
In the Footsteps of Paul Nash: British War Artists Today
How Michael Alford and other war artists carry on the British tradition of creating art in conflict zones.
How Michael Alford and other war artists carry on the British tradition of creating art in conflict zones.
The pandemic disrupted all of our lives in different ways. Now, with vaccinations thankfully on the rise and the world beginning to open up to travel, painter Michael Alford celebrates a return to life and optimism with a solo exhibition at Wimbledon Fine Arts. This show of new work includes cityscapes, landscapes and a series of Michael’s oil sketches, shown in public for the first time. In this commentary, Michael discusses the inspiration behind the paintings and describes the special artistic challenges—and unforeseen opportunities—afforded by this unprecedented time.
“The attraction to painting nudes is that it’s so difficult to get it right. You need correct draughtsmanship, colour, tone. You have to understand anatomy, even though you’re not really painting it.” — Michael Alford
In May of 2018, painters Michael Alford and Marcus Hodge traveled to Andalusia to draw inspiration from Spain’s largest religious festival, the Romería del Rocío. Here Alford talks about the way this adventure inspired his ambitious suite of paintings, The Romería Series.