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Christopher Hogan Artist and designer
GLOBAL GOURMET PARIS FRANCE
The world’s a canvas When did you decide to become an artist? My father’s business was sign-writing, and it was only natural that I would follow in his footsteps. Not happy with the formalities of the sign industry, I decided in the early 80s to pursue my passion to become a full-time artist.
How did that evolve into a career? I was living on the Gold Coast in Australia where I had my home and studio on the beach, and was travelling to Hamilton Island resort on the Great Barrier Reef as their artist in residence. I developed my programme for teaching guests how to do an abstract painting in two hours. My core business was supplying resorts with paintings, and my love of travel now allows me to continue to do both.
FINAL WORD
What is a painter’s most valuable skill?
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November 2011
As an abstract painter, you must be able to see things not as they are, but rather to identify the most interesting elements and interpret them in a totally different way. Don’t be afraid to take risks and experiment with colour and composition.
Where do you feel most inspired to paint? Because most of my subject matter mainly involves creating compositions using macro images of marine life, I find inspiration anywhere in the world where there are coral reefs. The Maldives in particular is perfect because I am completely surrounded by marine life and far away from the busy cities, so it is very inspiring. I snorkel and dive and use my underwater camera to help me create new compositions.
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What would you tell someone thinking of making a career out of a creative trade? I would tell them to think about one of my favourite quotations and just go for it: “If a man does not keep pace with his companions perhaps it is because he hears the beat of a different drummer...let him step to the music which he hears…” – Henry David Thoreau, 1854.
Can you share some memorable experiences from your classes? I recently conducted a class for a wedding party in the Maldives. It was a group of 20, and the eldest was a retired architect from Brazil, aged 86 years, whose son, the father of the bride, was an engineer. The old man paid me the ultimate compliment. He said, ‘Chris, I did not know my son had such artistic talent. I made him go to university to become an engineer, and he’s a very good engineer, but he could have been a wonderful artist’.
How can we improve our painting skills? Visit art museums and look closely at the masters of contemporary abstract works. You will be surprised by how imperfect they seem up close. This can help you lose your inhibitions and learn that bumpy lines and pencil marks are ok to leave as evidence of the process for the viewer. Don’t be afraid to experiment, think laterally, and most importantly, have fun and enjoy the experience. ■ Christopher Hogan’s work is on display at five-star resorts in the Maldives, Thailand and Australia, for brands including Anantara, Banyan Tree and One&Only.
EATING at dinner-only Sur Mesure de Thierry Marx at Mandarin Oriental Paris is a galactic gourmet experience. Designer Patrick Jouin’s white tunnel leads to what looks like the inside of a 40-seat allwhite spaceship. You sit surrounded by white. Walls, extending over to the ceiling, have panels deliberately half falling away, courtesy of Japanese firm Commes des Garçons. I’m dining with a French friend: she wears a pink tweed jacket over blue jeans, which adds colour to the otherwise stark-white environment. Each setting has exquisite Limoges, the display plate set on a flat doughnut-shaped golden disk. Hold it up and it makes a halo behind one’s head. The entire experience is rather heavenly. Today’s ribbon-wrapped menu features six or nine set courses. I start with a tier of three dim sumstyle glass pots, each holding a different red pepper confection, and finish with another dim sum-tower of three china pots, with sweetmeats. The highlight is a dome of ice supporting a mound of scallop mousse with a finger-size toast sandwich of French caviar. Mr Marx, trained by such true greats as Joël Robuchon, was last cooking at a Bordeaux château. Here at Mandarin Oriental Paris, he also oversees the more-casual all-day Camélia Restaurant, which has wall-size windows overlooking the hotel’s central garden. www.mandarinoriental.com/paris MARY GOSTELOW