps between.
The Apartment One series of photographs by Martin document the apartment of his brother David. David died from complications arising from AIDS. Martin’s photographs are simple, stark. The “flat” documentary style and minimal post processing allow the subject to breathe. I enjoy a good Photoshopped image, but there are also times when filters and fiddling get in the way and can smother an image.
Martin’s Apartment One (and series) shows how effective having a good eye and just letting the camera record can be. Late at night, just before I go to sleep, the image of 1A on David’s door sometimes appears under my eyelids.

What is the primary reason you make and enjoy experiencing art?
I make art because I have to. I don’t always enjoy it.

Name some artists that have shaped the way you see the world.
Yoko Ono, Paul Klee, Kate Bush, John Fowles, Louise Bourgeois, Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Leonardo Da Vinci, Marc Chagall, Diane Arbus, Oscar Wilde, Camille Claudel, Pablo Picasso, E.J. Bellocq, George Braque, Joel-Peter Witkin, John Lennon, Gore Vidal, Joseph Beuys.

Thank you endlessly John x
Stay tuned for my second redbubble artist interview coming soon.