David Allott, February 2006

I had a captive abstract artist and I wanted to know more about abstract art. I was fortunate that David has well formulated ideas and the ability to express them in terms I could understand.

Dealing with his self generated work I found that each piece is a unique one off original and David does not make prints. Neither does he give them titles. He explained that to do so would automatically influence a viewer's perception of the work. He would rather they reached their own interpretations, a process that could take many days, weeks or months and evolve depending on where the work was displayed, surrounding objects, and, in particular, the light to which the work is subject. David likes to use layers and texture within the work so in some lights the piece can look 'flat' in others three dimensional. David takes the concept of not interfering with interpretations a stage further. At the Marbella Art Exhibition in 2005 David was one of only three invited artists to display his work alongside that of Internationally renowned galleries. David told me he would sit quietly on his stand just watching people's reactions as they saw his work but not offer to engage them in conversation about any work until they had approached him. In this way he could judge the impact of the work and allow viewers to form their own first impression that would dominate any further insights.

There is a vast difference between viewing, appreciating, buying and ultimately loving a piece of art and having a piece commissioned if only because the first option allows choice. David takes a certain approach to commissions. During the working of the canvas he will see and talk to the eventual owner many times until he has an idea of their taste in colour, style, furniture, ornaments, jewellery, life style, even their moods. At some point, he says, he will be inspired to put paint to canvas. It may be a simple colour wash or more elaborate. The work is then built up, sometimes over an extended period of time, sometimes if ideas are well formulated, in less time. The result, ideally, from David's point of view, is a piece of art that is very personal to the owner, powerful but allowing intimate individual communication that will become a part of the family. He says that some of his commissioned work often dominates an environment to an extent that people tend to ignore any other accoutrement nearby and literally build the environment around the piece. A sample of David Allott's work is on permanent exhibition at Skandies Restaurant in Marbella, tel: 952 776 323. He will also be exhibiting, in 2006, in Italy, Montreal, Barcelona and Manchester.

To contact David telephone 676 88 03 93, or email info@skandies.net