Featured Artist

I am often inspired by other artists. Their visions pulling something from deep within me and creating, for me, a new understanding of my own experience. This is my area to recognize the greatness of those artists who have through their own artistic endeavors, encouraged me to become a better artist. The work presented here is truly something to aspire to.

David Gough

A remarkable artist with over 20 years experience in the art world. His work has often left me with my mouth hanging agape and my mind wondering numbly about my own beliefs. Often times, long after I have viewed his work, the art comes back to haunt me and pricks at my mind like a thorn until I have fully understood what I have gained by viewing and grasping the personal meaning the piece has for me. David is truly a master, not only in skill, but in laying open and shedding light on those things that many of us are not always so comfortable with, making us reexamine our understanding of ourselves and our beliefs. 

1. What inspires and moves you to create your work? Is it often an idea that hatches and grows, changing during the process of creation or does it strike you like a sudden epiphany?

David: It's all those things, but as a general rule of thumb, I always begin with a need to express myself in some way, and then mould the vision that's haunting me, to accommodate the message. I think its like developing a visual language that you draw on to say  things that are otherwise indefinable. I also find a slab of last nights mouldy cheese is always a great source of inspiration. :)

2. Have you had any mentors in your life whose influences have left their mark on your work? If so, who are they and what did you learn?

David: I've had three mentors throughout my life-Martin O'Shea, Ian Herring and John Liddy. Sadly, none of them are any longer with us, and I guess it wasn't really until they had left this mortal coil, that I realised they had actually inhabited that role for me. When the first one died-Martin-I guess as a coping mechanism, I stupidly and arrogantly thought I'd found my very own Cassagmus (Picasso's mentor), but by the third time, I just felt bereft.  Each one was no less important in defining some facet of me, be it in their influences in art, literature or poetry or whatever, but for the most part it was something innate in their own spirit-some quest for the something beyond themselves-that as Laurens vander Post described in his book-'it was as if by his death, he sowed a seed...'

3. Are there any external factors which play a role in your art?

David: God yes, from the mundane to the existential-particularly during the dark times we live in. Modern daily living is such an intense affront to the senses, and its so difficult to find a kernel of considered quietude in the murk. I don't think its possible to be an artist in a vacuum however, so in some respects, one feeds the other.

4. Some artists are hell bent on relaying a message with their work and every stroke they make is for that purpose alone, while others are content to paint for no other reason than that it pleases them to do so. The former group would try to force the viewer to acknowledge and perhaps understand an alternate perspective on a subject, to gear them towards a specific conclusion. While the latter group, would leave the viewer to his own interpretations based on his own life experience and hope that it makes an impact. While both are definitely valid forms of art, and both groups would put their soul on the canvas, I wonder if you classify yourself as one or the other? Perhaps, both?  Myself, I tend to paint whatever it is I am feeling in the moment with very little thought for anything else and I can only hope to touch the viewer in some personal way. How about you? Which group would you say you are from? Do you feel that one form has more of a lasting affect on the viewer? There is definitely no right or wrong answer to this question, just an opinion.

David: I definitely put myself in role of the former, but rather hope not to enforce a viewpoint, but allow the viewer to interpret something of themselves in it. In that way my art is more of a mirror than a message, which is something I'm not too big on conveying-I hate sermons. I am envious however, of artists who can just allow themselves to become immersed in the sensation of merely painting. Its something I would love to just do-to get lost, and be transported by the scene, rather than any undercurrent. Be it the swirling timbres of a landscape, or the warm tones of a nude-it would be something to become lost in that. Does either one have more impact than the other..?-I don't think so. Consider a Van Gogh alongside a Dali, and you'll be no less affected

5. This question has 2 parts. In one sentence I would like you to define what an artist is. No bullshit, give it to me straight. What is your definition of an artist. And the second part is a hypothetical question. IF you had only one brush and one color to paint with for an entire year, which brush would you use and what color would it be?

David: An artist is someone who seeks truth, in-spite of themselves or anyone else.
And if I had one brush and any color I wanted to use for a year, I'd say a good old yard brush and a pot of primer-I'd love to paint this world white right about now, and start the last eight years over.

Thank you Jenga.

To view more of  David's captivating art, please visit his site at www.davidgoughart.com

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