A Day in the Life: Artist, Stuart Buchanan

A very warm welcome to Scottish artist, Stuart Buchanan, who is our guest this month in the series, A Day in the Life.  We were delighted to interview Stuart to hear more about of his artistic practice.

Stuart Buchanan (born Glasgow 1970) studied Fine Art Drawing and Painting at the Glasgow School of Art and graduated in 1992. He has been working as a professional artist since setting up his art studio in 1993. 

Stuart generally works in the traditional medium of oils. His paintings are representational, with figures set in richly textured, colourful landscapes.  Stuart’s paintings are easily identifiable. His art work displays a recurring theme of solitude. This is not to suggest his paintings are lonely but rather a celebration of peace and serenity where Buchanan creates a world of refuge and calm. His paintings depict mostly single figures and pairs and all share an enviable meditative state. The figures are often involved in an activity beyond the canvas and the viewer – such as gazing out to sea or at the stars, or daydreaming. He draws inspiration from his own childhood memories and experiences, as well as more current day to day life and the environment and landscapes that surround him.  Stuart lives and works in the Aberdeenshire village Catterline on Scotland’s North East coast.  His studio is a former Customs Watch House overlooking the North Sea.

 

How does a good day begin:

A good day begins with breakfast and a coffee with my family before we all start work/ school. Then, for me, a short walk (5 minutes) along a cliff top path to the studio which is situated in an old Customs Watch house that sits on a headland jutting out into the North Sea. I’m a morning person and find most of my creative energy early in the day. I’ve always worked in a studio, never at home. Home is home and the studio is for painting.

What is the first thing you do when you start work:

When I arrive at the studio I look at whatever I’d been working on the previous day and asses where it’s at with a fresh pair of eyes. Sometimes I’m happy with what’s there but if not, I set to fixing it. I work in oils and the palette is always “active” so I just pick up the brushes and carry on working the paint.

What are you currently working on:

My work is modest in scale and easel based. I have two easels beside the palette and am usually working on a couple of pieces at the same time. I tend to work on consignments of about a dozen paintings at a time for for the various Galleries I show with. There’s a lot less pressure on me this way than making a solo show and it also facilitates getting more work out there more often and more widely shown.

What does your job continue to teach you:

I think of being an artist as less a job and more a compulsion to create. Having done this for over three decades it continues to teach me to be bold, to trust myself but also doubt myself. To never be afraid to fail and keep developing and most importantly to never stop looking and observing.

Influential piece/s of art and why do they mean so much to you:

I love the playfulness of Miró and Picasso and Matisse. I love the painterliness of Van Gogh and daring of the Abstract Expressionists. I’ve a huge soft spot the Impressionists and admire the courage of Basquiat and Haring and Penck and Baselitz and Guston. I love the controlled observation of Edward Hopper and Vermeer. I like “Painter’s painters” because I like paint and I’m compelled to paint.

Most productive part of your day:

I paint most mornings then break for lunch (back at the house). If I’ve still got the energy to paint in the afternoon I will, otherwise I’ll work on framing the paintings that are ready to go out the door. Before I sold many paintings I worked as a framer which now saves me a lot of money but does take up studio time.  I like the thought of the pieces on gallery walls being entirely made and framed by me in the studio.

Essential skills or training for your role:

Patience. Accepting the solitude of the studio. Being your own harshest critic. When  in doubt, just paint. It’s easier to work through problems than think a way through.

How do you decompress once you finish work:

I’m a lifelong record collector so I play a lot of music in the house. We have long dark winters where we live so I get the stove lit and binge on TV series to get through. I live by the coast in a rural area and enjoy birdwatching and the nature all around.

Looking back, what remains your most rewarding professional experience:

I get an absolute thrill every time I’m notified of a sale.

If you could take any piece of artwork home with you for a weekend, what would it be:

I’d probably go for a Joan Eardley painting “Catterline In Winter”.  We have lived in her old house for the last twenty years and she painted this piece right outside the front door.

 

 

 

 

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To explore a selection of Stuart’s works that were exhibited in this year’s exhibition,

Three Great Scots: Stuart Buchanan, James Harrigan & Jonathan Robertson,

you are welcome to visit the Thompsons Gallery website here.