IAN de SOUZA: artist inspiration

The thing is not to produce art, but to be completely artless...

Inspiration comes from many places for Ian de Souza, including the garden studio which has caused much interest nationally and internationally. Situated in Fremantle (Western Australia’s largest port), this 433 sq metre block is surrounded by a 2.5 metre limestone and cement rendered wall.

This garden studio is indoor-outdoor living which is easily accommodated in Western Australia where the weather is dry and sunny for nearly 9 months of the year. All materials used in its construction are “pre loved”. Recycled bricks, recycled steel, the old renovated railway carriage, the table with its mining cart wheels and rail tracks, the front door.

Food, music, art and dance, are all part of the creative process and interconnected in the artists' life. Inside-outside living is the theme for the de Souza Garden Studio which exists in harmony with the elements. The artist views his private courtyard as a canvas; the change of season dictates the palette.

The 5 metre long table, at the centre of the courtyard, seats 22 people. Many an evening of fine dining occurs here.

Below are a selection of quotes and inspiration that have helped shape Ian de Souza's artwork...

The thing is not to produce art, but to be completely artless. Painting is a means of self-enlightenment. The form of painting means nothing - how a colour is put finely cleanly dirtily, does not matter - the thing to look for is the spirit that is beyond the way a thing is painted. Terms like abstract, surrealist, realist, are essentially ridiculous, are used only for and by a lay public...

From de Souza's hand-scribbled notes - a quotation from a book on Zen

The return to my Asian roots signifies a new direction of my work and an acceptance of who and what I am. I am Eurasian. For years I looked to the West for inspiration, but at this stage of my life there is a yearning for my Eastern heritage which is unfolding naturally in my work. What is interesting to me is the way I am tapping into my 'Eastern-ness'; it is not so much the subject matter, but the process by which I am expressing myself.

ian de souza

On Lodeve...

I was driving thru the South of France when I smashed the windscreen of my car in a little village called Mas d'Alary near Lodeve. About 45 kms south west of Montpellier. Whilst waiting for repairs I fell in love with a French farmhouse that was built in 1592. I bought it and used it as a home base for nine years until the French Government claimed it. They opened the biggest open cut uranium mine in Europe in the village. I loved that house and when I wasn't restoring it, I used to paint the surrounding landscape. If it wasn't for that broken windscreen I wouldn't have stopped in Lodeve and started to paint...

Ian de Souza, extract from RESONANCE reflection impressions book iii 2009
image: lodeve city, watercolour, 1980

my art is my religion and I enjoy the progression and explorations in the journey to wherever it takes me...

Ian de Souza, extract from PASSION reflection impressions book ii 2005

Passion implies many levels of meaning and experience... words never suffice and art once liberated by the artist stands alone as do all things after the initial act of creation...

Rosemary Hunter, extract from PASSION reflection impressions book ii 2005

Light and Spirit are the same thing for me, my early Theosophical teachings instilled the concept of God is Light... I enjoy the writings of the writer / philosopher, the late Joseph Campbell. Campbell’s seminal philosophical and spiritual writings – particularly those which articulate the life journey process across divergent cultures – resonates with me and inspires my exhibitions.

ian de souza

an important consideration for me when painting is to capture the fleeting and subtle expressions of a movement and in this instance, it’s dance. My years of training of drawing the human figure enables me to achieve this

ian de souza, body of dance exhibition, melbourne 2006

Originally my art was purely recording. But then I started to see the spaces between me and the subject, which is atmosphere. From painting what was there, I went to painting what was in between; atmosphere and light, painting colour, rhythm and movement – the raw energy of things

ian de souza, extract from reflective impressions fremantle 1980-2000