Stuart Semple:
I'm Stuart Semple and I'm a painter. When I was growing up, I didn't have access to art - not visual art - so the first stuff I saw was album covers. So music's been there through my whole life, like the soundtrack of what I've been through. It is now like a fuel for my work.
When I think about making an exhibition, I do think of it a bit like a musical album and each painting in the show is a track on the album. Overall, you're trying to make it all go together, to sort of tell a story, in a way.
I'm always collecting imagery, things that I like, sampling things, a bit like a DJ - you know how they sample tracks and stuff - and then I start to collage some of those elements that I've sampled or collected. Then I'll get in the studio and quite often I'll just put the initial song on quite loud and when you paint to music and you let yourself go, it does its own thing and you kind of get out the way and you just let it express itself. There's something really organic about it.
Once you've found your own way of expressing yourself, sort of your own language, then it's always there for you and then you can work out, "What do I want to say with this now?" And that's the exciting bit.
Video summary
Stuart Semple explains how, for him, creating an exhibition is like producing a music album; each work is like a track, coming together to create a story.
He also describes how finding your own way of expressing yourself through art is like finding your own language.
He explains that he includes collages of images that he has collected, like a DJ sampling music.
He is shown listening to music as he paints, and demonstrates the expressive brushstrokes that he applies to canvas.
From a series of BBC Teach clips exploring the artwork of six UK-based leading artists.
Teacher Notes
Encourage students to take inspiration from Stuarts work and think about how music can influence their artwork.
They could attempt to make their own collage inspired by the music that they like.
These clips will be relevant for teaching Art and Design at GCSE/KS4 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and National 4/5 or Higher in Scotland.
The topics discussed will support OCR, Edexcel, AQA, WJEC GCSE in England and Wales, CCEA GCSE in Northern Ireland and SQA National 4/5 and Higher in Scotland.
Stuart Semple - from idea to art. video
Stuart Semple creates a piece of art inspired by a boy on a motorbike that he has seen recently.
What inspires contemporary painter Stuart Semple? video
Contemporary painter Stuart Semple describes what inspires his artwork.
Experimenting with paint and charcoal. video
Artist Stuart Semple demonstrates how he likes to experiment with his favourite materials - paint and charcoal - to produce unique and inventive artwork.
