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Anne Twist
Interview with the artist
What do you like best about being an artist?
The being totally absorbed in a piece of work. It is like being on a different plane separate from the world. The painting seems to arrive on its own when the act of painting just "flows". Excellent!
It is fantastic when other people appreciate a piece of work I've made and they just enjoy it for itself.
Are you messy or neat when you work?
A bit of both.
I have to have a very tidy room when starting a new painting. I'm a bit obsessive about things being in their right place. Things get increasingly messy as I work because I lose all concept of where I am and become completely absorbed in my work. I leave things where they are until a painting is at a particular stage and then I become obsessively tidy again.
How long does it usually take you to complete an artwork?
I often work on two or three paintings at once reworking areas several times. Some paintings I paint over entirely after working on them for weeks. It varies alot. At times a painting 'works' after several hours although this is rare.
Do you display your own art at home?
Pieces of my art are in every room in the house and they are regularly moved around. This is partly due to my limited space. Having work on the walls constantly helps me to focus on improvements and new ideas.
Visitors often make surprising comments about certain paintings and I find this can give me a different perspective. Some of the most valuable comments about my work have come from children.
Do you have a favourite amongst your own artwork?
Some of my favourite paintings were created at times when life seemed particularly difficult. Art then becomes very cathartic.
Of my very recent work 'Swan Song' is a particular favourite and 'Thunder Mountain' is one which, for me, just works.
If money were no object which artwork would you buy?
The Lady of Shalott (on boat) by John William Waterhouse. I love the detail and tragic beauty of this work. It is very romantic and having had to learn the poem by Tennyson by heart many years ago it seems like I've always known this painting.
If you could pick just three colours to work with what would they be?
They would be ultramarine, cadmium red and either yellow ochre or cadmium yellow.
Which piece of art has provoked the strongest reaction in you and why?
Salvador Dali's 'Soft Construction with Boiled Beans: A Premonition of Civil War'
I saw a large reproduction of this painting when I was very young and found it terrifying. The images in it are grotesque and distorted. Although he was depicting an image of the Spanish Civil War it seems to capture a vision of any war.
Although I in no way share some of Dali's political views his mastery of painting is incredible.
I think the reason this work affected me so strongly was because of the obviously disturbing subject matter and because I was so young when I first saw it.
What item could you not do without?
A clear floor!
I have a lovely easel but I have to work on the floor. The bigger the floor the better then I can sit in the middle of a 'fairy ring' of paints, canvas, cloths, charcoal, brushes and just paint.
Come to think of it all of the above would be difficult to do without..........
What are your future plans? What would you like to achieve?
I hope to be able to make a reasonable living from my Art. I also work with fabrics and have made several throws which I hope to sell. I HAVE to paint and make things. During the times when I haven't it feels like there's a hole in my life.
And then.....In a perfect world I would have an old stone studio in my garden (with a big floor), produce a series of paintings with Rolf Harris and set up a complex of sudios by the sea for new and established artists and craftspeople.
It could happen!
Do you find art relaxing?
Sometimes relaxing but also it can be a bit frantic and totally absorbing. The hours flash by.
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