Tony Black’s bold and gutsy style – influenced by Pop Art, German Expressionism and Fauvism – is rooted in the kind of spontaneous art he enjoyed in his childhood, filling endless notepads with colourful and striking images.
Always a storyteller – in words and pictures – a budding ambition to paint was quickly shelved after unexpected success as the best selling novelist with his anti-hero punk rocker detective, Gus Dury scorching through the Scottish crime charts, headbutting a politician on the way! Dubbed ‘tartan noir’, Tony’s work has been nominated for eight CWA Daggers and was runner up in the Guardian’s Not The Booker Prize. In fact, Irvine Welsh the author of Trainspotting, said: “Tony Black is my favourite British crime writer and Gus Dury is the genre’s most interesting protagonist… the power, style and street swagger that makes most of his contemporaries a little bland by comparison”.
Self-taught or art school?
A little bit of both.
If you could own one work of art what would it be?
The Bar Counter, by Vlaminck. I think it would attract a lot of attention hanging in my living room.
How would you describe your style?
Broadly speaking I’d go for Neo-Expressionism, but there’s a lot of Pop Art in there too.
Can you tell us about your artistic process?
I try not to plan anything, but I sometimes find myself planning on the hoof. I like to keep the process as loose and spontaneous as I can, with each stroke leading to the next. Sometimes a little narrative starts to seed on the way, and that can lead to interesting discoveries.
Is narrative important within your work?
Yes, the other hat I wear is a novelist’s. I paint figures because I enjoy stories, and character is at the root of that. A lot of my themes repeat, turning up in picture after picture like series characters reappearing from time to time. I don’t need there to be a story, though, I can get by without it.
Who are your favourite artists and why?
I like Vlaminck and Soutine, both figurative artists and both really loose stylists. I love colour and character, the way these artists portray the human spirit. I think I share a certain amount of sensibilities with them, or perhaps it’s a pessimistic outlook. I always find myself staring deeply into their works and trying to imagine the backgrounds of the people they portray, who they were, what they were thinking, and so on.
What or who inspires your art?
I’m continually inspired to paint, it’s not something I need to search for, it’s always there. I’ve never needed to look for inspiration, or summon up a drive to work, it’s just something that’s always been available to me since I was a very young child.
Where’s your studio and what’s it like?
It’s in a converted garage attached to my house, though it’s started to fill up with a lot of junk recently and I’ve been migrating to a spare room upstairs where I have a little bit more space.
Do you have any studio rituals?
I’m a bit of a compulsive coffee drinker, but I’m planning to knock that on the head and find something a little bit healthier.
What are you working on currently?
I’ve been playing about with digital art, exploring a lot of familiar themes, and projecting them onto canvas. I don’t think it’ll ever take the place of IRL work, but it’s fun messing about with a new medium.
Where can we buy your art?
My originals are sold by Portfolio Fine Art, who are also doing my prints.; they display with a lot of galleries throughout the UK, like Westover Gallery in Bournemouth, who have some of my work on display. I’m also currently showing in Gallery 27 in Dunbar, East Lothian and I have some works on display with Art Pistol in Glasgow. Anything that isn’t available through those outlets can be found on my website: www.tonyblack.net or my Instagram: tony_neo_noir
https://portfoliofineart.com/artist/tony-black?fbclid=IwAR2Kwwh1iEGuuI9ab9C1pvujEGWTP9zRKWNZOA7fKCh5ZB9hf4lbT0iy8R4
https://www.visitgallery27.com/shop/tony-black/27
https://www.artpistol.co.uk/tony-black#
