http://www.painters-online.co.uk artistMarch 2021 19PRACTICAL
John Walsom
is a member of the Royal Institute of
Oil Painters, the Wapping Group of
Artists and Chelsea Art Society, and
an associate of the Royal Society of
Marine Artists. Several of his paintings
are in prestigious collections, including
HM the Queen, Oxford University and
Hampton Court Palace.
http://www.johnwalsom.co.ukbetter at stopping in time – I think oil
painting is like cooking scrambled eggs- just before you think it’s done, it’s
done.’
The journey
‘For the last few years, I’ve had an
annual one-man show at the Fountain
Gallery at Hampton Court. I’m often at
the Mall Galleries, with the ROI, the
RSMA, the Wapping Group of Artists,
British Plein Air Painters, and any other
societies who’ll have me. I work best
and hardest when I’ve got a deadline,
so even when I don’t enjoy the
pressure, it’s good for my work.
‘I last entered a competition two years
ago, because it was being judged by
Ken Howard and it had a decent prize.
I managed to win it, but I don’t likep Waterloo, the Graffiti Tunnel, oil on canvas, 24 3 30in (61 3 76cm).
‘I painted this in two plein-air sessions. The first was with the Wapping Group of Artists on a Wednesday; I finished it two days later, on the Friday.’to think of painting as a competitive
process with winners and losers, and I
haven’t entered any since. It’s nice to
win prizes at group shows, especially
when they’re judged by artists you
admire; it helps to give you a bit of
extra confidence, which is very useful.
‘I did get to present one work to the
Queen, which happened by chance after
I was commissioned to do a watercolour
of the interior of the Chapel Royal at
Hampton Court. Apart from that, there
haven’t been any sudden leaps forward,
it’s been a long journey, and I think I’m
still on my way.
‘I’m on Facebook and Instagram, but
mostly as a way of keeping in touch with
other painters, seeing what they might
think of new directions. I do find it a
distraction, but I’m glad it’s there.’‘When I’m painting, the relative tones are really
important to me, and I don’t often mess with
the reality that I see’
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