ARTISTS STATEMENT

Born: 23rd April 1955, Burn near Selby, Yorkshire
Contact: daniel_rounding@hotmail.com

I paint in oils, a rewarding activity for me since 1989. Encouraged by the way my work has developed I chose to make art a career during 1997. My paintings are enjoyed in the homes and business premises of patrons, friends and relatives around the UKAs an artist I an entirely self-taught in my preferred medium of oil paint. All my work originates from a meditative space, the majority incorporating the impressions of light and perspective associated with landscape paintings. Creating the effect of light with colour pigment is the basis of my fascination and passion for the visual arts.As I work, oil paint is applied directly on to the canvas in an abstract fashion with little or no mixing. This method retains the vividness and purity of the individual colour pigments. Usually a piece starts with no preconceived idea and the work is allowed to evolve as the colours appear on the canvas. On other occasions a predetermoined title or theme is used to focus the meditation process. A contemporary category for my work would be a fusion of abstract and expressionism.I do not attempt to emulate the work of any artist, nor copy any particular style. I doubt if I could even if I'd wanted to! The life and work of the German expressionist Emil Nolde*, I admire a great deal. His connectedness to nature is apparent in his art. Nolde made it his life's work to depict in colour the wild elemental energies of our world, a focus I resonate with entirely.By far the finest and most important judges of my work are children. Quite frequently a child's spontaneous response to the paintings are fresh and alive, and clearly without any prejudice. Often a particular painting is selected, pointed at and its qualities described in simple but enthusiastic terms to an accompanying child or adult. A rewarding process.For me each experience with a painting is a fresh challenge and a new voyage into the unknown. Because I work in a largely unplanned and abstract manner the finished outcome invariably amazes or delights me. The element of surprise in this process often provokes a degree of humility, occasionally humour and at other times just plain jaw dropping awe.
What I'm increasingly coming to realise with each painting is a fundamental knowing that what is manifesting from the paint brush is coming from beyond within myself. In 'new-age' speak this is frequently referred to as channelling, and I fully acknowledge all that it implies.Furthermore, what serves as a stimulus to my art is the knowing that I'm tapping into my unlimited human potential. One of the most profound relisations I've made during my life is discovering that everyone has this unlimited potential, no exceptions. Creating and appreciating art in all its forms is a way of exploring this hidden and yet vitally important part of being human. It's exciting stuff.

Daniel Rounding
Ipswich, Suffolk
5th February 2000

* Emil Nolde, (1867 - 1956), for further details see: www.caixacat.com/NOLDE/ab.html

To purchase any of Daniel's paintings please get in touch with him direct or through Artesian.