Interview with artist Van Renselar

Van Renselar is an artist who is gaining much acclaim in the international art scene. He has displayed his artwork at galleries such as the White Space Gallery. Lets get to know Van Renselar a bit better:

1. Background of yourself/Biography of yourself up until present day

I have travelled extensively. I grew up in South Wales, moving to Little Venice in my teens then on to Keston, a small village near London, where I now live and work.

2. Explain your style of art

My pictures begin with an impression of what they will look like when completed. Only that – an impression. I make many drawings and small painted elements which are then scanned into a computer and then collaged together in Photoshop. I sometimes use photographs but they are always repainted. I also paint directly on-screen. Normally I use paint and ink to create the initial elements prior to scanning them because those parts are often done spontaneously and therefore have greater honesty. It would be easy to overwork these elements, but I don’t need to concern myself with that because they are just parts of an ‘overall’ picture which only comes into existence when all the pieces are put together in the computer. During this process I discover that the picture can be improved with an addition here, a colour tweak there, a compositional adjustment elsewhere... The picture creates its own life - its own logic. The artistic imperative begins to give the picture its own energy - the picture becomes something with it's own life, almost outside of my control. I let it lead me. In the past I used gouache, then latterly acrylics. Currently I use anything that comes to hand. I work sporadically, sometimes very swiftly, other times painfully slowly. My particular working methodology has evolved over a period of time and now I wouldn’t even consider changing it as it suits my erratic work patterns.