Q&A with Peter Wileman
Thompson's Gallery: "Walk us through your thoughts on this body of work, and how it's been preparing for it across the year."
Peter Wileman: "Tour de Force is both a reactionary and emotional response to covid. Last year one was able to travel the country, working and painting without restriction.
"This year we have all been tied down mentally and in some cases unable to visit friends and family for long and stressful periods of time.
"My answer and release has been to put a collection of works together that evoke a sense of joy, memories of holidays past, memories of my treasured landscapes that so excite me.
"A recent quote by Creative Newark about my works sums it up perfectly:
'I still have the same emotional response when I see his pieces. Sometimes art has the ability to halt you entirely in your tracks, causes you to stop and take a breath and entirely absorb every brush stroke, every detail, every texture. It has to ability to transport you to some place else.'
"I think now more than ever we have a need to feel a deeper connection to what resonates within us. It's tough times out there so I think we rely on the brilliance of artworks to nurture our souls and give us hope. I know for one, I feel grateful of this response."
TG: "How do you approach a cityscape piece versus a coastal or rural landscape?"
PW: "Cityscapes are approached in much the same manner as my landscapes. The two are inexplicably linked by virtue of the fact that in both I try to evoke a sense of mystique from the pair of them.
"A tranquil dawn over the Thames with rising mist is just as evocative as a stunning sunset over the west coast of Scotland. In both subjects I strive to 'ring' the last drop of emotion from my painting. Picture making and compostiton are essential in both subjects, but for me, emotion, energy and spiritual awareness are paramount for producing a painting that will communicate not just with me but with the viewer."
TG: "A prominent new introduction to your work in recent years has been additions of texture (muslin, torn paper, sand, etc). Tell us about this 'discovery' in the studio."
PW: "The introduction of various elements of collage is to try to evoke a pictorial effect that cannot be captured in a 'photographic or figurative plein air piece which quite frankly I find both boring and unstimulating. Paintings for me must give back something more than just a plain mirror image. The use of collage and abstraction does this for me in both my cityscapes and landscapes."
TG: "This exhibition features an intriguing mini-series within, The Passage of Time. Describe the influences surrounding this group of small yet impactful pieces."
PW: "The mini-series Passage of Time has emanated purely from not being able to travel as extensively as i would've liked. I've mv moved sketches and memories on to the next phase to produce what I would call a coloured diary. Something between a finished coloured idea and a full sized piece of work. Each small piece represents a special memory of time and place that not always made it to a larger painting, but still evoked an impulse strong enough tor record in colour."
TG: "What do you hope audiences take from Tour de Force?"
PW: "First, a sense of hope in these strange times. Second, a rejoicing in our environment which is ever present and all encompassing regardless. Lastly, that the work produced gives off a sense of quality and intensity that will communicate itself to the viewer and stimulate them as it has me!
