Crea+ive Maids+one Interview with Danny

All interviewees were asked the same set of questions...

What's your connection to Maidstone?

I came to Maidstone from Bristol when I was 7, and have been here and surrounding areas ever since.

Where do you work?

I work from my studio, which I share with my partner Val Whittingham, which is a unit at Manor Farm in Wateringbury.

Do you have an idea in mind before you start a painting?

I will always plan a painting before starting it, with sketches, using the computer or a combination of the two, mainly in regard to composition, as my paintings are quite structured, but also to establish a general idea of colour, although this later can easily change as the painting progresses.

What are you working on at the moment?

I am currently working on 3 commissions, all different, one a landscape one a portrait and the other (which I don't do often) a portrait of two spaniels! I am also working away on a self portrait and a painting of a close-up of a tulip. I always work on several paintings at the same time.

What artist has had the biggest influence on your work?

This is almost impossible to answer as there are many artists that I admire and who have influenced my work, some in terms of technique, others in style and yet others in concept and idea even if I don't particularly like the final work they produce. Literature can also influence me such as Proust's "A la recherche des temps perdus" with the idea of looking back at your childhood and past to explain the present. To name names I would hazard Rembrandt, Turner, Beckmann, Dali, Richter.

Finally, if you could live with any work of art ever made, what would it be?

A painting that I have admired and loved since my teens by Turner, "Norham Castle, Sunrise" painted in 1845.

Turner

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Novus Studio, Manor Farm, Wateringbury, Kent ME18 5PP, UK