Questions & Answers

​Q. Why did you become an artist? 
 I have always been fascinated by the creative process. For several decades I worked as a gardener and landscape designer, training first at Kew and then other places.  Four years ago I undertook a 3 year course in Fine Art. This has been transformative. I can now combine my practical skills and explore them with my art practice. It is an endless supply of alchemy.
 
Q. How would you describe your art? 
My work tries to use found and natural materials, metal, wood, stone to produce a piece of sculpture. There is a lot of waiting to be in the right place at the right time. They are often installation pieces and can include passive or active participation, performance and collaborative performance.
 
Q. Which artists have inspired you the most? Claire Falkenstein, David Smith, Andy Goldsworthy, Barbara Hepworth, Jeremy Deller, Suzanne Philipz, Raymond Hain
 
Q. Why do you think environmental art is important? 
I see this as a unique creative opportunity to access deeper issues without the weight of political and social  factionalism. A visual message presented 3 dimensionally has to work in shape and form, ( I am still a landscape gardener ! ) If it does this well, occasionally it gets near, then the viewer or participant can engage from within their own experiences. This is how the work expands and this is how our underlying message becomes part of the collective narrative. There are so many ways of throwing ideas up in the air, so many ways they can land but if you look hard you may see things differently. Our environment is the gift we have been given to share. We are all connected. We are all part of a grand symphony, a chance orchestration within the harmony of the spheres, it is too precious to squander.
 
Q. Why did u choose DSP to showcase your art? 
I am a landscape gardener and have been interested in Capability Brown for many years. To have a sculpture park in a CB Parkland setting seemed like a unique combination and I was curious.  Once I had met Philip, we talked for 2 hours on our first meeting, I could see you had something special to offer and I was pleased, intrigued and daunted to be asked to showcase some of my work.

Silent Spaces - oak, metal hoop, Magnolia leaf

Dance in time - oak, metal hoop, figures in plywood will be in brass when the lockdown ends

​Working on current piece, 'That Which Binds Us' - oak, yew and sycamore from central Brittany

Contact:
https://colinporterlandscapes.weebly.com/contact.html