Interview with Alan Ewart – Master Artist
The following is an extract from an interview between Master Artisan founder, Jean-Christophe Burckhardt and master artist Alan Ewart in July 2006. Alan trained at the Wellington (NZ) Polytechnic School of Design. After working for 40 years as a painting illustrator for magazines and advertising, he now takes his meticulous and perfectionist painting skills to the canvas and trompe l'oeil applications. Italy and South of France are great inspiration for his work. Alan is also a sculptor and works in a number of mediums. Alan works from his home studio in Paddington Sydney.
Master Artisan: As you did your studies at Wellington Polytechnic School of Design, was there a particular technique or media that you felt more attracted to?
Alan: It wasn’t until I came to Australia that I discovered that I could actually illustrate, because the style of illustration that was taught to me there was totally different. I just scraped through the School of Design and didn’t excel at anything until I came to Australia and realized that there were so many variations of styles in illustration. When I came to Australia I worked for advertising agencies for a number of years and was then lucky enough to get into illustrating for Playboy, Woman’s Weekly and all the magazines.
Master Artisan: And after a while you started developing your own illustrations?
Alan: … Painting style, yes that’s right.
Master Artisan: And it looks like the inspiration is very strongly Italian and classical, very renaissance. So what is it about the classical that intrigues you?
Alan: I think it’s the respect I had for my father who was an engineer and a craftsman. He was a steel craftsman and a boilermaker by trade. And there, I learned respect for the old craftsmanship.
Master Artisan: And, how would he have described craftsmanship to you?
Alan: Someone who can master his medium really. I think he understood that. He knew his medium; he knew his different methods and how to handle different metals with welding.
Master Artisan: In terms of your illustration craftsmanship, your reproductive painting, how would you in your own words, describe what you do? What would it be?
 Alan: From the time I started just to do painting full-time, I’ve tried to make the subject the most important thing, and not the artist. With a lot of modern painters, the publicity is given to the artist themselves and they forget the actual subject. I think the subject is more important. Maybe it’s because of my commercial background. Maybe it’s also because I’m a craftsman, not an artist. I don’t consider myself an artist because I find a lot of people who consider themselves artists are somewhat self-deluded.
Master Artisan: So, it’s really about the craft of, in a sense, reproducing the subject faithfully?
Alan: Yes, but also trying to interpret what … see for instance, the painting of the gondolas. That’s not just gondolas. I’ve gone beyond the photograph. I think I have. But most don’t pick that what I’m really saying is that the Italians were into over decoration, on the verge of being kitsch. And that’s what the painting is about.
Master Artisan: So it’s about the opulence.
Alan: Yes, that’s right. It’s about the opulence of that particular thing. In fact, I want to add the symbol of Venice as the wind blowing to the painting of the gondolas. I was going to put it on the cushions and on the material as well. One day I’ll get around to doing that, just to really emphasize that sense of over decoration that the Italians can have.
Master Artisan: Now what would you say to somebody who wants to become a craftsman? What would you tell them and what would you say to an apprentice, to a student, to somebody who wants to be a craftsman?
Alan: I wouldn’t go so far as De Vinci did to his apprentices. Five years crushing stone and all sorts of materials to make paints. He wouldn’t let them pick up a brush before a certain age no matter how much work they did. I think it was by 18 or something.
As for me, it took a long time to understand the materials, because the people who trained me trained me from a design point of view, not a pure painting perspective.
Master Artisan: So is your message about understanding the materials?
 Passion is an over-used word for making soup these days, but great craftsmen do know their material and it’s so evident in their results and the quality of their work. They know which way is the right way to go because they understand the material.
Master Artisan: Is a painting ever finished for you?
Alan: No, too many mistakes!
Master Artisan: So where do you see yourself going? What is your aim?
Alan: I don’t know. Just keep painting. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else, put it that way.
Master Artisan: And what’s your feeling about, in a sense, what you’re leaving behind?
Alan: That’s a tricky question because if one painting, just one, would last and be hung in say anybody’s home, or on the back of a toilet door in 200 years time, I ‘d be extremely happy if I could forecast that.
Master Artisan: And why? What would it mean to you?
Alan: Well, it would mean that humanity as such, my contribution as being not without, ‘not un-noticed’.
Master Artisan: So there is something of you that carries through to humanity into the future?
Alan: Well, not necessarily something of me, but just my contribution. Forget about my name, just the result that might help. I’ve been offered teaching jobs, but I don’t think I’d be a very good teacher. I don’t think I’d be contributing much. But just knowing that someone gets some sort of inspiration, like they say; ‘gosh yes, that’s how he did that’. Even if it’s that. I’ll be happy with it!
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