A Love Affair with Colour, Perspective, and Boundless Creativity : David Hockney

David hockney is a rare artist, with the ability to consistently reinvent himself, while still staying to their core essence. The man is a living legend in my eyes. I remember studying him in art in secondary school and falling in love with his photography style of taking lots of photos of a moment and collaging them together, they didn’t match and overlapped all different but it caught movement and a spirit of a second that I just found magical.

 Then loving the way he explored colours, using such bold bright colours, the water reflections and the small observations in things mixed with his unique sense of perspective. It felt magical then and even more growing up, find out more and more about his life and career. Then finding out his love of sausage dogs and all the drawings he did of them,  Stanley and Boodgie (I too have sausage dogs and it takes a special person to appreciate the nature of their naughty, mischievous ways)

His most famous works that most people will know is The Splash (1966) and The Bigger Splash (1967) painted in LA.

He has travelled around the world creating, he was born in Bradford in 1937, then moving to London to study art. He then has lived in New York, Los Angeles, Normandy and has painted and created at every step of his journey, taking us with him.

He bridges both traditional and innovation, constantly looking at his personal life for inspiration and the world around him. Seeing his work is like seeing the world in a kaleidoscope of colour, light, and perspective, which I guess is what I love about his work, he sees the world, notices the smallest thing and expresses emotions in simple but bold ways. To quote Hockney:

“The world is very very beautiful if you look at it, but most people don’t look very much. They scan the ground in front of them so they can walk, they don’t really look at things incredibly well, with an intensity. I do.”

My admiration for Hockney’s genius runs deep, and it’s something I’ve carried for years. Every brushstroke, every iPad drawing, every immersive experiment he’s ventured into feels like a celebration of life itself. Hockney’s newest work using digital and an iPad, adapting to a totally different medium and absolutely demonstrating his skills in a totally new and exciting way. I think he didn’t just try and copy the landscapes and still life’s, he challenges us to see a new perspective, alternative colours and it seems endless his ability to capture something and get its essence, each time looking at it, seeing a new line or part of it.

Going to his gallery up in Seattle was a magical day for me. Every corner and every floor demonstrating his changing works through the decades. It was like stepping into his mind for the afternoon. If you haven’t been I would super recommend it and they have a beautiful restaurant too. Seeing his large ipad drawings from lockdown blown up at such scale, it felt like stepping into them. The photos don't do them enough justice.

 Then just as I couldn’t love Hockney’s brilliance more, he has found a new stage at Factory International with his latest exhibition called, Bigger & Closer (Not smaller & further away) an absolute genius of a title. Given his young age of now 87. Society expects as someone gets older they should be more hidden and get smaller seen in society as a whole. I love how he breaks that mould, only growing with vigor and vibrancy showing no sign of him passing an expiration date. This picture below is of him, crocs, a chequer suite and matching green glasses to match his croc, things that shouldn’t go but absolute do. I couldn’t commend him more on him always embracing him, exactly him and nothing short.

It is a full multi sensory experience that goes way passed a traditional art gallery experience. I took my partner and cousin and her little girl. Sharing that moment with little beau who's just turned 1, was magical, her running around and seeing the movement and being enchanted.

Hockney narrated over the whole show, hearing his words with each section of it was amazing and inspirational, mixing in his work from pass, present and exploring the future. Having 360 visual of the room, you felt so small in his work coming to life in a whole new way.

Here’s some of the videos and photos I took none of them will do it full justice but least gives you an impression. Please go see it for yourself to experience how wonderful it is.

This part felt like you were in the imagination of his dreams with the slight movements and playful nature.

The music which sounds like an epic journey and the deep rich blue in this one captured that feeling of being at sea on an adventure.

These panoramic projections encased you with every moment. The artwork coming to life in front of you, line by line of him creating it.

Honestly there are not even words to explain it, it really just hammers home that he remains one of the most important living artist of our time. The exhibition is still on until 25th January, get down to see it go enjoy the magic for yourself!

Hockney’s work is a reminder that perspective matters—in art, in life, in everything. Whether it’s the way he captures a sunny terrace in Los Angeles or the way he reinterprets the quiet charm of an English lane, his art asks us to pause and truly see. It’s a reminder to savor the beauty of the ordinary, to appreciate the play of light on water, and to find joy in the ever-changing hues of the seasons.

Hockney doesn’t just paint pictures; he paints possibilities, memories, and dreams. And for that, I’ll always be grateful to him sharing his mind with the world.

 © All images: David Hockney