TCD, that first painting I posted was something I did for my son's wall while he's attending university in Toronto. I should point out that it was unfinished - later I added more detail to the "eggs" and a few other touches. I don't know why but I've put eggs in four abstracts so far - maybe it symbolises a connection with reality or something. Its weird the mental processes that go on in my head when painting an abstract.
I've heard the comment "my kids could have painted that" many times through the years. Of course, it isn't true. Too be honest, children's painting are wonderful - they don't have the restraints that adults have, in the sense that its hard (at least for me) to paint outside the boundaries of what something is, or what it should look like. They have no problems altering shape and colour. One of the hardest things to do is to try and paint like a child.
Regarding Van Gogh: he is my favourite artist! I know some of his paintings seem simplistic, but at the time he was revolutionary in his use of bright colours. I find his work very emotional, beautiful and impacting. His personal life, too affects my view of him. He was too honest for this world.
If you look at all his paintings the range is astonishing.
Picasso - what can I say? Genius, pure genius. And no, I'm not just caught up in the hype. I think that by the forties he had done the best of his work but the man was a revolution up unto then - he constantly changed what art looks like. He could paint and draw realistically too. While he and Braque created cubism, Picasso couldn't stay within the confines of that discipline he went on and did something different. I think this is one of the most important paintings of all time:
One of my favourite periods of art is the early Impressionist years, around 1860-1880 in France. We as artists owe so much to those guys - Monet, Manet, Degas, and especially Cezanne. They could have painting like the old "masters" and been successful - instead they pushed the envelope, fought the establishment and opened up the doors to true freedom in art.
In a way, I consider that British painter Turner the first impressionist, his depiction of movement was very new at the time.
Another of my favourites - Marcel Duchamp! I won't go into his life right now - go here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcel_Duchamp . He's probably influenced me more than anyone else. Not visually, but philosophically. He taught me that art has no borders - anything can be art depending on how you look at it, maybe more depending on how you feel at the time!