Noel Paine is a British-born artist currently based in Vienna, Austria with studios both there and in Lazio, Italy. He studied Art and Aesthetics at The Cardiff Metropolitan University, The College of Charleston, South Carolina, and finally completed an MA in Fine Art at Canterbury Christ Church University in Kent.

In 1995 he worked for a year in a studio in New York City, afterwards returning to London in 1996, where he worked at the Barbican Arts Trust studio.

His work is deeply rooted in the tradition of figurative and representational painting, inspired by the beauty of the Austrian and Italian landscapes. The ideas and concepts that form his paintings remain completely and conceptually abstract.

 

The Longest Day		Canning Town Winter

 

Daily Life:

What is your earliest memory of an artwork and who was it by?

I was born in London and I am from London, so obviously my parents took me to galleries when I was very young. I remember going to the National Gallery and seeing a painting of either Napoleon or some other military person (it might have been a special exhibition back then) and I remember thinking about the colours of the person, rather than who the person was. That had a lasting effect on me. Another one was a Patrick Caulfield painting of a fish in a bowl, with some mountains in the background and I remember seeing that when I was about 14. I also went to the David Hockney show in 1988 at the Tate, as a child he appealed to me. Those three things are the major ones, but as I said, I was very fortunate to be exposed to art from a very young age. 

What is your favourite time of day to be in your studio?

I am a morning’s person completely. I have to be in my studio in the morning. Up until few years ago I lived with my work, and I like the idea of waking up with work, getting a cup of coffee and seeing a painting. I love doing that. Things have changed now as I became a dad six months ago, but I am still extremely disciplined. In some circumstances now I have to do work in the afternoon. But my concentration is not as strong in the afternoon and certainly not in the evenings, so my favourite time of day still remains to be in the morning. I only paint in the daylight.

Talk us through a day in the life of Noel Paine. What’s your routine?

My day tends to be getting up, and if I need be, I will go to a particular place, where I am making the painting from, and draw for an hour or two hours and then I would try and get back to the studio and make the painting from the drawings. Obviously, in the winter it is different because it starts to get dark so early, so I tend to stop painting by late afternoon.
I have a benchmark as well in my work. I have three hours of day work, which is very important. I prefer three hours of good work, than eight hours crazy work. That’s the routine. I need these three hours, where no one can get a hold of me. I am not somebody that stops for lunch, I have to work, I am a bit extreme and a bit intense.

How would you sum up your practice in 5 words?

Intensive- my practice and what I create in my work are both intensive
Embryonic- my work is always growing and tends to move. I always try to develop. I don’t produce the same picture.
Thoughtful- a lot of thought goes into my pictures.
Meditative- it has to do with the actual practice. If I don’t do a drawing for a week, I am not good company.
Disciplined- I am crazily disciplined. Discipline is very important in your time.

 

Line of Trees		Red Gate, Summer

 

Under the microscope:

Digital or Analogue?

I don’t use photography. The digital- I am really bad with that. I might sound very old-fashioned, I rarely take photos. I can’t give an answer to that. I am out of touch with it, which doesn’t mean that it’s not important (on the contrary). It just doesn’t enter into my practice at all.

Drawing or Painting?

My answer to that question is that they are all the same thing to me. That’s the way I see it, they are so interlinked. Drawing and painting are a complete crossover. Some of Degas’ paintings are a good example- it’s very loose; he is basically drawing with a brush.  

 

Thames Gateway Summer		Winter Pond

 

Dinner Date:

Which other artists, dead or alive would you choose to have dinner with?

I am glad it was ‘artists’. If it was one painter it would have to be an Italian so that you know the food would be really good. If it was a few artists, we’ll have a bit of a party then you want to have many interesting people there- Caravaggio, Bacon as well to see how would those two get on; Titian,Courbet, the list goes on and on. But I would say Caravaggio- he sounds like a very interesting person, his work meant everything to him, at any cost which I can highly relate to.

On what product would you most like to see an image of your work used?

I’d love to have it on posters, even if it’s for advertising purposes. To elaborate- when I was still living in London, I wanted one of my pictures to be in the London underground, you know where they commission different artists.

What brought you to Bridgeman for licensing, and what are your hopes for working as a Bridgeman Studio artist?

The actual contact came through Lady Harriet Bridgeman. I had an exhibition at the Homerton Hospital about 10 years ago and she liked my pictures and this is how it all started. As for my hopes- it gives you more exposure, I hope it brings my work to the whole world, a wider audience. 

 

See Noel Paine's full range of images available for licensing now

Buy a print of Noel Paine's work through our print partner, Art.com

Read interviews with previous Artists of the Month