Tony Hinchliffe
My work I hope will take the viewer on a sensual journey, through my brush work and colour considerations, a little different to chasing realism, as this method often brings with it a wonderful sense of escapism. I often start by re visualising the sky then asking myself how did I feel standing under that sky and work according to how I answered that question.
My main inspiration comes from being outside, studying the ocean, landscape and sky in all weather conditions, If I observe for long enough and make colour sketches on location I can tune in and record the subtle changes in colour that are fundamental to consider when depicting such a scene. I also gain a lot of inspiration and motivation from the students I teach in Royal Leamington Spa.
My most recent body of works; ‘Above and Beyond’ is a subtle nod to skies and landscapes at altitude, I have a lot of fun exploring the skies in my paramotor, a paramotor is a harness with a back mounted petrol engine which powers a propeller this combined with a canopy above my head can take me up to 3000ft quite quickly, flying above, around and sometimes inside the clouds, the atmosphere and light at several thousand feet can be extremely fascinating. I make notes and colour sketches when I land while still fresh in my mind.
I am continually developing my style, experimenting with my approach to using paint, exploring and creating as many variations of mark making as I possibly can. While doing this I am very conscious of my colour considerations and the moods that these colours evoke when placed next to each other. I am on a mission to push the idea of having a dark moody sky with an element of light that leaves the viewer to ponder the idea of infinite possibility.
I try to paint as much information as I can on location, then tweak a few things when back in my studio often referring back to my drawings and colour sketches I made on location, sometimes using photographs to remind myself of the scene.
