All of these artists test the boundaries of what paint can do, and it is this reason they are my heroes.
Throughout my thirty-year career as a painter, certain artists have acted as guiding lights—not because I want to paint like them, but because they've shown me what's possible when you're brave enough to push boundaries, to trust your materials, and to believe that painting still has something vital to say.
These eight painters span different movements, generations, and approaches, but they share something essential: an unwavering commitment to exploring what paint can do and what painting can be.
They've taught me different things at different stages of my career: Turner showed me the power of direct experience; Peter taught me that marks can carry emotion; Callum revealed the beauty of restraint; Antoni opened up material possibilities; Ian gave me permission to trust my instincts; Fiona demonstrated that precision and intuition can coexist; Jenny proved that painting can still do everything; and Joan showed me the courage required to keep pushing into the unknown.
When I'm in my studio working on a new piece, their influence is there—not in copying their styles, but in the questions they taught me to ask:
⁓ How far can I push this material?
⁓ What happens if I remove as well as add?
⁓ How can I make these marks carry the feeling I had standing on that shore?
⁓ What does this painting need, even if it's not what I planned?
These eight painters have shaped not just how I paint, but how I think about painting—as a vital, living practice that still has boundaries to push and discoveries to make.
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