PETER BROWN
wrong and I struggled with line which is why I used
charcoal so much. It’s a constant battle to try to nail it,
but the battle is what it’s all about.”
But his perceived difficulties don’t end with drawing,
admitting that he finds interiors hard to paint for a number
of reasons. “I guess it’s because with a landscape it’s a
moment in time and with an interior you can fiddle and
fiddle and I end up killing them off quite a bit,” he chuckles.
“I work best when I work subconsciously, quickly. But with
interiors I end up thinking too much and paint myself out.”
However, the artist wants to get better at this subject
matter and so his next show – Bath It Is at Victoria Art
Gallery – features a selection of paintings of his studio.
“In which not much happens, really,” he says drily. Aside
from much of his career being spent painting out of doors,
Peter dislikes the light in his studio. Or did until recently.
“It’s east-facing and I get really grumpy about how the light
comes in,” he says. “I want a north-facing one and I looked
into building one but it’s just too expensive. And it’s a good
job too, as I was in there recently and the light was
streaming in and I thought that would be good to paint.”
And so, he endeavoured to capture his indoor working
life. “Before shows I do what I call a ‘tickle up’ which iswhere I get all my paintings together and make sure all the
figures have two legs and the buildings weren’t too wobbly,
stuff like that.”
Peter has painted far-flung places like India and the USA
but always returns to Bath as a subject. Does he ever get
bored of painting the city? “I do talk about getting Bath-ed
out,” he admits. “In the past couple of years, I’ve really
fallen in love with the place again though. I have had a bit
of an awakening about what a lovely place it is. Bath’s not
an edgy city in any way but it’s very beautiful and I’m
happy painting that. I find it very appealing still.”
It helps, I suggest, that there’s a ‘local boy’ affection
for him there. “Also, you wear people down,” he laughs.
Peter’s own artistic affections include the usual
suspects like Walter Sickert and John Constable, as well
as his contemporaries at the NEAC such as Arthur Neal:
“He’s such a thoughtful painter.” In fact, his main
inspiration comes from those who see things beautifully.
“I never ceased to be amazed by a good eye,” he says.
“Just someone who sees things really well.”
Peter’s next challenge is to tackle a subject matter that
is simply unavailable in Bath. “I would like to get back to
painting the coast which I used to do a lot,” he says,OPPOSITE PAGE,
FROM TOP Snowfall,
St James’s Street,
oil on canvas,
40.6x50.8cm;
Winter Evening,
Monmouth Street,
oil on board,
30.5x40.6cm
BELOW Early
Afternoon, the
Widcombe Deli
and The Ram,
oil on board,
30.5x40.6cm
Artists & Illustrators 25