Interview with Dale Grimshaw

Hi, Can you introduce yourself for us? (Where you from etc...)
I’m 37 and I’m from a place called Accrington in Lancashire. This small town is a legend in it’s own lunchtime for being mentioned on a TV ad about milk, allegedly it has the oldest football team in England too. I now live in north London. A large proportion of Londoners don’t seem to know where Lancashire is though.



What's your background? Art school? Self learner? Art for Dummies?
Well, I went to art school then university but I took an unusual route really as I was in care before that. My creativity was encouraged a lot while I was incarcerated because they could see I was talented. Then again they would have done almost anything to stop us kids from glue sniffing!



How will you describe your art for somebody who doesn't know your stuff?
It’s figurative stuff, fragmented, blurred and messy in places but with detailed focal points like the faces and hands etc. How articulate is that?



What are your favourite materials to work with?
I mainly use oil paints on canvas but in addition to this I use pre-painted collage bits on specialized oil paint paper that I stick on. In addition to this I use spraypaint to get some of my effects.



How long does it take you to produce a piece? Do you start out with a sketchbook or do you freehand all the way?
I start by experimenting and chopping up photos in Photoshop that I have found or taken. When I’m happy with the composition and the feel I then print out the digital sketches - I then use these to map out the canvas. I can work very quickly, especially with some Redbull and a good d’n’b mix. The pieces take from 2 days to about a month. The latter being the problematic works that I will leave a week gap before working on again. I seem to learn more from difficult and toilsome paintings though.



Where do you get your inspiration from?
The desire and need to be validated, respected and to also to be remembered when I’m long dead and gone is what drives me to produce work. Sad? I know. My paintings are like children to me – children that need good caring homes. Ebay = evil orphanage!



Do you paint/work outside sometimes? Where can we see your stuff?
Sometimes but not as much as I would like. I always seem to have my head down in the studio more often than not. The recent paste-up stuff I’ve done have succumbed to the elements. I’ll be doing a piece on Curtain Road Hoxton to coincide with my show in January. Not sure if it’s going to be paint or paste up yet.



Who influence you the most, any favourite artist(s)?
Before I first went to college I discovered the Scottish painter Peter Howson. I loved his monumental bold and confident figures. Lucien Freud is amazing with his impasto gritty painterly realism. I admire Jenny Savilles’ unapologetic take on the human condition. As for abstract painters – American abstract expressionist Franz Kline does it for me. As for street/ urban artists, I really love Swoons works and attitude.



Living as an artist is sometimes difficult financially, any part time job?
I work 5 days a week in the studio now so no side jobs at B&Q for me. Yes I think the whole creative career thing can be rather unpredictable and worrying at times. If people stop buying my work then I’m gonna go on the game or go back to selling crack to uber rich school children.



What do you think of the current "Street Art" movement?
I think it’s really healthy. I could pick holes in it like everything else in life. But you can’t beat the feeling of seeing a new piece on a wall that puts a smile on your face.
Certainly in Hoxton, though the council seems to be taking drastic measures to clean up and sanitize the area - which is a real shame.

Best Gallery in the world? and why?
Signal Gallery, London because all the artists that show there are quite dapper, sophisticated, intelligent and charming creatures all round.

Best City to paint outside? and why?
I’ve only done stuff in the UK so can’t really say.

Beer and Fag or Tea and Biscuit?
These days I’m probably more a tea and biscuit guy.



What are your plans in the near future? Any upcoming exhibitions?
I’m working towards a show that starts Jan 16th at Signal Gallery 2009 in Hoxton, London. It’s called ‘Heart In Darkness’ and the new work is now also layered with calligraphy and lettering. Then the Affordable Art Fair, Battersea in March 2009.

Dale Grimshaw at SignalGallery