Interview: Paul Harding

Taking part in Caffe Dolce’s Christmas Exhibition is local artist, Paul Harding.  He describes his work as being in a narrative, represational style and he is particularly interested in representations of memory.  Paul found time to down his paintbrush long enough to answer some fanciful questions:

1) Fight or flight?
When in doubt, “Charge!!”…..in theory anyway.

2) Imminent or imitation?
Brilliant new ideas are often ‘imminent’- then don’t really deliver. ‘Imitation’ gets things done now. In the art realm, as in so many other aspects of life, we’re constantly evolving and imitating whether consciously or not- even if we’re only imitating our own work. I’d be flattered if someone wanted to imitate my own artwork!

3) A picture is a poem without words? (Horace)
Any worthwhile picture creates emotion and tells a story…..any worthwhile poem does the same.

4) The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude. (Nietzsche)
All art, great or small, owes a debt to the past. That debt is gratitude.

5) Owl or lark?
Certainly not a lark these days…..not much of an owl either! I think time is catching up on me…..

6) Landscape or portrait?
Even a landscape is a portrait and both are windows on our souls.

7) This question represents a pause into which you may raise any topic you choose.  Or not.
My topic of the moment, indeed the theme of much of my artwork is memory. My memories, your memories, our collective cultural memories. The recollection of things past, the events and places, the ephemera of the everyday, the people, objects and thoughts that share in our lives……Then we turn around and they’re gone, perhaps forever- the harder we search to rediscover them, the further away they seem. My art owes much to these musings.

8) Art is…
A story, even a love, that can begin from the briefest of glances.

 

Paul’s work can be seen at Caffe Dolce from 6th December 2012.