Paul McDonald Smith ARTIST

Artist's Statement To me, painting is simply a means for expressing a response to the sense of sight and visual experiences. The challenge for me, in each individual painting, is to create an effect in paint that generates or recreates a strong visual sensation or "feeling" of the subject, for the viewer. A sensorial approach to painting. I have the greatest respect for artists whose work reveals –in retrospect - a constant stream of application, dedication and achievement, that demonstrates an even ability across the widest range of subjects, and reflects the character of their subjects with sympathy, authority and completeness. I prefer not to align myself to any particular school, but to acknowledge the value of classical training in the disciplines associated with drawing and painting from models, casts and objects of still life, from the life and portrait model, from other studio subjects such as flowers, and directly from the landscape.  I place great importance on the understanding of materials, their use and physical and chemical composition, and the various traditional studio procedures and practices artists have observed for centuries, such as the preparation of supports, grounds and varnishes. I maintain a strong preference for working directly from life but recognise that working methods may be conditioned by circumstances that deserve and require certain flexibilities. I do not believe that one must follow any dogma or strictures in the pictorial arts, that might restrict an artist’s choice of working methods or options. Such things do not represent a strength to me. I hold the view that the primal artistic impulse is toward the depiction of visual effects and things seen. It would stand to reason, therefore, that I have never been particularly interested in a message or narrative that places the “concept”, “idea” or “story” as a priority in painting.