Alastair Adams PPRP

Statement

Alastair's work attempts to engage with non-verbal communication, body language and expression, in order to provide insight into an individual’s, or related individual’s, character. As well as producing a representation of the subject, the process of making a portrait also acts as a reflective exercise, in which the subject can identify with issues of representation, past, present and future.

Methodology

I like to visit subjects in their own environment, or a location appropriate to the nature of the commission, as I find this helps subjects to act as naturally as possible. My portraits are painted in oil, on board, as I like to modify compositions and revise initially painted statements during the process of a commission or self-initiated work. This is in order to reflect the revealing nature of the portrait painting process and enables the production of a more incisive and rewarding portrait. The process of creating a portrait first involves finding a subject, either according to my current interests or being approached about painting to commission. Initial sittings are usually in a location specific to the subject or telling of their position or situation. Time is then spent painting, drawing and photographing, in an attempt to get to know the subject. As well as being a process for capturing visual information, sketching also creates the time for conversations that often inform my approach to a painting. Due to the revealing nature of the portrait painting process, initial compositions and painted statements are removed, replaced, modified or introduced in order to provide a more rewarding and incisive image. A simple head and shoulders can be a relatively direct and straightforward process, whereas a multi-figure composition will require naturalistic interaction between the individuals and the introduction of a sympathetic location.

Bio

• 1969 Born on 24 December in Kingston Upon Thames

• 1989-1992 BA (Hons) in Illustration, Leicester Polytechnic 1993 Established business as a freelance Artist working to commission

• 2002 Elected a Member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters

• 2005 Lecturer in Illustration and Animation, School of Art and Design, Loughborough University

• 2006 Elected Honorary Treasurer of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters

• 2008 Elected President of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters

Memberships

Alastair is a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, the Manchester Academy of Fine Art and the National Association of Acrylic Painters.