Quick sketchbook painting

All painted during a World Cruise

VI Portrait Challenge

VI Portrait Challenge, A - Z of Famous Portraits. Each portrait is split into 3 sessions of 2 hours each.

INTERVIEW

My full name is Grant Charles Milne, I was born in Leicestershire, England in November 1989. My place of birth being Leicester General Hospital (LGH), this is a National Health Service Hospital located in the suburb of Evington, about 3 miles east of Leicester City Centre.

I trained as a Graphic Designer and I am currently working on a range of freelance projects. When I am not designing I am painting. I mainly paint portraits using oil on to canvas.

I am also the creator and founder of Artist Talk Magazine. It is my great pleasure to showcase some incredible artists from around the globe, hopefully this gives a great feel to the magazine with lots of different voices. We have captured lots of different styles from oil painting, sculpture to print making. All the artists featured have given interesting in-depth honest accounts about themselves, their work, views and ideas. In addition to the amazing images of the work they produce, which I know you the reader, will enjoy and be inspired by.

How would you describe your work to someone seeing it for the first time?

The theme of my work clearly portrays a fascination for people and landscapes. Focused by this allure I paint family, friends, and complete strangers that can be found walking amongst us. The resources used are oil on canvas. Furthermore, some are painted direct on to an iPad, using a digital brush that has the same effect as oil, but without the drying times.

The Figurative Themed Art viscerally challenges the viewer to a high level of emotional response and illustrates a vibrant visual intensity, which resonates with a profound visual narrative, as revealing an intense human empathy for life.

What and which artists have influenced your work?

One of my favourite paintings is William Wilberforce by Sir Thomas Lawrence, which can be seen at the National Portrait Gallery, London. My art I would say, has been influenced by the painter Lucian Freud. Since creating and featuring in Artist Talk, I have been fortunate to feature some fantastic artists. In this issue we have featured Sue Tilley, who was the sitter for Lucian Freud. Sue has also gone on to create some fantastic pieces herself.

Another of my personal favourites and inspiration was featuring the Masterpiece from London’s Courtauld Gallery, which is the iconic painting The Card Players, by French artist Paul Cézanne.

The iconic painting The Card Players, by French artist Paul Cézanne was displayed at the Ferens Art Gallery: Hull Museums, June 2018. Following the Courtauld’s magnificent loan by Manet in 2017, Paul Cézanne’s iconic Card Players, 1892-6, visited as part of a sustained national partnership. Cézanne’s famous series of paintings of peasant card players have long been considered to be among his most powerful works and this canvas is one of the acknowledged highlights of the Courtauld’s holdings.

If you could collaborate with any artist past or present, who would you select and why?

Jean-Michel Basquiat who was described as a poet, musician, and graffiti prodigy in late-1970s New York. Basquiat used social commentary in his paintings, as a tool for introspection and for identifying with his experiences.

I was really inspired by Warhol and Basquiat collaboration. Each artist has already mastered their own work, which both already had a trademark style that would appear to rival the other. The 1985 exhibition of the works, with a poster featuring the two artists ready to spar in boxing gloves, I feel brings an exciting energy and also competitiveness for me to raise my own work.

What can we expect to see from you in the future?

Lots more portrait painting. I will also be working on some travel paintings, which will included some scenic painting.

Also showcasing more fantastic artists on Artist Talk Magazine.