Five Questions/Five Art Works has become one of the most well-read features of Wildlife Art Journal.  With each new artist interview, one can sense the momentum rapidly taking shape.  Perhaps the only thing more exciting than an artistic creation is getting inside the head of the artist who made it.

We'll say it one more time:  Five Questions/Five Art Works is the art conversation that never ends.  In the dialogue that follows, enjoy sculptor Simon Gudgeon's interview with Jonathan Sainsbury in which they explore the power of allegory in developing a narrative for painting as well as many other things.  In the U.K., Gudgeon and Sainsbury are friends as well as colleagues, restless in their refusal to be pinned down or pigeon-holed by a narrow definition of Realism.

Writes Sainsbury:  "Nature is too big for me to have found just one style to fit everything I encounter, so I use different techniques to express what I wish to say.  I prod and probe and paint, hoping to reflect something of its complexity and beauty, looking for a glimpse of Eden."

Sainsbury and his wife, Kate, live in Comrie, Perthshire, a part of central Scotland known for its big landscapes, sporting and equestrian culture. They love the country life.

Sainsbury has gained critical international acclaim for charting his own course as an interpretor, drawing upon both traditional Western naturalism and Asian concepts of design and composition in his work.  Some have suggested a kindredness in style between Sainsbury and American Thomas Quinn .

In our first installment of Five Questions/Five Art Works, WAJ interviewed Susan Fox of northern California who then had an exchange with Andrew Denman about painting.  Afterward, Denman  chatted with Montana artist Julie Taylor Chapman.  Chapman carried the interchange across the Atlantic Ocean into the creative space of Gudgeon.  And now Gudgeon taps Sainsbury.

Enjoy.

SIMON GUDGEON:  You work in a number of mediums. My favourite is your charcoal and watercolour—which do you prefer?

JONATHAN SAINSBURY: I enjoy working with charcoal because its nature does not encourage illustration and detail. It is fast, impressionistic and ideas can be realized quickly with a vitality that I like. If I had to choose a preference, I would stay with charcoal and watercolour, it comes more naturally to me.

Watercolour, oil, pen, pencil, all have their individual qualities, one of which will be right for the idea I have for a picture. Therefore preference is a luxury, the idea must always determine the manner in which it is to be painted.

GUDGEON: So many artists get stuck on a treadmill to constantly produce work for commission or exhibition.  How do you discipline yourself to take time out to experiment and develop?

SAINSBURY:  My sole income in the last thirty years has come from painting, therefore commissions and exhibitions have been vital for the essentials of life. However I never feel on a treadmill, because I love what I do and don't need to take time out to experiment and develop. New ideas are ongoing all the time. It is not always financially very astute to work like this but I have to follow my head and heart. If I believe in what I am doing it is the only way to sell work, with enthusiasm anda clear conscience.

GUDGEON: I love your painting in this years Birds in Art—Apples—which is inspired by a poem by Laurie Lee . Do you find it more fulfilling to have a deeper narrative in your work?

SAINSBURY:  At the moment I am enjoying using poems as the source of inspiration for pictures, poets can with words evoke wonderful images for paintings. It is early days in this new venture, so my selection of Laurie Lee's poem Apples which is a very descriptive poem, seemed a sensible choice as one of my first poems, giving me plenty of images to work with. Allegory and metaphor will be more of a challenge.

Historically most works were commissioned by the church or state, therefore the quality of the imagery painted was intended to induce and excite the narrative. Modern technology takes care of most of our story telling today, but there is still a place for a contemporary retelling in painted images of some of the great archetypa lstories such as Noah’s Ark, the Garden of Eden and Aesop's fables. The thought of tackling these ideas is a very exciting prospect.

GUDGEON: In an age when anything can be art and anyone an artist how would you define Art?

SAINSBURY:  The dictionary defines artas the product of man's creative activity, obviously a truth, and it goes on to say art is the creation of works of beauty. I agree with that. If I had to choose between Marcel Duchamp's ready-made found urinal, and Michelangelo's' Pieta, the choice for me is obvious. Duchamp as a Dadaist believed life was a meaningless absurdity, epitomized by these found objects, on the one hand declaring them as art because the artist chose them, and on the other saying they were not art but anti-art, believing all art is junk. No doubt a great contribution to the story of Art, but I don't want it. It is so depressing to the spirit.

Michelangelo's Pieta is what defines art for me, it is astonishing that this twenty three year old sculptor had the skill and maturity to carve such a masterpiece. A mother holding her crucified son. Can one imagine anything worse? and yet the hands of Michelangelo have portrayed such tenderness between Mary and Jesus, that this invokes in me deeper feelings of pathos, compassion, empathyand love, values that I wish to be associated with more than Duchamp's nihilism.

GUDGEON: Your work has evolved over the years yet is always recognisable as a ' Sainsbury'. Where do you see your artistic direction going in future?

SAINSBURY: I have many ideas for workat the moment inspiration coming from poems to cathedrals and more, where they will lead me in future is hard to say and to try and do so could restrict the possibilities, so all I can say is this: My involvement with nature has been one of wonder, intrigue, joy and sorrow, ever since I was a young boy. Now as an artist, through my creative activity, I shall in the future, as in the past, I hope, mirror these feelings in a way that only painting can.

 

EDITOR'S NOTE: Five Questions/Five Art Works allows artists to interview other artists. It's part of an ongoing conversation.

The Ground Rules

1.The contacted artist is asked five questions, any questions related to art or the artist's life, and in addition to providing the answers,theinterviewee passes along five digital images of her/his artworkfordisplay at Wildlife Art Journal.  Information should include full name of artist, generally where she/he lives, relevantbiographical information, and how long they've been an artist

2. The person asking the questions forwards the answers to the questions and the images along to Wildlife Art Journal.  Email address: editor@wildlifeartjournal.com

3.  The artist who is interviewedthen is asked to select another artist of her/his choosingto whomanother, different set of five questions is posed.  Again,any questions, as long as they are related to art and the artist'slife,and then, similarly, to point 2, above, ask the interviewee to providefive digital images of her/his work to accompany the questions.

4. Thi process will be ongoing and we will collect a roster of artists and their respective countries as this grows. We hope thatFiveQuestions/Five Art Works remain in a given country for a span of five artists.  One rule, henceforth, is that after five artists are interviewed from a given country, the next person selected musthailfrom a different country.  For example, if five American artists are featured in a row, the sixth person selected will hail from a different country.

5.  The intent is to make the questions intriguing and allow participating artists who show off their art to a wider global audience, while hopefully enabling readers to learn something along the way.

If you have any questions or need clarification, please contact: Editor, Wildlife Art Journal, editor@wildlifeartjournal.com