Talking Techniques The Outside World

Artist ANDREW ROBERTS tells NATALIE MILNER about his love of paint and showing art with his heroes

It’s not every day you exhibit alongside your heroes, but landscape painter Andrew Roberts has managed just that as he joins a stellar cast of artists – Tom Coates, Fred Cuming RA, Julie Jackson and Mary Jackson – in The Alchemy of Paint exhibition at London’s Gallery 8 this May. “I don’t agree that you should never meet your heroes,” says the Sussex-based artist. “I think you absolutely should, to see that they’re human like you, have foibles and make mistakes – and still create great paintings.”

But it’s more than admiration that brings these artists together – it’s the sheer love of the materiality of paint. When Andrew had the chance to watch Royal Academician Fred Cuming at work in his studio, it reaffirmed his appreciation of the artist. “He’d use a brush by turning it on its edge. It’s uncomfortable, like he’s stroking a cat the wrong way,” says Andrew. “It made me think about my own habits. I thought, ‘It’s OK to do that.’ All my brushes are ruined, but I like them that way.”