'Expressive Symbol-Surrealism' a one man movement.

My name is David Richardson (born 1970) and for the purposes of this article I will define myself as an artist. The best place for me to start my story is from the place to which I don't not want to return . It was winter 2005 in a freezing cold shed at the back of the 'Chariots of Fire' (the pub that got burnt down on Mill Road Cambridge). I was sharing the shed with a polish man and a 55 year old ex soldier from Norfolk, each of us down on our luck. It was 1 oclock in the morning, going into withdrawals, and the candle went out. And there in the darkness I sat in cold silence with my thoughts. But this moment was profound. Words can not describe it. In this moment I felt truly lost and at exactly the same time I felt truly found. The next morning I sorted myself out and then went to the library to sit in the warm, I borrowed a pencil and several pieces of paper and attempted to recapture the duality I felt the night before. Of course what brought me to Cambridge a number of years prior was certainly not to become homeless, nobody intends that, but to conduct some Ph.D research at the Plant Science Department, Cambridge University in the area of Evolutionary Plant Physiology for the American Multinational Agrochemical Company, Monsanto www.richardsonphd.blogspot.com. And then some years later due to my marriage breakup and 'other factors', I then became homeless for an 18 months period, briefly mentioned above. After these life events, I turned away from science to art to become a painter. Painting being a subject I'd had a formal training in and had some success at, during the late 1980's and early 90's, training under the Neo-Expressionist Andrew Paisley in Bournemouth. Neo-Expressionism developed as a reaction against the Conceptual and Mininal art of the 1970s. It returned to portraying recognizable objects, such as the human body (although sometimes in an abstract manner), in a rough and violently emotional way using vivid colours and banal colour harmonies. From this background I developed my visual ideas and style I have today. If I could properly categorise my art in just a few words then I would call it Expressive Symbol-Surrealism as it crosses several major artist styles. What makes the style Expressive is the colours I use, as I generally choose stark, high toned, primary and secondary colours, and put them together discordantly (colours on dog-leg on the colour wheel) to create an 'other worldly dream-like' effect. In some of my work I use a black background as a phenomenal space to place unusual characters in, that have become personified, coded expressions, of human emotion at an archetypal level, fitting my work into the category of Symbolism. In my investigations into the mind, I have managed to construct the kingdom of Mr Mole (my painting alter-ego), a vehicle to carry messages from the subconscious, to the world. This psychoanalytical aspect of my work which involves dream interpretation is Surrealist in nature. Ultimately, I want my work to be an aesthetically pleasing, self contained story, that the observer can visually read with assistance of the title and description, and by the end of their observance of my work, they are not left feeling stupid. Currently I'm working on a collection of 12 New Testament inspired paintings that I have called 'The 12 Apostles of Cambridge', 5 of which are being shown at The Michaelhouse Centre, Trinity Street, Cambridge, from 10 th to 15th of June. Also alongside these religious works will be 12 of my earlier psychoanalytical works. I will be available to talk to everyday between the times of 11am to 2pm. All this would not be possible if it wasn't for Lifecraft (a Cambridge based mental health charity) who have continuously supported and believed in me and my work. www.molemanart.blogspot.com.