Samson Shepheard-Walwyn
My name is Samson Shepheard-Walwyn and I am a painter based in London.
Having recently graduated with my Masters of Fine Art at Central Saint Martin’s, I continue to develop my practice whilst also taking part in shows such as the London Art Biennale and the Saatchi Graduates Show. Prior to my MA at CSM I studied my BA in Fine Art at Kingston School of Art and my Art Foundation at City & Guilds Art School.
Could you tell us a little more about your background and how you began creating art?
I can’t remember when I began creating art but I reckon it started for the same reason it continues now, nothing else seems even remotely as interesting to me as creating something physical from an idea in my head. My background has always been art related, a series of health problems when I was younger meant that there was never really the option for anything else and for that I am very grateful.
What does your art aim to say to its viewers?
I think for me this is a continually shifting concept, for a long time it was the idea that there was nothing necessarily to express. I was obsessed with the use of empty space and trying to create a melancholic mood. I’m still interested in these ideas but now I’m trying to think of new ways to present them. I find that every couple of years I feel tired by my current work so I drastically change things and I’m in one of those stages at the moment.
Can you tell us about the process of creating your work? What is your daily routine when working?
I'll go into my studio every morning with a coffee and look at what I painted the previous day and think about what the next steps are with it. A new thing Ive found to be quite useful is photographing the painting with my iPad and then playing around with the composition and colours to see what works. The entire painting is always under-drawn or painted initially so I can see how everything will play together as a whole before getting started. I have found that for me personally, Im most engaged with the work in the morning and by early afternoon Im ready to hangup the brushes for the day before coming back later to scribble down some future ideas.
What is the essential element in your art?
Thats a difficult question to answer, Im not sure if its the key element but experimentation is definitely very prominent within my work. It feels like there are just endless techniques and materials to learn with, all of which produce different results which is so exciting. Im always trying new mediums like encaustic or airbrushing, just trying to see how I can incorporate each into my work. Im continually concerned with no feeling restricted to one form of practice or one 'style' and I find that making sure I continually experiment helps relieve those fears.
In your opinion, what role does the artist have in society?
It is such a subjective question but for me its definitely been quite a personal journey of continually exploring what it is that I feel I need to express. Painting and any form of creativity can be very effectively used therapeutically and I think that when this is done effectively the viewer can feel this and find some comfort or consolation from the work like a sort of reassurance that no-one is alone in how they feel.
