DAVID STOGDALE

A RANDOM WALK

Following a career in finance I began painting in 2019 and it has become an increasing focus in my life. A self-taught studio painter of mostly, but not exclusively, landscapes I nevertheless paint primarily from pencil and watercolour sketches “en plein air”. But I also supplement these with photographs. Before the increasing demands of career and family  made a very time consuming pastime more difficult I did a lot of landscape photography – much carries over, light and shade, tone, form and composition. The camera also helps train the eye to find an “image” within the wider context. But even the best camera will compromise on light and colour. So the period of intense observation and often annotation, even if sometimes only fairly brief, is for me a vital part of the final painting. The memory of “being there”, perhaps the way the wind is moving the clouds or light plays on foliage, is as much a part of the final result as trying to capture it on paper and film. If a viewer can sense some of that I have succeeded. If not, I have failed. This exhibition is the result of some three years of work – some planned, such as trips to Iona and Greece and some more accidental. Hence the title “ A Random Walk”. Now the paintings are on the wall – and the jury is out….”

David Stogdale, 2026