Malcolm Ashman RBA

Statement

"Two subjects have engaged me over many years, the landscape and the figure. I don’t maintain a single cohesive style but prefer to allow each piece to dictate how I will respond.  

The landscape paintings, at one time directly observed, are worked from brief drawings and memory. The process has become as important as the subject matter, I’m driven by the physical pleasure of the medium. They are places I know well; this is an important part of the work, revisiting the familiar.

Working with the figure is a totally different proposition. It’s an interactive process and I enjoy the unnerving prospect of not being in complete control. My impulse is to observe closely, recording as accurately as possible my response to the sitter and their response to me. Both paintings and drawings are built of layers and repeated marks over a long period, the resulting work a hybrid of both myself and my model, a record of time spent.”

Methodology

Ashman likes painting the landscape and painting people.

He enjoys being in the landscape but it’s the recollection of that experience which makes him want to paint. At one time he painted from life, watercolours en plein air, but after many years he wanted something different. Gradually he evolved a new way of working. Ashman still makes drawings from observation and uses these as his starting point but then memory takes over which naturally simplifies and abstracts the resulting image. He is still observing but from a distance. 

Painting people is all about observation. Ashman likes to spend as much time as possible with the sitter. He finds taking photographs a good way to get to know someone and they can be a useful reference but they are no match for the human eye which sees so much more.

"Drawing is probably the most useful tool. I find people relax very quickly when I’m drawing them. We chat about everything under the sun and slowly I get a glimpse of what I want from the portrait."

Memberships

Bath Society of Artists

Royal West of England Academy