- Vincent Driscoll
- Abstract Artist
- Portsmouth, United Kingdom.
ABOUT VINCENT:
Vincent is a British artist who has practised his art since the 1990’s, exhibiting regularly in the UK. He has had solo shows in London in 1992 and Lincolnshire in 1996. He was born in 1963 in Lambourn, England in the ancient kingdom of Wessex and is an alumnus of Chelsea and Goldsmiths College’s in London. He moved to the port city of Portsmouth on the south coast of England with his wife in 1996 where they raised their two daughters. Vincent paints full time and continues to live in Portsmouth.
VINCENT’S ART STATEMENT:
My paintings explore the dynamic interplay between line, space, and colour, striving for a poetic intensity. I challenge myself to create compositions that flow – without dominant focal points or visual hierarchies. Every element of the picture must be alive, equally present, equally demanding. Colours working with equal force. Only the essential is included, coming at the spectator all at once.
The paintings tend to have a minimal palette – two to four colours at most – and are small, never exceeding one meter across. They are always square to avoid any resemblance to landscapes or portraits. The format also suits my ‘in the round’ painting method, where I determine the final orientation only once a piece is complete. I think of my paintings – indeed, all abstract painting – as aesthetic ‘machines,’ autonomous from the visual world we inhabit.
I work in series, allowing me to explore a specific idea or approach in depth across multiple works. My two current series are Everything At Once (begun in 2024) and Propulsion (started this year). The Everything At Once paintings are carefully planned, first drawn, then painted, because colour proportionality is key to the series and cannot be left to chance. By contrast, the Propulsion paintings are fully improvised. Other than choosing the colours in advance, no planning is possible until paint meets canvas. Here, drawing and painting merge into a single, integrated process – each decision made in the moment, responding to the outcomes of previous decisions.
Painting what I’ve never seen is always an adventure and a thrill, especially when the results pleasantly surprise me. But a painting isn’t truly complete until it’s on a wall, enhancing a space and being enjoyed. If the paintings require explanation, or an in-depth knowledge of modern art history, they have failed. Like all paintings, mine offer the spectator a new, unique experience – one that, I hope, touches hearts as it engages minds.
ARTWORKS FOR SALE BY VINCENT DRISCOLL