William Reinsch
About/background: I'm a figurative painter born 1994 Essex, England. I have been painting seriously since I was about 18. It was during my time in therapy that I took to the idea of painting out and trying to make sense in some way of what I was feeling at the time. This then became a full time thing as well as a crutch to help me cope and make sense of life in general.
The body/anxiety: I'm very interested in expressing the idea of being naked physically and psychologically. I want to get across the sort of anxiety that comes with being honest and true. I have tried experimenting with vibrant colours against dark in some of my works as an attempt to draw your eyes to the figure further. I like to think this could be unwanted attention brought to the figure, maybe the figure has a form of social anxiety and feel's like everyone is looking at it. Which the color is inviting you to. I don't know really I just like playing around with interesting flesh colors.
Material/images: I'm always searching through google images and other internet sources for material. It's a real needle in a haystack sort of thing. It's quite rare that I will find images that I see potential in but I just have to keep searching. Over time my database of images grows bigger and gives me more freedom when it come to the collaging stage.
Studio/routine: I work at my home studio in Essex where I work from around 10am till midnight. I tend to give myself at least 1 day off a week to kind of refill and not lose momentum (on these days I make sure to get away from anything paint related). In between paintings I may have days or even weeks when I am just scouring the internet for images and collaging. Can sometimes take a while before I feel I have a collage strong enough to paint.
Heros/heroines: My favourite painter is Justin Mortimer but I also love Freud, Bacon and Van Gogh. I'm more of a film nerd and music buff, that's where most of my heroes are. Is actually quite interesting when I think about why painting is the medium that I chose to express myself rather than the others I have more interest in.
Titles: Usually I just find phrases I like in books and lyrics (Especially Bowie). I also try to make up my own by using Burroughs cut-up technique to find strange new combos. I write down whatever phrases i've found and when it comes to naming a painting I usually just pick from my list.
Starting a new piece and your process: I start off conceptually, usually with a very rough idea of the sort thing I want to make. I then will make up collages using images i've collected from the internet until I have found one that I feel is strong enough to then paint. A Lot of the time what will happen is the whole concept will completely change in the collaging process because new and better concepts tend to crop up whilst playing around. Finally I will project the collage onto a canvas and will very quickly sketch the thing out before beginning the long boring task of having to paint it which I use brushes, tissue paper and sandpaper to do so.
The next step/future: I know for definite I want to keep changing and exploring new concepts, it would be very boring for me to not move forward and just settle on the same recurring theme or idea. I think I want to make much bigger paintings in the future when I feel confident enough in my technique. I don't think i'm quite ready yet to conquer a big piece, I feel i'm still very much going through a transitional period.
Art has really helped me find a new way to go about life. I've always found it hard to fit in socially and the art gives me a platform where I can be comfortable working in solitude as well as having a voice. All I hope for the future is that I can make a living doing so, the rest is just a bonus.
Publishing date of this interview 08/03/16
