​Stephen Vicary - Paintings - Artist Statement 2012

Painting for me is about trying new things, whether it's unusual colours, textures, shapes or patterns. It's about a response to the subject in my own developing style. For those of us with a deep passion for the act of painting, the Shropshire countyside is for me an enormous source if inspiration. In my work, splashes of paint, patterns, marks, scribbles, blobs, composition and colour placement, are designed to reflect the elements, the forms, the colours and the rich textures found in the woods, on the hills and in the fields of the county I live in.

Returning to the studio after a field trip, with a sketchbook full of ideas and visual notes is extremely invigorating. To statr a painting with a head full of inspiration after wandering the footpaths, the hill or the highways and byways of Shropshire is a marvellous feeling. One way of capturing and continuing that mood is to paint.

Arbitrary clues to the paintings 'subject,' can be found in the titling of a piece, which can incorporate place names, musical references, poetry or pieces of 'cut up' phrases which is often an emotional reminder of a particular spectacular Shropshire view or village. But they are maily abstract works and the titles reflect that.

It is very difficult to explain how they are painted s they are to some degree, spontanious and intuative. In saying that, there is a contradiction as they are structured and contrived. After all I go out and consciously paint a non figurative picture. I have built up my own coded language of loose symbols to help me map and balance each painting. However, do not look for an explination or for an image, they are a personal expression and response to the environment.

They can be seen as experiments in decoration and colour. They are abstracted works. They are about mark making. They are about paint upon a surface. They are meant to be different, puzzling and playful. they are meant to be strong, powerful and extremely colourful. ​

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