It was a real privilege to be invited to be a judge for the Discerning Eye exhibition. It gave me the opportunity to select work that means something to me, on both a subjective level, and personally.

For my invited section I wanted to include mainly artists whose work I had come across outside the usual London exhibition circuit. Some of the paintings by these artists are personal reminders of some wonderfully energizing times spent with them, discussing the diverse ways in which they see the world, and how they use these and other experiences to express themselves or their ideas through their work. I hope visitors to the exhibition may be equally touched or inspired.

My choices from the open section are equally subjective — and shamelessly figurative — as although an enthusiast of nonfigurative art, and strongly influenced by tutors such as Terry Frost when I was a fine art student in the 1970s, I believe that figurative work gets a raw deal from the art establishment in this country and its quieter qualities deserve greater attention.

In making my selection I went for work that provoked an immediate subjective response, and which I felt worked within the small-scale size limits imposed by the requirements of the exhibition.

I hope that my personal love of strong colour, and belief that art should be an enriching experience, will go some way towards making my selection an enjoyable one for visitors to the exhibition.

 

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