'Artists can only try to make their best work and hope to spread some happiness!'
Alan Coulson is an artist based in the UK. In 2012, his painting ‘Ritchie’ was awarded third place in the BP Portrait Award, London. He exhibits in the UK and internationally. Alan admits to an obsession with portraiture since his schooldays. His body of work includes sensitively rendered graphite drawings and highly detailed and perceptive oil paintings of people he meets; and an on-going series of a beautiful muse - his wife Ciara Sturges.
Where is your current studio? Covid 19 has resulted in the temporary closure of my studio, so I’m currently attempting to work from the kitchen table (not an easy task as our kitchen is also being used as a classroom for my four pesky kids).
I live in a small market town in the Upper Calder Valley in West Yorkshire, England. And under normal circumstances, I work from a studio space I share with a ceramicist friend.
Located in a disused chapel at the top of the valley, almost on the moor, it’s crumbling and can be cold but it is has a unique peaceful atmosphere. It’s a hidden gem and I can’t wait to return.
Do you prefer to work in silence or does certain music inspire you? I prefer sound in the studio. Music does inspire me and there is one album in particular that has become almost a recurring theme tune when I come close to completing a painting (I’m not saying what it is).
BBC Radio 6 music and Radio 4 are also studio staples.
Studio life can lead to isolation, how do you address this/ keep a balance?
I’m perfectly happy working in isolation. I see my work as being quite self indulgent and I’m quite content in my bubble. My family life is suitably hectic and provides a pretty good counter balance.
Describe a moment you had an epiphany concerning your creative life.
Seeing Philip Harris’s painting of Sir Anthony Dowell at The National Portrait Gallery, London. It’s based on a series of photographs taken in the sitter's garden in strong sunlight and is very dramatic. But what really drew me in is Philip’s incredible brush marks. Standing up close, they left an indelible impression in my mind.
Is there something you regard as essential to your preparation or process? It’s meeting interesting people, building friendships and the circumstances that lead up to me asking nervously if someone will consider sitting for me.
What do you hope to convey through your work? It may seem a cop out but honestly, I really just want to make simple contemporary portraits that satisfy me aesthetically. Anything more that the viewer takes away is a bonus!
Follow Alan!