About Anthony

Anthony Soames is an advocate of spontaneity when it comes to painting. Holding a strong belief that art should be a pure expression, created solely ‘in the moment’, he rejects and neglects any form of methodical creative process or research.

“Going round galleries and looking up artists online, you know, it’s just… It poisons your own creativity, you know, your ability to create your own expression in a pure form. You shouldn’t be overthinking your work. You shouldn’t really be thinking at all. It’s just clutter to me.” - Soames

Anthony, only working at night, enters his studio space – usually after a drink or two – picks up his paints and brushes, and works at any canvas or board that crosses his path, with little to no sense of what the outcome may be. This produces interesting works, as the lack of message, theme and even consistency in style should mean (by the usual laws of the creative world) that Anthony’s paintings give little to connect with, yet when viewed as an exhibited body of work, you can’t quite help but feel excited by the lack of responsibility. Jealous, almost.

“People like my work because it’s what they want to see. Unadulterated expression with no consequences. It’s what we all want to do, in the end, and people like to see that at least one of us is indulging in that. Art has become too much like a science now. All that research and planning. Some artists spend years studying for their final works like they’re exams or something. It’s like they’ve forgotten you can make whatever the fuck you want.” - Soames

Although, one particular critic did go as far as to label Anthony’s work as ‘Bad Art’, a genre of art where the works are almost intentionally bad, breaking certain laws of what makes ‘good art’, yet the creator does this on purpose and accepts the genre they work in.

“I see his point but he’s wrong. I don’t think it’s bad. It’s me. Art is self-indulgence and that’s what I do. If someone thinks my work is shite then fine. I think Warhol is shite, but other people don’t. That’s how it all works.” - Soames