Antonia Showering
GUSTON DESCRIBES THE FEELINGS BETWEEN FINISHING A PAINTING AND STARTING A NEW ONE APTLY IN HIS INTERVIEW WITH DAVID SYLVESTER. ‘…I REALLY LIKE THAT LAST PICTURE, WHICH HAS BECOME SUCH A FRIEND. BUT LATER IT BECOMES A TERRIFYING ENEMY BECAUSE I REALLY WANT TO DO IT AGAIN.’I AGREE THAT YOU ONLY HAVE AROUND ONE OR TWO WEEKS AFTER FINISHING A WORK WHERE YOU CAN RELAX UNTIL ALL YOUR OLD WORK STARTS HAUNTING YOU AND YOU WONDER HOW YOU EVER MADE YOUR LAST PAINTING. WORDS ANTONIA SHOWERING WWW.ANTONIASHOWERING.CO.UK @ANTONIASHOWERING
I’ve always painted and wanted to be an artist as long as I can remember. My mother’s family are very artistic. My great-grand father painted in Switzerland and his daughter, my grandmother, taught history of art for the majority of her life. She married my Chinese grandfather who was a fantastic draughtsman. He ended up becoming an architect but made some very strong paintings along the way. It was my grandfather who taught me how to draw and my grandmother who showed me the greats.
I often stack several compositions on top of each painting. I think this helps the final image to become richer in emotion. Hidden imagery from the painting’s journey is sometimes visible for the viewer under the end surface. My current painting? Loose, figurative compositions aiming to capture a moment or emotion through layers of oil paint, applied and rubbed back until the feeling is present.
Paint helps me make sense of things and also stops complicated situations feeling so scary. When you’re deep in the midst of a painting, often late at night, you know there’s no where else you’re supposed to be.
When a painting is working it’s one of the most enriching, satisfying and fun things. It’s tough when you struggle to get a work back on track but it is so worth the tricky times for those moments where you’re sure it’s heading in the right direction.
Paula Rego said ‘If you put frightening things into a picture, then they can’t harm you. In fact, you end up becoming quite fond of them’.
For me, the main thing when looking at other people’s art is that I feel something from it. Everyone searches for different things when confronted with a work of art. I find an important purpose of art to make us feel less alone. Sometimes words fail us but art transcends language and time.
