Jim Best

About

Jim Best studied at Canterbury, (Btec National Art & Design) Farnham, (Ba hons Fine Art) Brighton, (MA Fine Art) and The Royal College of Art (MA Painting).

He taught at Mid Kent College, Rochester, Maidstone, and Sutton Further Education College, teaching Art & Design, Oil Painting & Life Drawing.

He’s been a professional musician on and off since he was fifteen, playing in a wide variety of bands. His bands have included, The Lovely Blast, The Weedkillers, and The Cracklin’ Griffins, an Irish folk type band in the Pogues style, which still performs regularly.

He’s made films and animations and performed soundtracks for other filmmakers.

He’s written many books, ranging from full on novels and poetry to children’s stories, illustrating many of them.

In his time at the RCA he wrote and illustrated three books based on his commute.

1. I like the excitement of the first mark on the ‘white’ blank. It almost always steers what follows.
2. I set rules, that I follow, but will often break. It’s important that when I break them, I notice.
3. Colour seems to be less important than line, even when it’s both.
4. Structure seems important, though line can sometimes change this.
5. The visual ‘look’ is more important to me than any conceptual subject. This seems to be true when I look at other paintings, not just my own.
6. I’m drawn to early abstraction, probably because of the stunning bravery. Early painting in general seems to draw me in.
7. Someone said my paintings ‘Pop’, I thought that was great and it might be my subject matter.
8. I once said I was a modernist, this may be true.
9. Use of text still feels fresh, and I have less confidence in it despite books out in the world.
10. Numbering seemed best, but my natural inclination is to reject my own sequence, certainly with any order of importance.
11. I like the idea of rebellion, but I do set rules which feels a contradiction.
12. Mediums form bodies of work and hang around.
13. I’d love to have a manifesto. This is how it’s done, Boom! (Blast) But I’d not expect anyone else to have any of my views.
14. I think it’s important to be restless and ill at ease at least just before painting, but while painting I expect surety and confidence. No doubt sometimes I’m bluffing.