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10 Questions with Jasper Galloway

Jasper Galloway b.1971 is a British artist who recently returned from living in Paris, Montparnasse. Jasper is now based in England, his painting studio is near The New Forest. Find some of Jasper's unique pieces displayed at our Pimlico showroom.

When is your favourite time of day to create?

The mornings, I am in the studio, and I will have an idea and will be raring to go, I find I work fast in the mornings, afternoons it slows down but the evenings I start thinking again about tomorrow and the painting I am painting or the new one I am going to start on. Starting and finishing a painting I find very exciting.

When did you first start painting?

When I was small, anything I could get my hands on were covered in drawings, paint etc It has never stopped and to be honest is an obsession, days not painting I feel are a waste.

Are there key themes in your work?

Interestingly looking back at my paintings from when I was a child, there is a constant theme to this day - colour, vanishing points, a natural cubism and form.

What is your favourite piece that you have created?

There are two paintings which are favourites, one is called ‘Sleeping Girl’ which I painted in Paris, the model took a break and laid down on the floor and closed her eyes, it was then I could see the composition, her profile and incredible hair laid out on the floor. I painted it over a week, using a new technique of combs to bring out the texture and depth. The second painting is called ‘Retrograde’ it all started when my girlfriend Harriet mentioned that ‘Mercury was moving into Retrograde’ not that we are both into Astrology but I was fascinated by what that could look like in colour and shapes. It ended up being a very large painting, with flowing movement, colours, and the use of gold leaf.

Where do you draw your inspiration from for your art?

This is a good question as it comes in different methods, images taken on my phone, colour, architecture, words, and other artists.

What advice would you give to someone starting out as an artist?

To be fearless, go for it, after leaving Art College, it can be quite daunting, we all need money to live, so initially work in an area of the arts, paint in your free time, build up a portfolio of work and then approach the galleries, believe in yourself and only you can make it happen

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you choose?

Paris. I lived there for just over two years in a 1920’s artist studio in Montparnasse, the space was incredible, a giant north facing window with a high ceiling, painting there was a joy and Paris, well, it was full of charm and inspiration.

Can you describe a typical working day for you?

I am in the studio at eight thirty in the morning, coffee in hand, music on and eager to paint. If I am about to start a new painting, I source a new canvas and plan out the composition. A light lunch at 1pm and then back into the studio half an hour later. I carry on until 6pm, in years past I would work through the night but that can be disruptive as the next morning I would be shattered and it would affect my painting. Also painting can be rather lonely, so 6pm is a good shut off point to be with the family, talk, interact etc so, by the time I go to bed, I will be thinking about other ideas and itching to get back into the studio.

Tell us a little bit about your work that is currently exhibited at LINLEY.

This spring show will mainly show new pieces and a few old. Small to large pieces ranging from still life, abstracts to a portrait.

What is next for you?

A commission for a house in Rotterdam and a show in Paris this December at the Anthony Roth gallery in the Le Marais.

Thank you!