Describing The World Through An Artist's Eyes

February 18, 2025 Michael Hemming Artist

Information surrounds us and bombards us every day, whether it's advertising through TV, radio or online, social media posts or regular news updates to our mobile devices. Developments in media technology give us constantly accessible information at the click of a button or even by voice command. News, fake news, AI generated media, it's all out there.

In stark contrast to the noise of media and advertising, the information I love to take in is real time information from the world around me. As did numerous artists throughout history, I find recording visual information and translating it onto a painting surface truly inspiring. Artists such as JWM Turner recorded major events which today we view as history but for them it was current and modern day. It also brought other emotions to the surface such as excitement, fear, exhilaration and peace. The often painstaking effort to record what they saw, was a direct reaction to the journey life was taking them on and which we today can appreciate by studying their work.

J.W.M. TURNER 'Rain Steam And Speed, The Great Western Railway' 1844

Through the years my work has been a mix of en plein air painting and studio work. I love them both equally and they both serve a valuable purpose. Painting outdoors, although difficult at times, presents the opportunity to record things as they truly are - raw, bracing, cold and wet. It's not always a hardship though; sunsets are often painted with the warmth on your face and an orange glow all around. It's these moments that inspire the plein air artist to endure the discomfort for the real prize of recording nature as it really is. Studio work on the other hand is a necessary and mostly enjoyable part of my work. Refining paintings, varnishing, framing are a few of these tasks. Experimenting with various methods and materials needs to be done in a controlled environment as does testing and recording colour mixes for new paintings.

MICHAEL HEMMING 'Sky Fire' 2025

As humans we have a desire to capture visual moments in time to store as memories. Since the introduction of photography we have been able to record images we find beautiful or dramatic. As technology has developed it's been easier to do this. Most of us carry devices where we can, almost without thinking, capture an image within a few seconds of seeing it. Although this is amazing, have you ever taken a photograph of something only for it to stay on your device and get swamped with all the other images because the moment fades? Unfortunately life is so busy that these moments can be transitory and they disappear into the background. From an artists perspective, recording a scene can be a very different process. Of course, many artists, myself included, may use photographs for reference, but to paint directly at the scene, as it is happening, can be a unique experience.

“If the imagination is shackled, and nothing is described but what we see, seldom will anything truly great be produced, either in Painting or Poetry.” –Thomas Cole

I think this quote encapsulates how most plein air artists feel about painting outside from life. It becomes much more than just recording a visual scene. It embodies the whole atmosphere of a place. The smell of the air, the warmth of the sun or the sting of icy air on the face, the taste of sea spray and salt, peace or excitement. So many emotions and feelings come into play and they are recorded then and there, captured in that moment, for all to see. These moments are painted with expression and feeling. The artist adds what he wants to present to the viewer, his own interpretation of what he sees before him.

So next time you visit a gallery or an artist's website and you look at a landscape, ponder over what the artist might have been thinking or feeling when they were painting it. These images will remain in the memory of history for a long time and truly represent the world through an artists eyes.