David Hayward
Canterbury
Abstract painter based in Kent. Previously an academic. Educated: RCA; Brighton Poly; Canterbury & Cheltenham Schools of Art; Radnorshire County Grammar.
Although non-figurative in nature, much of my work references long-held interests in the natural and geographical sciences and, to some extent, archaeology. Travel is, without doubt, a key driver and my paintings are often informed by memories of specific locations in the UK and abroad. I am particularly interested in methods of depiction that prompt connections between the internal abstract language of a work of art and our store of prior perceptual and emotional experiences. I work mainly in encaustic, a very physical and fluid process that tolerates trial, error and change, creates complex surface qualities and allows each work to establish its identity in unexpected ways. As part of this process, I often employ a kind of painterly collage whereby layers of paint are excavated and then re-embedded, often being moved between paintings, to create marks and motifs that not only have a sense of their own displacement but also hint at other identities. My methodology can shift from quite careful planning and execution to more intuitive action that responds to the ebb and flow of the studio day. In this respect I have always liked the notion of the artist as prospector as it suggests a speculative approach that is guided and informed as much by intuition and chance as it is by knowledge and planning.
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