Jason Anderson, from Dorset in England, began his art career working on restoration projects like York Minster, Gloucester and Wells cathedrals as part of a stained glass apprenticeship. These famous old cathedrals boast some of the world’s most intricate and beautiful stained glass in the world, so it is no surprise that Jason’s landscape paintings take some inspiration from their kaleidoscope of colors and shapes!

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Image credits: Jason Anderson

“I left school at 16 and started my art career as a stained-glass artist – where I served under the renowned (stained-glass) artist Roy Coomber for 5 years,” Jason explained to Bored Panda. “The restoration work forced me to experiment with many different styles, while the design work taught me to compose a subject around very defined slabs of glass (i.e. color). This imprinting had a huge influence on the way I see things and probably goes some way to explaining why I paint the way I do today.”

Image credits: Jason Anderson

“It was convenience initially took me into the stained-glass field. The stained-glass studio was just around the corner from where I grew up… so when it became my placement as part of a technical illustration course – it was a no-brainer. However, I soon fell in love with the environment and work and really enjoyed my time there. It was a delight to follow my watercolor design all the way through to the installed church window – with the light beaming through it.”

Image credits: Jason Anderson

“I quickly started painting with a palette knife as I love the textures and shapes it creates. I found (along with the impressionists) that if the colors and tone are right the form isn’t that important – the brain would fill in the gaps.”

“This creates two experiences… from a distance, it’s a scene – but up close it’s all about the shapes and color.”

Image credits: Jason Anderson

“Using a knife also allows me to create bold straight lines that give each structure strength and impact – especially when they blend into a smooth background. The raised texture tricks the brain into thinking that these areas are closer – which adds depth and perspective – a technique termed ‘perceptibility’ by Rembrandt’s student Samuel van Hoogstraten.”

Image credits: Jason Anderson

“I always start with a black and white (pen) sketch. This allows me to see if the composition is strong enough and prevents me from dwelling on detail. I then sketch out the abstract landscape painting with a large brush and start to add the large areas of color in the background.”

Image credits: Jason Anderson

“I then start building up the subject with a knife. I don’t really have any idea of what colors I’ll be using when I start – I just keep adding colors until the painting feels balanced and ‘full’.”

Image credits: Jason Anderson

“If you imagine that everything reflects all seven colors of the spectrum – even ‘black’… it allows me to move away from reality and paint everything as if it’s a prism – which is what gives my work that refracted/pixelated feel.”

Image credits: Jason Anderson

Image credits: Jason Anderson

“The sun – i.e. the highlight – plays a huge part for me. My time in stained-glass taught me about light and how it expands. So, in my colorful paintings there is only a single (pure) white spot which gives the piece a strong focal point and what better excuse to have for this than an imaginary sun – maybe just going down behind the horizon.”

Image credits: Jason Anderson

Image credits: Jason Anderson

“The Dorset coastline is a constant inspiration to me. I often take my sketch pad out to the coast to see what grabs me. I always want to portray the elements especially water – as I’m obsessed with reflections, I also want to include a suggestion of humanity usually on the horizon like a boat or skyline – as this adds to the drama and grounds the viewer into something they are comfortable with – making it a far more enjoyable viewing experience.”

Image credits: Jason Anderson

“With this in mind… I would most definitely describe my paintings as landscapes.”

Image credits: Jason Anderson

Image credits: Jason Anderson

Image credits: Jason Anderson

Image credits: Jason Anderson

Image credits: Jason Anderson

What do you think? Could you imagine one of these warm, colorful pieces in your living room? Check out Jason’s website for more details and let us know what you think in the comments below!

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