O-A: Who or what inspired you artistically; a person, artist, event, experience…
Terry Beard: I lived Uganda from the age of 9 to 16. This had a lasting influence on my work and in particular my affinity with colour. An artist called Geraldine Robarts took me under her wing, introducing me to new media and techniques and taking me out into the landscape to paint.
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O-A: How has your art changed over time? Why?
Terry Beard: My time at Art College was also essential in the development of ideas and techniques, as it opened my mind up to possibilities and made me start really looking.
I studied to be a textile designer, which I did for some years, also taking on illustration work. My own work developed at the same time, and at first I used flat colour with areas of realism, in a pseudo pop-art style. It takes years to develop an individual way of working, a gradual evolution. My own work has changed over the years to become what it is today, drawing on previous ideas and ways of working but using them in a different way.
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O-A: How do you search for inspiration and themes for your work?
Terry Beard: My ideas evolve gradually, some come from specific landscapes or objects, but mainly from observed and remembered influences, colour combinations, textures, arrangements and compositions. Some work has urban influence, but my most recent work has been triggered by landscape, since moving to a new studio in a rural environment.
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O-A: What is art to you? Is creating an urge, necessity or maybe an incontournable, essential way of life?
Terry Beard: Art is an essential part of my life, an obsession, I cannot imagine what I would do if I didn’t have this outlet. I work in my studio nearly every day, and when not actually producing work, ideas are whirling around in my brain and I am aware of things around me such as seasonal change and the colours in the landscape, which will influence new work.
