Saturday 8 January 2011

David Hardy

I want to look at London emerging Artist David Hardy and by speaking with him to understand his work. What is interesting about Hardy's paintings for me is the impressionist quality of his style and how his ability to capture character and personality in his works.

Many artists capture their subjects likeness but struggle represent feelings and personality to convey a character, even without failing to achieve realistic facial and or body features they cannot give their subjects a realistic human like personality. Subsequently, they are able to create a beautiful image but their models never take a convincing human form.
 
Background and Conversation

David thank you for agreeing to feature on Words Together and contributing to its content and growth. I have been following your work recently and I look forward to seen what the future holds for you. I also have enjoyed getting to know you.

Although I mostly want to focus on your portraits, particularly on the one of Charles Bukoswky, I also would like to mention Children Playing, below.


There are moments which are essentially representative of a person or life period. One of them is play during childhood, the carelessness and the universal ability to find time for play in the most unlikely scenarios. Regardless of circumstances, transforming immediate scenarios into far away lands of imagination where the "real" external world is no longer as we "rationally" understand it as adults but a place full of magic, where anything is possible even if there are no toys (tools made specifically for this purpose) available.

Although in terms of context these two images are worlds apart, (see above painting and photograph below). There is no existential difference in the children. Hardy gracefully captured this quality in his painting, a familiar scene which can be found all over the world. If the children in Eritrea, below were shown the picture above they would be able to see the the difference in the enviroments but it does not affect their existential position, hence they have the ability despite circumstances to play and have fun. This puts into perspective the source of innate happiness.

Massawa, Eitrea 1991

For me, truth is something which can be universally applied, in this case - childhood is a time when our existential position is at a perfect estate - we are okay and the world is okay. 

As we grow older our understanding of our surroundings changes some say matures, this impacts on- who we think we are, commonly giving us complex personality types and strengthening our temperament.  Our existential position then becomes defined as follows:

I am okay and the world is okay,
I am okay and the world is wrong,
I am wrong and the world is right,
I am wrong and the world is wrong.

This is dependant on how we contextualize our existence which is in turn relative on the values and morals we adopt. For example, if we think the ideal in life is to be fit and healthy we are likely to question and compare how fit and healthy we are, then judge and give ourselves and others a place, using the existential formulas above. This is of course a subject that requires a lot more detail but I will leave it here for now.

Let's learn more about David Hardy:
David Hardy was born in 1968, in Cotgrave (A small coal mining town just south of Nottingham in the East Midlands). He says "from an early age I could be caught by my parents drawing up walls of the stairs etc, but they did find them highly creative"

Following the secondary school disappointment of failing to meet the grades he needed, in 1985 David decided not to purse the Art Career he dreamed of. After leaving school trained instead as an  Electrician but, unsatisfied with this trade, after some years he left and wondered from job to job. Eventually in 1990 he decided to form a Rock Band called Kinky Smith, he was the lead singer for three years. Following a series of arguments the band split up and they agreed to go their separate ways in 1993.


Not painting was now beginning to cash up on David who was unsatisfied with his lifestyle and found little interest in most things. Two years later he decided he would go back to college to finally study Art. He enrolled in
Basford Hall College in Nottingham under the guidance of artist Andy Parry from he graduated in 1997.

Where there any artists which inspired you during this period?
 

I became inspired by artists, illustrators & Graphi designers such as Dave Mckean, Brad Holland, Jenny Saville, Lucian Frued, David Hockney, Picasso, David Carson, Peter Saville. He saw that I was talented and persuaded me to go to University.

What happened then?
I did this, but decided to do Graphic Design as an Illustrator and went to Salford University against the better judgement of my tutors at college who thought fine art would’ve been a better choice.

How did that influence or affect your work?
My art work did diversify throughout my time at Salford. I would one minute be producing radical urban wallpaper designs to posters inspired by porn magazines and then producing book cover designs. I would usually display my prep work for exhibitions as I liked the rawness of the works.

How much time did you spend painting?
I would spend around 50 hours per week in the studio as well as a part time job as a barman in Manchester’s city centre.

After  leaving university in the year 2000 David struggled again to make ends meet and moved back to Nottingham. He found himself once more going from job to job, but this time he had a dream to hang on to, one he would pursue Art and continued to paint. During this period his work was mainly focused on female figurative pieces. Then in 2005, he met the woman whom he later married, this meant he was again under pressure to commit to full time employment resulting in him not painting again for three years.


David had to become again lost again, in his path to pursue his dream as an Artist. Eventually the marriage broke down and they divorced after four years in 2009. David is now painting again full time he says "this time is for life"



Whats important you while painting portraits?
I normally work quite quick now on pieces, as those that take a long time with a lot of detail bore me and I end up hating them. When I’m painting portraits of famous people, I will study their character and the way they behave, smile or frown or whatever. I will watch or listen to them – e.g. Noel Fielding, I would watch The Mighty Boosh or listen to them while painting, I would also keep rotating photos on my laptop of the person. I find my style changes slightly, but I think this is to match the person in the portrait.

A retake of Richard Ayoade
How do you describe your work?                                           
I would describe my work as Pop Art, I am quite happy with that. I tend to go for figures or portraits, but also dabble in my semi abstract city scape block paintings from time to time.


On the portrait of Charles Bukowsky below, David has captured him on a comfortable scenario at his home but removed the iconography of the books which originally served as background. These also were reinforcements of identity for Bukowski. In both images we are the subject of Bukowsky attention, in Hardys version it seems we are conversing with him however in the photograph there is also the possibility that we might have said something which raised a pleasant feeling Bukowsky while he was concentrating on something else.

Although this painted portrait isn't fully true to the subject actual appearance, Hardy captured a person whom he gave a palpable personality.  Unknowingly perhaps, taking one person as reference and transforming in into another or the same but at later in time in their life. Whilst this might not have been Hardys original intention, he nevertheless executed a portrait which successfully conveys a great deal of emotion.
 




In terms of a market who are you aiming your work at?
My market would be, the people who I am painting, or their fans. (if the paintings are of famous people) or People aged between 25 - 45 with disposable income or collectors.

For the figurative work, this would mainly sell to young couples or singles aged around 25 - 45 who want original works of art.

What is your ultimate dream in life?
My dream would be to have a big house/apartment with it's own studio to paint in. Where I can be happy and have fun.



1 comment:

  1. I like your ideas Isis, more on them please.

    ReplyDelete