Landscapes oh landscapes. For reason best known to no one I just can’t draw/paint landscapes. Now I know that is a loaded statement and so perhaps I had better expand on it – just a little.

For more than 30 years I have been a practicing photographer who’s main subject matter was landscapes. As a result of this every time I look at a landscape I see it as a photographer and can’t make the leap away from this. This is really starting to bug me so I hatched a plan….well I actually came up with this over breakfast and as such not much thought went into it. But it was a plan.

The plan. I’ll find some landscape photograph and try and copy it in a vain hope that I might find something inspirational in this process to spur me onto greater things. So I scanned my library of art and photographic books and came on Dream Street by W. Eugene Smith, who by the way is, in my opinion, one of the greatest photographers of all time – but that is another argument. As I flicked through the gritty black and white images of 1950’s Pittsburgh I came across one of his steel works portraits and I just had to make a painting of it.

So is this a landscape – er no but I really enjoyed the challenge of creating the painting so…well nothing really. Is there a moral to this story?..not at all – it is just a story.

Simon Marchini

Sent from my iPad
http://www.simonmarchini.co.uk