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Iain Lonsdale
Born 1972.
Painter
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Portrait
Born in England 31 years ago, I have been
living and painting in Tokyo for the past
7 years.
During university
creative ideas developed
by drawing and painting
different shapes
and symbols; sometimes
a reaction of my feelings
to the subject I
was studying.I began looking
for an escape route
for the severely congested
brain. At a time
when being greatly encouraged
to rationalise thought
and organize fact
to form opinion I
searched for the non-thought
processes of the
brain.
After receiving
a bachelors degree
in Law in 1994 I
left England to travel and
search for some answers
to the many questions
jammed inside my
head. One year in India,
three months in Peru
and Bolivia, and instead
of returning to England,
the next choice
of exploration was
Japan.
On arrival
in Tokyo I immediately became
part of this supersonic
hectic lifestyle.
A mixture of working
hard and playing hard
quickly followed.
Whenever any time was spare
I began sketching
and painting my images
onto a variety of
materials.Great inspiration
emerged from the
non-stop energy and life
of this Megacity-Tokyo.
Over time,
shape, space and colour
became the three
major determinants of my
creations.My concept
produces a fusion of
shape and space and
loosely revolves around
the notions of "space"
and "non-space".Confronted
with a medium upon
which I can apply my organic,
vibrant designs,
I attempt to dismiss a powerful
human quality called
"Choice".
By cancelling out
the option of thinking
if a particular shape
or colour is "right"
or "wrong",
or "good"
or "bad",
only the immediate, sporadic
"gut reaction"
remains-create without
thought, create only
using natural instinct,
minus thought.All
images are created mainly
without plan.
The images
are created "organically".
First, a single shape
is created. From that
single shape another
shape emerges and then
another until the
particular space is used
to its capacity or
"non-space"
is created.Each image
is often partly determined
by the shape created
before.The only issue
which remains is
the decision of when the
image is complete.
How much space is used
and how much non-space
remains? There is
no formula for this.
As sporadic as creation
occurs, creation
ceases.Without a moment
of reflection another
piece of artwork emerges.
If colours
are used these are added
only when the original
design is complete.
The initial selection
of a single colour
to fill the first
space on the artpiece predetermines
the eventual layout
of the remaining colours.The
colours used are
greatly secondary in importance
to the shapes they
are being used to fill.
The least number
of colours selected is believed
to be the most desirable
as the individual
shapes become more
defined.It is this unintentional
random creation,
organic and free, without
roots, which is the
method behind my artwork.
For a person
who finds it hard to relax
or to not be busy,
Tokyo has provided me
with great momentum
to create and produce.A
self-taught, enthusiastic
painter, inspired
by experiences so
far in life, the greatest
pieces of artwork
have been created and exhibited
in the centre of
Tokyo.
The vibrant
designs using bold, simple
colours to emphasise
shape have been produced
on many canvasses,
items of furniture and
fashion.The designs
have also on a number
of occasions been
painted directly on to
walls of houses,
schools, restaurants, bars
and clubs in Tokyo.
Shibuya, Nishi-Azabu,
Minami Aoyama, Ikejiri
Ohashi and Shinjuku
are examples of places
where a large scale
wall painting has
been produced and can still
be seen.
Not seeing
any end to my self-inflicted
"madness"
and creative ability,
and while still developing
my concept, my
intention is to continue
to create and produce
artwork and to continue
to have exhibitions
in Tokyo.
My future vision
is to exhibit in major
galleries around
the world and to be globally
recognized as a painter
with a unique style. |
Iain Lonsdale
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| October 30, 2003. |
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