In conversation with Rex Matthews

Can you introduce yourself?

My name’s Rex Matthews. I’m a painter and printmaker living in Lewes, Sussex. My work is mostly landscape-based, but it sometimes leans toward the abstract or figurative. I've always been inspired and influenced by travel, particularly slower forms of travel. The sketchbooks I take with me become the jumping-off point for bigger pieces I make back in my studio.

What is your creative process when creating from your travels?

While I’m travelling, I focus mainly on sketchbook work, and I avoid imagining a final outcome. The process of observing and sketching on location is a way to internalise the journey rather than create a literal pictorial representation. I try to capture the sense of place and emotions, not just appearances. I observe and draw rapidly, sometimes doing multiple sketches in a location, each only a few minutes. Repeated rapid sketches reveal motifs and patterns, and the final outcome is really an amalgamation of many impressions - an entire journey, really. 

Back in my studio, what happens when I actually start a final painting, the initial stages are fairly slow. From the travel sketchbook, I'll have a number of images, motifs, colour palette, and a set of marks that I'll draw on to create a larger piece. The first stages are quite trial and error, but as the image starts to crystalise, I recognise the particular moment of time that i'm trying to capture, and then the latest stages of the painting can actually happen very quickly. When I'm working on the final stages of a painting, I can often change the image quite radically from the image as it was in the first few stages of the painting. Change is part of the process of creating because I want to be as surprised by the image that I've produced as I was surprised by the place that I was inspired by.

What are the things you look for that help you capture a sense of place?

Architectural motifs, the shapes of trees, anything that stands out to me in the moment, and it's quite intuitive. I'm often drawn to places with strong light and colour. It's a challenge, though. How do you capture a really clean, crisp sky blue, compared to a sky that can be just as blue, but has a kind of really hot, almost oppressive atmosphere to it?

Are there particular places you’ve enjoyed painting?

One experience that really informed my work was a trip to Morocco, specifically to Chefchaouen, a village at the foot of the Atlas Mountains. The whole of the village was painted a shade of blue, and wherever you walk throughout the village, there was this kind of strength of colour. It was almost like living in a blue glass bottle.

Tuscany has always been another favourite. I love the trees, open paths through forests, and spectacular views dotted with poplars.

Most recently, about 18 months ago, I took a Byway trip across Europe. The focus was really on discovering less-visited places, off the main tourist routes, with some of the best European railway journeys. I filled three sketchbooks, from which I’ll create a series of larger paintings that will emerge as a documentation of some places I visited.

How has your experience of slow travel influenced your work?

 Slowing down allows a kind of absorption of place. You need to sit quietly, not rush, and engage deeply with the culture, landscape, and people. Spending several days at a location allows the place to leave its impression fully, and I often find that my best work comes from taking the time to really take in the atmosphere, bustle or tranquillity of a place, which seeps its way into my work. 

 As well as being drawn towards slowness, I also seek surprising, off-the-beaten-path places. I want to discover a place for myself, for my work to feel authentic. The personal experience of travel is central, and I want my work to reflect my own observations and feelings. 

 And conversely, how does your practice of sketching affect your experience of travelling?

It allows me to really live in the moment. I can really engage more with the landscape itself, with the people that live there, and I can do that in a way that I can't if I'm simply a passenger on a journey, rather than if I am part of the journey. But I also think I become more aware of just the beauty of the world in which we live.