@mm: how are you feeling about the new paintings? You excited or nervous?

> @StuartSemple:  A bit of both. I’m very excited about my art and the
exhibition, but then a bit nervous. It’s all good as a bit of nervous energy
keeps you on top of your game.
If you get complacent in anything you do, you may lose your spark – that
hunger that makes you want to create.

>
> @mm: the thing I really love about them is that super glossy resin you coat
> everything in. Was it hard to perfect?

> @StuartSemple: Well, there was a lot of experimenting to get the right finish.
I use different techniques in the finishes and am still experimenting!

I did lose a lot of paintings through using the wrong resins and after a
couple of days the paintings  went cloudy.

>
> @mm: the works are so violent, yet so pretty, why do you think they are so
> psychologically dark?

> @StuartSemple:  The paintings are dark, it’s just the way I express
myself, I like creating sinister moods. But on another level, they have a
beauty I like – I find them deep in meaning.

I have tried to paint with brighter colours and they came out terrible,
and the paintings just didn’t work for me.

>
> @mm: they remind me of that Freudian idea of childhood beating… Like how
> kids pull legs off spiders or stamp on snails?

> @StuartSemple: Ha ha that’s one way of psychoanaylysing me!  I hate to
see kids kill insects, when we have spiders in our house I would rather pick
them up and throw them out, than kill them!

But in my paintings there are many ways to look at the paintings – as
sacrifice, revenge, duty, freedom, solidarity, courage and strength all play
a part.

>
> @mm: when you are on stage it’s very much about you, with painting the work
> has to perform for you?

>  @StuartSemple:  It’s very similar – as you are putting your emotions
out there for everyone to see. The stage is one way you translate the music
to the people, and with painting you translate your thoughts through paint.

>
> @mm: does making your art feel anything like recording a track? I mean your
> music studio has turned into an art studio?

>  @StuartSemple:  I get the same satisfaction out of producing art as I
do writing music. I am very lucky that both things I enjoy most are under
the same roof. As you know my music studio is right next to my art studio.
>

> @mm: its interesting that the work is obviously yours, I guess wether writing
> a tune or performing the creative spark is the same it just appears in
> different formats?

>  @StuartSemple: Yes I agree, I find it liberating. I switch from music to
painting all the time.

>
> @mm: I know you set fire to the ones you don’t like, do you ever regret it?

>  @StuartSemple: No regrets!!  This is something I have learnt over the
years. Very often I have had half finished songs that I said I would go back
to, but I have always written something better and never gone back.

It’s the same with painting. I think if it isn’t working, destroy it and
move on! Never go backwards – always move forwards.
>

>
> @mm: you’ve been working on them for a while, it’s got to be well over a year
> since you showed me the first ones, it feels like the work is evolving and
> moving all the time?

>  @StuartSemple: The work is moving fast! I believe that when you are excited
and show love for something,  creativity flows fast.
>

>
> @mm: what are you hoping people will take away from the exhibition?

>  @StuartSemple: I hope that people will leave the exhibition with the
same feeling you get after you have seen a great film at the cinema, and a
sense of me.  And as you know, some artworks are for sale, but not all of
them, as the ones that are special to me I will never sell.