Adrian Wiszniewski was born in Glasgow in 1958 and trained at Glasgow School of Art from 1979 to 1983. He was a leading figure in the revival of figurative painting in a group known as the New Glasgow Boys.

Adrian Wiszniewski RSA, HonFRIAS, HRSW (b.1958) creates work characterised by a strong drawing element and fertile imagination. Populated with contemplative figures set in vividly coloured Arcadian landscapes, his paintings are rich with symbolic, political and philosophical depths.

I have attended a demonstration by Adrian Wisznieski at Paisley Artists before.  This one was particularly memorable to me, precisely because it appeared to have been completely unmemorable to him; he arrived half an hour late and seemed to be completely unprepared.

He had brought his sketchbooks with him though, and this was particularly interesting because he told us he was starting to develop an interest in landscape drawing that he had never had before, as a result of securing a Creative Scotland Grant for a trip to New Zealand.

 

Adrian Wiszniewski

Adrian Wiszniewski

 

Adrian Wiszniewski

 

Adrian Wiszniewski

Adrian Wiszniewski

He said that he was not much of a Painter, he preferred to draw.  When he starts to draw, he has no intention of how the drawing will look.  He will start out with a large sheet of paper, often taped to a wall.  He will begin in the middle of the paper by drawing an eye, for example, then will start to fill the sheet.  He makes marks, like a piece of music, adds different layers, has repetition, and won’t know what it’s going to be about until the last stroke.  He was influenced by Van Gogh, his work is full of energy.  He trusts his subconscious mind; it’s almost like an archaeological dig, drawing to uncover what the picture is about.

He always has a sketchbook with him, but seldom works from what is in front of him, preferring to work from his imagination.  He showed us some drawings he made recently on a train journey.

Adrian Wiszniewski

Adrian Wiszniewski

Adrian Wiszniewski

Here he is drawing at the demonstration;

Adrian Wiszniewski

And here is the drawing;

Adrian Wiszniewski

I found him to be fascinating to listen to.  He has eclectic interests and seemed to jump from one subject to another.  He said the trick was to stay interested in what you are doing, if he stops being interested he will move on to different media and has used Perspex, stained glass and fluorescent light.  I liked that his work was under pinned by drawing, and he wasn’t interested in ‘art speak’, as he called it, as he thought an artists should at least be able to draw.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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