Artform: Visual Arts and Crafts
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United Colours of Dr Martens
Oil on canvas (80cm x 80cm), 2004.
Instruments United
Acrylic on board (60cm x 100cm), 2004.
Summer 2007
Oil on canvas (100cm x 100cm), 2004.
A Professional artist from Penarth, who has Apergers Syndrome. Main style of work is figurative abstract through bright colours, with subject based mainly on contemporary subject or modernist, heavily influenced by French / continental artists. With a high sense of visibility the colours themselves make up the subject through the images.
PERSONAL PROFILE
I am an artist who is influenced by the difference between my outlook on the world around me and by how I see and interpret the differing perspectives of each subject I paint. As a person who has Autism, I see the world as strange and alien. Basic concepts that other people can grasp with ease can at times seem alien. My work is influenced by the seeming strangeness of people, places and forms, a juxtaposition of images which I make sense of by interpreting images through the Autistic mind, relating to past events that I seem to be estranged from. I see my work as trying to interpret the world and defining alternative reasoning with which I feel at home within my secure world. Autism, with its social stigma attached, can be alienating to the person who has it. I feel that my work gives me the chance to see the world from my perspective, a view of the world where I feel that I have a degree of control. As a disabled person (especially a person with Autism) I can face extreme prejudice from other people who always look at the `problem` rather than the potential for creativity. In my work I can express my feelings through colour and creative expression using images.
MEDIUM OF WORK
I use oil paints, with a mixture of colour, depth and presentation in each subject that I express. I utilise colours in a way that make what is perceived to be a dull environment into a play of colour and bring out the colour in dull objects. I like to play with colour, even the greyest of greys have the brightest colours inside them somewhere. There is no such thing as total greyness. So I colour the world around me whenever I can. Other mediums include landscape painting with a glare of colour in the natural surroundings, and paintings on various subjects chosen from my sketches produced when I am out.
STYLE OF WORK
At the moment my work emphasises depth and colour. I utilise colour with which I give the picture maximum effect. I have painted the objects as I see them in my mind, a distorted reality which I inhabit. The images of the world around me seem distorted and my mind tries to reason and interpret them. Only when I use depth and juxtaposed coloured images can I reason with everything around me and make sense of it. My paintings take on a myriad of forms and usually with still life I create images of glass bottles, bowls and glass balls as a starting point and expand on the subject by reflecting glass on glass tables. My work gives me an outlook on specific objects that can be transparent and can be remoulded into a metaphor for what society could be. It gives me the power over my immediate surroundings from which I can mould objects according to my imagination and then remould the image into a chosen form. I hope each time I am able to create an object I can feel in control with my surrounding and thus in control of my life. At times I am constantly battling against the stigma of Autism and people`s perceptions of it. I go through periods when I concentrate predominately on still life, other times are dominated by people and sometimes landscapes. Recently I started to experiment placing all three subjects into one painting and it is looking promising.
COMMISSIONED WORK
I have undertaken two commissioned works on behalf of a client in London. The pictures were relating to London Life and the growing influence of urban culture in the urban decay of the city itself. I have also carried out a recently commissioned work for a private individual who is interested in still life and colour. The painting was a bright red vase with a yellow curtain with stripes of orange in the background. Since then I have been offered a commission on behalf of another client who is interested in my use of colour and the cubist influence on my paintings.
`UNSEEN BODIES OF WORK`
This is a Millennium Award funded project, working with two other disabled artists to make work for a high quality, touring exhibition that raises the profile of disabled artists and encourages a more positive attitude towards disability. The exhibition has been shown at The Adam Gallery, Penarth; The Brewhouse Theatre, Taunton; The Pillar Room, Cheltenham Town Hall; Faith House Gallery, Holton Lee, Dorset; The Point Arts Centre, Cardiff Bay; Mind in the Vale/VOGA group Travellers Lodge Barry; Europa Café, Cardiff;
Studio Placements with other artists / Fundings
Millennium award Project 2001 / 2002 Unseen Bodies of Work
Arts council of Wales small Grants Project 2005 / 06 Studio placement with other disabled artist June/Oct 2004
OTHER MEDIA
Drawings
My drawings are mainly landscape and still life and I use them as a basis for my oil painting and experiments in devising different forms of shade. I have samples of my life drawings which I intend to use as the basis for future paintings of both male and female figures. Specialist areas are mainly town-scapes of London, Cardiff and valley towns with their dramatic background of mountains and natural flora.
Collage
I am currently experimenting with collage, using strips of newspapers with titles and pictures painted in with various forms of abstraction.
Photography
I use photography in order to present my work in slides. In the past I have experimented with image distortion as a means to convey various subjects.
The future
I would like to develop and expand my work for a wider audience and to communicate my vision of the world, showing people what it is like to be Autistic and to challenge the way society views Autism. I would also like to exhibit my work more widely and I am currently approaching various galleries throughout the UK.
http://www.anniscreations.com/
Sales and commissions can be arranged. Please contact me at any time in the evening on 02920 916606 or Mobile 07793 156201 or E-mail mark.annis@ntlworld.com to arrange a convenient time.
