The Ward Family
I am generally woken by my children Charlie and Eliza (better
than an alarm clock!) at 6am, and spend the first hour or
so of my day deafened by their enthusiastic chatter. We always
try to sit down for a family breakfast with my wife Suzie
at around 7.30. I aim to be in my studio next door by about
9.30 with that essential cup of coffee, apron on and sleeves
rolled up. I look at the work from the night before and contemplate
what needs to be done whilst drinking my coffee. I look down
at my choice of 100 plus pastels to the right of my drawing
board and go. I start my work accompanied by the radio as
I like to have some background noise. Lunch is always scheduled
for around 1, but by the time I've managed to tear myself
away and am clean enough to sit down to eat, it tends to be
nearer 2! Lunchtime is just a quick bite to eat. Once back
in the studio I work through until dinner, with an afternoon
visit from Suzie and the children to see how I'm getting on.
We have a coffee together and a bit of a chat and then I need
to be in isolation again. Dinner is generally ready at 8 but
eaten at 9... Late again! Even though technically my working
day is now over, I often pay a late night visit to the studio
to sit and contemplate my latest piece on the easel. Then
it's lights out until tomorrow.
The Creative Impulse...
I find inspiration for my painting can strike at any time,
whether through my own emotional response to something, or
through observing somebody else's obvious love for another
person or animal. Sometimes I will hear a phrase spoken and
immediately visualise a picture - I then work around that
phrase and use it as a title for the finished piece. My ideas
are generally spontaneous and mood driven, whether that mood
was good or bad! Painting like this gives me complete fulfilment:
being able to create an entirely individual and personal piece
of work, from visualising the idea in my head, sketching it,
painting it and finally seeing it completed gives me complete
satisfaction.
5 years ago when I visited the Tate Modern I was looking at
a 25 ft original by Mark Rothko and was completely mesmerised.
The scale, the use of colour and the simplicity. What power!
This experience provided a defining moment in my artistic
journey; convincing me that less is more, it sent me down
the path of simple, bold imagery painted on a large scale,
to create maximum impact.
The Creative Process...
When I have an idea for a new work I tend to scribble down
my thoughts at once, and in my studio I have a box overflowing
with these messy scribblings on cards, paper napkins, bits
of newspaper, anything that has space for a quick sketch to
keep the idea in focus. When I come to start work on something
new, I refer to my "ideas box", and then try to
refine the image in my head until it is ready to be transferred
to the drawing board. I take the initial idea and sketch out
the painting, adding ideas to it as I go until it evolves
into a picture that works for me, or the picture I imagined
when it first popped into my head.
In the past I preferred to use acrylics and watercolours,
but over the last few years I have fallen in love with pastels!
From the very first time I used pastels I knew that this was
the medium that would best be able to achieve the effects
I wanted to create - I love the contrast between the soft
tones and the hard edges. It gives me much more freedom than
any other medium and enables me to use an entirely individual
technique. I am able to create the movement I like in a piece
of art and the rich boldness of colour. Because I was initially
experimenting with the medium, I have developed a very unorthodox
style using my fingers and thumbs to create the work, which
I find gives me ultimate control.
Whatever I am doing my work is always there, tucked away in
the corner of my mind. I am constantly thinking about it,
whether it's the piece I am working on, thinking about the
colours I will use or new ideas or new ways to produce my
work. Even when I am relaxing it's always there! It truly
is a 24 hour job. But I love it. It's my passion; it's my
life.
Background...
Winner: Best Selling Published Artist at the
Fine Art Trade Guild Awards 2005
"The most popular living artist in the UK"
BBC TV National News
Born in Bristol in 1972, Doug became aware of his artistic
talent at an early age. Throughout his school and college
education he concentrated on the technical side of drawing
and painting, but after graduation he was in no doubt as to
his chosen career, that of a professional artist.
Doug prefers to produce his distinctive artwork on a large
scale, in order to achieve maximum impact with each piece.
He also enjoys operating in plenty of space, thus allowing
himself enough physical freedom to express the creative energy
that is the key to his fresh, contemporary style. His unorthodox
use of pastels applied with
fingers and thumbs or even the side of a hand or wrist allows
him to create highly communicative and engaging images that
make an
immediate and lasting impression on the viewer.
Recently named as the UK's official best selling artist, Doug
has been featured on television both on the BBC national news
and on Channel 4 as well as on local television and local
and national radio describing his unique technique and talking
about the people and events that inspire his heart-warming
images. Inspired by his own emotional responses to life, Doug's
intention is to provoke a positive response in others; his
success in this aim can be seen not only by the huge impact
his work has made on the British and international art scene,
but also by the money he has raised for two important charities
– “Look Good…Feel Better” and Families
for Children” - through the sale of his artwork. The
extraordinary rise from virtual unknown to the most popular
living artist in the UK has been meteoric, and his stunning
original pastels have become genuine collectors' items.
Contact: sheana@bohemia-galleries.com
Let these fabulous images captivate you as you experience
the inspirational world of Doug Hyde.
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