David Woodings - Painter

Andrew Paul Wood in his blog http://upthearts.artbash.co.nz described David Woodings work as: "large canvasses, photorealist in style but with a distinctly Pop Art suite of themes and candy-bright palette. Wooding homes in on the gleaming hard surfaces of cheerful, bulbous, curving objects: parts of cars, the magnificent Kiwiana of a Buzzy Bee. It is delicious work, full of comic-book vigour and populuxe-era utopianism, like something that shambled out of the consumer utopian visions of the 1950s. Rosenquist comes to mind."

I asked David to talk more about the role that creativity plays in his life.

David: I seem to have been involved in creative activities all my life. My earliest recollections are of either colouring in, painting or carving something. I was also heavily involved in singing as a child and performed in choirs and as a soloist either as part of the choir or on stage. I now paint full-time

Wayne: Was there a point in your life when you recognised that you were creative?
David: I suppose that at a very early age. I began to enter colouring competitions maybe as an 8 year old and won a number of prizes. I started painting and getting painting sets when I was 10-11 and even had lessons with a local painter when I was early teens.

When asked how he would describe his creative process David replied: I see interesting and stimulating things that can represent for me social commentary and depict them in paintings.

Wayne: What suggestions would you have for others who want to explore their creativity?
David: For those who are creative in an artistic sense, time must be apportioned to fully understand what that person wishes to achieve either singularly or collectively (with others), ascertain the correct medium to best give emphasis to their creativity and then spend time understanding how work they create is best delivered to be both understood as meaningful and personally rewarding

Wayne: Do you have ‘habits’ associated with your creative expression? e.g. a certain place to create, conditions when you are at your most creative, states of mind, special/favourite tools/equipment/media, any rituals?
David: There are certainly ‘times’ when one feels more like being creative than others. However I am a firm believer that by placing oneself in the right environment creativity can be measured. Sometimes it is hard work, but by starting something one often just works through the barriers and results come. I have always had a deep love of music (have very catholic tastes) and love to play music (sometimes but not always ‘loud’) when in the studio. The space filled with music enables me to concentrate more on what I am doing and the time just flies by. I like to have a full day in the studio, broken by ritual tea and lunch breaks (like being on the factory floor), and finish around 5. The only difference can be that my work in the studio can be any of the 7 days of the week. I have always had a love for oil paint and it has become almost an exclusive medium for all my work over the last 10 years.

Davids final comment about creativity: " It is the life force of the universe, without it we are nothing!"
No argument from me! More about David and his work on http://www.davidwoodings.com/ including work for sale - a better investment than almost anything else in this economic climate!