​"WELCOME TO MY ART"

BILL HEATON

My paintings are abstract, but not expressionist. I think of each new work as a formal problem to be solved. My creative process starts when I cover a blank canvas with a field of pure colour, usually chosen from those I see around me in everyday life.

Then I apply a small amount of paint to my forefinger and flick it across the canvas, gradually building up multiple layers and patterns of colour, all of which relate back to that original field. The amount of paint used and the way it is applied determines the size, shape and thickness of the lines or circles.

From there I work from intuition. I am never sure where the paint will take me. Often it flows easily and then I work very fast. As I move around the canvas applying the paint, my perspective constantly changes. I feel this gives every painting a unique energy that reflects my physical engagement in its making.

Though friends tell me they sometimes sense the presence of water, wind, waves or sails in my work, I try not to make overt references to the natural world, preferring instead to see my art as an expression of the joy I take in pure physical movement.

I have enjoyed running, walking, cycling and swimming since I was in my late teens and the way I paint reflects my love of movement in exercise.

Bill.