Here are a selection of questions that have been put to John Dyer over the past two years.

What has influenced your work ?
Lots of things, my love of paint as a medium is one thing. I really enjoy squeezing out a big lump of paint directly onto the canvas and leaving it; fresh, immediate and sometimes shocking. At other moments I enjoy building up the paint, breaking it down again, layering it, painting over it etc. My work all stems from my enjoyment of the medium. I also have a passion for colour, strong colours, clashing colours, all colours. My last great love is my home county of Cornwall, I love to sit and watch people enjoying themselves on the beaches and in the harbour towns of Cornwall; put this all together and I want to paint, paint big, bright, optimistic pictures of the place I love.

I have also been surrounded by artists and paintings throughout my life, as you probably know my father Ted Dyer is an artist and from a very early age I have spent time sitting in the environment painting and drawing what I see, not what a camera would see, but what I see.


What other artists have you studied ?
Matisse, Chagall, Bonnard, the Fauves, Van Gough.

Which areas in Cornwall do you most enjoy studying ?
I choose to live in Falmouth because I like the town, its harbour and all of the activity associated with it; boats, tugs, ferry trips, seagulls, people, buildings etc. Falmouth is one of my favourite places to paint. Other places that I really enjoy working at are Coombe, St. Ives, Coverack, Church Cove, Port Loe, Flushing, Cadgwith.

Are your paintings from life or do you use photographs or previous studies ?
The majority of my work is from life, I spend most fine days from May to October painting outside in some of the places that I have mentioned above. I try to complete the painting by the end of the day, and include elements that I observe throughout the day, dogs, birds, people, fishermen etc. During the winter when the weather is too poor to work outside I do use drawings and photographs, but I change my work so that it encompasses other elements and is not just a time and place study. e.g the Tall Ships series, animal paintings, work based on the family unit etc.

Where else in the world would you like to study ?
I have been painting in France over the last two years in Brittany and Provence.
When I was in Brazil photographing I new that I wanted to paint, and on my return to Cornwall I discovered that I was living in a tropical paradise. For now I am content to explore my own home and our nearest neighbour France.

Would you consider going back to photography and why ?
No. It is far too limiting and in my opinion the advent of digital media has destroyed much of the magic and mystery of the medium. I do however still take photographs for my own use, personal studies. I do not feel that I can fully express my views through the medium and this is why I have moved towards painting. Photography is however a fantastic medium and I would still us it for certain subjects.

What contemporary artist do you admire ?
Hockney, Frost, Heron.

Why did you decide to become a painter and when did you recognise that you had such a creative talent.

While I was at college studying design I decided to paint, in some ways it was a reaction to the constraints of design as well as a yearning for the landscape of Cornwall. I was also greatly inspired by the colours that I had seen on my travels in the Brazilian Rain forest. I decided to become a painter when my first four paintings where all published and attracted a great deal of interest. I exhibited one of them and it was sold, but more importantly than the sale it seemed to brighten people, it raised people’s spirits, my optimism for life had been carried through my work and this was something that I had previously failed to achieve. This was the point at which I realised that if I did what I wanted to do it would work, and it was also the point that I suppose I could acknowledge that all of my knowledge and training had come together to create some thing that I was excited about.

I was told that I was ‘talented’ when I applied to Falmouth School of Art for the foundation course in 1986, and was told that I should consider skipping the course and proceeding directly to degree level, the same thing occurred when I applied to a degree, I was advised that may be I was already at that level. However I ignored all of this advise and found out that I did not know everything, and in fact had an awful lot to learn !

Barbara Hepworth said about the landscape of Cornwall:

“Landscape is strong - it has bones and flesh and skin and hair. it has age and history and a principle behind its evolution”

i) Do you agree with her ?
Yes, this is a fantastic statement and relates directly to her work.

ii) What would be your personal definition of the Cornish landscapes.
I willquote several lines that I have used before, none answer your question directly as my work is not entirly based on the landscape; but what happens within the landscape. Here are some:

“Sun, Sea, and Fancy Free.”

“When the sun comes out in Cornwall, the landscape fills with colour, the light pours over the vegetation filling each leaf with radiant colours and cool waters into Mediterranean delights. “

“I love living in Cornwall, and I love painting. I spend every day that I can out and about painting what I see:

Bright colours, sunshine and fun, small dogs with damp noses, peeling paint and peeling people; shells on the beach, sea spray in the air, jazz bands in bandstands, picnics on cliff tops, bright coloured smocks, cactus plants on walls, and banana plants in the park; small coves, huge Atlantic beaches, surf and still waters, the red moon on the horizon and stars, comets, and crickets; lighthouses and cottages, fishing boats and floats; theatre on the cliff, getting married on the beach, clear air and big skies; seagulls, greedy gulls, and silly gulls; buckets of crabs, fishermen in yellow oilskins, cats steeling fish, sea pinks and mermaids, ferry boats and flags.

These are just some of the things that inspire my paintings.

My work documents my trips out into the landscape and the things that I enjoy. Through my paintings I hope to lift peoples spirits and provide an optimistic outlook on life.”

What has influenced your interest in art?

As you probably know my father is a well known artist (Ted Dyer) who has been painting for many years. Our work is very different but growing up surrounded by paintings, paints, easels and art books does have an effect. My father has been very successful with his work and I decided that the lifestyle that an artist can have, the freedom to wander in the landscape with no real pressure or deadlines was a very attractive one. I have lived in Cornwall from the age of four so I have always been aware of the artistic heritage that the county has. I feel very proud to be able to connect to this in some small way. Painting is really good fun, I have always enjoyed it and I find that as long as I paint what I want with the freedom that I enjoy I never tire.

Have you always lived by the sea? If so, Where?

From the age of four until I was eighteen I lived on the north coast of Cornwall with my family at Holywell Bay. I used to spend most of my free time on the beach playing in the rock pools, swimming, flying kites, and occasionally horse riding. I studied for my degree in London and consequently ended up spending five years away from Cornwall. I deliberately moved away from the coast to experience a different way of life, however the coast of Cornwall is so fundamental to me that I moved back and now live in Falmouth. It was not just the scenery that I moved back for but the quality of air, light, pace of life, simplicity of living. The move also made me focus on my paintings and rediscover Cornwall for a second time.

In what way does the sea inspire you?

The most amazing thing to me about the sea is the tide. A harbour like St. Ives is totally transformed in a very short space of time by the arrival or departure of the sea. To people from other countries it is even more amazing because in some parts of the world there is very little tidal movement. St Michaels Mount is another favourite place of mine to watch the tide; people will walk steadily across to the Mount all day and assume that they will be able to walk home. The spectacle of hundreds of people suddenly realising that the path they walked over on is disappearing under several feet of water is very amusing as they rush with prams, children and dogs to wade back to shore.

The other things that I love about the sea are its sounds and the way in which it reflects the sky. The colours that shimmer across its surface are unbelievable and this combined with the colour of the water if it is shallow and over white sand surprise me every time. Often I question some of the colour in my work but if you look it is all there.

I love the way you portray boats, what is your experience of boating?

I used to own a dingy and can still sail one if pushed, but I like the pleasure boats and trips that can be taken on them. The colours that these boats are painted are really wonderful. I am not so keen on modern yachts because they are predominantly white. I am lucky to live in Falmouth because of the variety of boats on the water and I prefer to paint them rather than sail them.

What do you hope to convey through your paintings?

Optimism, fun, life, joy, happiness, the good things in life, the colours that pass people by.

Which artists have inspired your work?

Different artist influence me all the time, I regularly visit collections of paintings. this year I have travelled to Paris twice to see the work in the Pompidou Centre specifically, work by: The Fauves, Matisse, Bonnard.
Originally the paintings by Van Gough and Chagall had a big influence.

What tools do you use to apply your paint?

Brushes of different sizes from size 2 to four inches, I also apply paint directly from the tube and with my fingers.

Are there specific colours you like to use in your palette?

Cobalt Blue, Cad yellow, Cad red, Pthalo green shade, Pthalo blue shade...... I use a very wide selection of colours. It is impossible to produce work like mine using only the primary colours as they only mix a certain range of colour. Turquoise blues, bright clear oranges, vibrant pinks, clean purples, lemon yellows etc etc cannot be mixed. I use about twenty different colours to retain the luminance in my work.

I have noticed that your style of painting has slightly changed over the last few years. What has influenced this?

Until you pointed this out I was not really aware of the change, however having looked at some of my earlier work I feel that I have simply improved the way in which I paint. The colours are cleaner and there is more energy in the brush work.

How do you resource your paintings

I paint the majority of my paintings outside directly from life. My other work comes from within me; mad animals, mermaids, abstract shapes etc. I also paint stillifes which I do again from life in the studio.