About Vik.
I was born in the front room of our family home in a small village
by the name of Yateley, Surrey in England on 4th December 1964.
Some things become apparent at an early age, perhaps a gift
for music for example, well for me it was my love of drawing and painting. Even at Kindergarten my first report recognised
I had a natural affinity with painting, although of course in those days it was some what of a basic style !
Its easy with hind sight to look back and put the pieces of
a jigsaw together, however as time unfolds at a slower rate and without the luxury of knowing where everything fits sometimes
the bits get fragmented and take a while to pull together - This theory I apply to my art in my early years.
During my schooling my art work was more or less ignored by
teachers and even more so when attending comprehensive (high school). By this time I was already producing a large quantity
of my own abstract style of work at home but sadly it did not fall into the school curriculum for examination and so I got
entered into a lower level of art exam. My parents supplied me with endless pads of paper for me to fill, in fact any scrap
of paper would be subjected to one of my own designs. I was almost obsessed by symmetrical shapes and designs for a period.
My parents got me a toy called and “Etch - a Sketch” for drawing, I literally used it until it was totally worn
out at which point they invested in another for me to use.
My sister worked in "Burtons" (a men’s clothing store)
and used to bring me home the card from old sales promotion window displays. I would draw on the back of them, they were a
great treat as I loved using card, it made my drawing feel more important. My dad would give me old sales order books from
his works to draw in, basically they could not keep up with my demand for paper !! I must always thank my parents and family
for allowing me to paint and draw without limits or questions no matter how weird my design
Ironically in my final few months at school (16 yrs old) whilst
completing a number of art pieces toward my final exam one teacher accidentally spotted a piece of my abstract work and allowed
me to enter a similar piece for examination, all be it not the norm.
I received the highest pass level for my lower grade exam, then
it became obvious I should have been given the opportunity to study at the higher exam entry but of course it was too late
by then. School days were not good for me and to this day I still have a bitter taste about the experience.
My exam results would not allow me to attend an art college,
not that I wanted to as by then I felt I wanted to escape the education regime completely.
The following period was difficult as I was unemployed for several
years. In the early 1980’s jobs were hard to find even with good qualifications. During those years I decided to follow
my love of art and attempt to improve my craft all be it in a self taught fashion. At that time I had no knowledge of Abstract
Art and had never seen any real paintings or works of art in galleries or museums so I had nothing to compare or aspire to.
I just did my own thing and tried to do the best I could in my art work, one thing I had no shortage of was time. I have no
regrets about that period, I spent 5 years painting, trying techniques and experimenting with my art work, no master pieces
were produced but that wasn’t the aim.
In those days we had no internet or means to learn stuff apart
from books (which I found too boring) but there was one TV show I loved. It was called “Paint along with Nancy”.
I loved this show as the artist “Nancy” was great fun and made painting look so easy and encouraged everyone to
have a go if they felt like it. This is something I hope I have taken in as well. Most importantly though she was a good painter
and gave the basics on how to use the paint, scale up work, give perspective and the basic tools that were required, nothing
fancy just a lot of common sense and practical advice. In each episode she completed a painting. A few years back I discovered
Nancy Kominsky was still alive and kicking, living in London, I would love to meet her in person and thank her for the inspiration
she gave me, I fear time will not give me that honour as the great lady is advancing in years, besides who am I to her?
Throughout my working life which started proper at the age of
20 yrs, I have always maintained my interest in my painting. To be exact its been more than an interest and I have staged
several exhibitions and sold a decent quantity of work over the years but not enough to live on by any means, more a case
of famine or feast. A few good people along the way have encouraged me and given me a little push to go further along the
path. To those of you I offer my thanks, mainly ex work colleagues who eventually get to know me a bit better and realise
I have a talent which I am trying to make the best of.
I still work in an office but outside the 9 - 5 routine
that’s when I do my real work, mostly at night whilst listening to music. I get to escape to a better place and get
on with what I’m here to do.
Few people are really interested in reading about an modern
day artists as the end result being the painting is the key thing and I can understand that, I think the same mostly.
However, in this age of computers, mass production and an age
when peoples attention span is measured in seconds rest assured old fashion artists still exist. I think I may be one of them.
I paint because I love to, its part of me, my life and my duty to an extent. We all need to escape to another world now and
then, painting is my route…..without any congestion charge!!!……(London residents will understand that).
One day I hope to be recognised for the work I have produced and I will continue painting for the rest of my life.
Thank you for reading.
Best wishes,
Vik.
My thanks to the following:
Family for allowing me expressive freedom
Nancy Kominsky, for her inspirational TV shows and
encouragement from her in a recent e-mail to me.
My ex work colleagues at Digital Equipment for their support
(Poole and Reading exhibitions)
Ria for her support and belief
