I had written an artist’s statement previously as part of the ‘Concepts in Practice’ course that I successfully completed back in July 2019. However that was a much longer piece of writing, 2000+ words.

The requirement of my artist’s statement is to communicate what I do, how I do it and what inspires me to do it in a succinct statement. The length of which should be somewhere between 100 and 200 words. The purpose of the artist’s statement is similar in principle to a curriculum vitae. An introduction to the person and who they are and what they have done. However, I feel that it differs, in that it is more about what to expect from the artists work. Whereas a CV (curriculum vitae) is more about the persons experience.

I read through the requirements for an artist’s statement on the Artquest website and also the extract from the book ‘ How to write about contemporary art’. I have purchased the book and am working my way through it but hadn’t got to that section yet. Armed with the requisite information I made my initial attempt. It took much longer than I anticipated. The hardest part was getting started. Once I had got some words down it became a little easier although I continually re-wrote sections. The process was as much about trying to find the correct form of words, editing these, ensuring that the sentences made sense and that the whole statement was talking about me and my art practice. I used the work that I am doing for my ‘Parallel project’ as the focus for the statement.

Version 1, is shown below.

==============================

Artists Statement

Mark A Taylor

My paintings are about the Fenland landscape where I live. Mainly using oil and acrylic paints my focus is on portraying a pictorial representation of this landscape.

I approach the subject in two distinct ways. The first, is to translate the landscape as I see it when I walk within it. The features of the landscape, the buildings and the place they occupy within it. The second is to look, close up, at objects within the landscape. To show what is hidden away from casual observation. This second approach culminates in paintings that are closer to abstraction.

My fascination lies in trying to depict the impact that the passing of time has on the landscape. I want to show the effect that the elements have on man-made objects. The degradation on them and how they slowly become absorbed back into the landscape.

=============================

I will now leave this statement for a few days.

============================

My statement has now been revised. It came as no surprise to me that part of the first version needed to be completely re-written. What I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it remained the same. The words and how I articulated what I do and what drives me to do it changed. The revised statement had considerable input from Marian, my wife. We both read Version 1 which and highlighted the problem areas. I initially worked alone on rewording the problematic parts. As part of this process I read the reworded script out aloud. I found that this helped to find sections that didn’t flow. I came to a point where I was reasonably content with the statement. At this point I again involved Marian and with her assistance a final edit was completed. The resultant revised statement achieves my aim of stating what I do, why I do it, what it is about. I feel that it is a true representation of my art practice at this time. Final version below.

==============================

Artists Statement

Mark A Taylor

My paintings are about the Fenland landscape in my locale. Mainly using oil and acrylic paints my focus is on portraying a pictorial representation of this space.

I approach the subject in two distinct ways. The first, is to try to convey what I see when I walk within it; to record the features, the buildings, structures and the space they occupy in this often austere environment.

The second approach is to examine objects close up; to show features that may be overlooked by the casual observer. This approach tends to produce paintings that are more abstract in outcome.

My fascination lies in trying to record the effects of the passing of time. To show the landscape as it is today. In doing so I want to show the impact that the elements have had on man-made objects, documenting their slow imperceptible deterioration.

• Part 5 - Working with words