ART | INSPIRING CHALLENGE

'I remember Francis Bacon would say that he felt he was giving art what he thought it previously lacked. With me, it's what Yeats called the fascination with what's difficult. I'm only trying to do what I can't do.'
Lucian Freud

Ryan McGinley

I went to see Freud's portraits at The National Portrait Gallery recently and was - as I expected - mesmerised and lost amongst the paintings. The faces, the expressions, the stories to discover or imagine. 

Whenever life gets tricky and I need to escape I find myself in a gallery, whether in Florence, Paris or at home in London (hello again The Portrait Gallery). Whether visiting a convention, I went to the Elcaf convention at The Village Underground in Shoreditch on Sunday and chatted to lots of talented illustrators, or strolling around the Tate Modern. Art can allow you to indulge in feelings and ideas in a solitary capacity or it can open up a space to exchange and enjoy the company of strangers. It depends on what you need at the time.

James Rosenquist

Being amongst creative passionate artists and/or witnessing the work leaves me craving a new challenge. For me that challenge is the written word, but whatever the chosen form there is nothing better than the battle to create. It's a battle that can't be won but for everything created there's a need and a doubt that's been conquered.

Yangyang Pan

Joan Saló 

Zander Olsen

Owen Nichols


Some artists