Before finding his true calling, photographer Barrie Watts was an auditor, who woke up one morning and decided he didn’t want to work in an office for the rest of his life. The rest is history, as they say.
India inspires me, it embraces me and nourishes me at the same time. Undoubtedly it has made me a better person, more tolerant and understanding and above all patient of the frustration of thought processes that sometimes occur in any creative output.
Featured image: Barrie Watts at work. Photo credit: Jerry Young.
Barrie Watts at work. Photo credit: Julia Green.
Please tell us a little about yourself, what brought you to the world of photography and how did you start?
I am a photographer and printmaker living in Herefordshire, UK. The sublime countryside here has a very varied seasonal look to it. This suits me as I strive for peace and solitude; to explore the shape and form of the landscape, and particularly the ancients trees that exist here. I am often bound by the vagaries of the weather in every season. Frequently, I spend periods where I find I am not able to get out to create images because the light is not suitable for my work. Soft light particularly appeals to my artistic tastes, I prefer to wait for It.
I have been a photographer for over thirty years, and in the early part of my career concentrated on publishing, editorial and commercial work. After fifteen years I decided this was not satisfying my artistic needs, and certainly not my desire to improve my personal vision and ambition. So I made the decision to produce only work that I loved to do.
Prior to being a photographer I was an auditor, which certainly was the polar opposite of what I do now. But one morning I woke up and decided I didn’t want to work in an office for the rest of my life, so I had better do something about it. The rest is history, as they say.
The Route To Pushkar – Early morning and a Camel Herder heads tow.
Each year in early November, camel herders from the desert state of Rajasthan, India, head towards the holy city of Pushkar. Here they congregate with camel breeders and dealers from all over India in the hope of selling their animals. At the peak of activities of the Camel Mela there can be over thirty thousand animals on a square mile of the Mela grounds in the arid desert outside the city.
Their route to the grounds takes them many days and over the harsh desert terrain of Rajasthan, through towns and villages. For many of them it is their only chance to sell their excess stock and buy new blood for their breeding herd. After maybe a week of hard bargaining the Camel herders head off home and disappear into the dust and heat of the desert.
What is the primary role of an artist? How do you describe yourself in the context of challenging people’s perspectives via your work and art?
I cannot speak for others, but in my opinion, the primary role of an artist is to be true to themselves and to produce work that appeals to them first, and then present that work to the world in a way that convinces the viewers of its worth. I realise that might be difficult for an artist who needs money to survive. And I appreciate this attitude might be a purist way of looking at things, but I can tell by looking at a piece of art whether it has been produced from the heart or created purely from a commercial point of view.
As for me, I carry my philosophy with me at every stage of my process. From the original image making, through to the printing stage.
I revere my subjects, whether it be a person on the street in India selling chai, or a five hundred year old oak tree in the countryside where I live. I want to produce the best possible image for myself, but more importantly for them too.
Barrie Watts
This is why I personally print my work in the most stable and beautiful medium available; Platinum Palladium printing on fine archival cotton paper.
What I am saying to the viewers of my work is, “Look at these subjects…Are they not worthy of your time and attention, are they not beautiful?”
Stepwell Madhya Pradesh
How do you deal with the conceptual difficulty and uncertainty of creating new work?
I have to be personally confident about any project I wish to embark upon, so I don’t experience any uncertainty or difficulty about producing it. Mainly because I’m principally doing it for myself and I don’t have to convince anybody else of its commercial worth. I’m not competing for any prizes or grants. I entirely self fund my own projects, so I have complete control over the end result. In the end I’m saying this is mine, and it’s most definitely from the heart. I care very much about what I do.
I would say my vision changes every time I visit India and I encounter something new and spellbinding.
Barrie Watts
What would you call your style? Let’s talk about the evolution of your practice over the years. Tell us about your commitment to your current medium.
It’s very difficult for me to say whether I have a ‘style’ or not. A personal vision maybe. And if I have any sort of personal ‘style’ it’s because over the years I have absorbed many different types of art, certainly not just photography. In fact the most inspiring influences for me come from painters and musicians and from architecture maybe. And of course, it evolves over time as you get older and you are exposed to further influences. I would say my vision changes every time I visit India and I encounter something new and spellbinding. My current medium is dictated by technology and I fervently embrace any new technology that emerges. Although I still occasionally use film to capture images, I most often or not use a digital camera to record my images.
That is combined with the most stable and enduringly beautiful process of printing with Platinum and Palladium metals. My commitment to that process is total, because there is no finer more exquisite way of printing a black and white image than to use that process. Like most other Platinum printers the quest for the perfect print becomes like the search for the Holy Grail. I occasionally get near to it, and quite often a really good print I have produced will bring tears to my eyes.
Lilly Pond. Sundarbans West Bengal India.
When I encounter an object or a scene that is so perfectly formed by the natural world, it can be inspirational, to the point where it will spark an idea for a study or maybe even a new direction. I store all of these references in my soul, and I know one day I will call upon the experiences as a form of validation.
Barrie Watts
What inspires you? Let’s talk about your frameworks, references and process.
Without doubt my primary influence is nature, and second, India. I am frequently humbled and often left speechless by both. Nature is the grand designer of them all. When I encounter an object or a scene that is so perfectly formed by the natural world, it can be inspirational, to the point where it will spark an idea for a study or maybe even a new direction. I store all of these references in my soul, and I know one day I will call upon the experiences as a form of validation.
On the other hand India inspires me, it embraces me and nourishes me at the same time. Undoubtedly it has made me a better person, more tolerant and understanding and above all patient of the frustration of thought processes that sometimes occur in any creative output. When something proves to be difficult and frustrating to do, I wait until my mind is in the right state before attempting it again.
Three Palms. Chhattisgarh, India.
I’m still learning, and expect to do so until my last breath.
Lets talk about your career, or if you prefer artistic journey. What were your biggest learning and hiccups along the way?
My artistic journey is constantly evolving. Was there a Eureka moment? Sure there have been several, but the most memorable are lodged into my psyche and are constantly recalled at a moment’s notice. I can vividly recall being immensely moved by viewing the original canvasses of Van Gogh in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam or the still lives of Jan Van Huysum, Pieter Claesz, Adriaen Van Utrecht and Abraham Mignon in the Rijks Museum. So that’s how I learn, that is my journey. I absorb as many influences as I can from various spheres and live in the hope that eventually the experiences will emerge at a later date and influence my creative vision.
As for hiccups, there have been so many, and I cannot pick out any that have been calamitous. But without them I couldn’t have learned my art and craft, and get to the stage I am currently at, that’s for sure. Every day there are problems to be solved and surmounted. That is my process, and it is how I learn. I’m still learning, and expect to do so until my last breath.
Morning Puja. Banks of the River Ganges. Varanasi India.
I can tell by looking at a piece of art whether the artist put their life and soul into it. So I suppose that is the number one criteria for me. Did this person put his life into this piece of artwork? If he did, he gets my respect.
What are you looking for when you look at other artists’ work? Which shows, performances and experiences have shaped your own creative process? Who are your maestros?
Looking at other Artists work is vital, in my opinion, to get perspective for one’s own work. I have influences for sure, in photography I would list Irving Penn as a Maestro, along with Ansel Adams and Don McCullin. All of them lived and breathed their art and work, and in McCullin’s case he still does. As I have already said I can tell by looking at a piece of art whether the artist put their life and soul into it. So I suppose that is the number one criteria for me. Did this person put his life into this piece of artwork? If he did, he gets my respect.
As for experiences that have shaped my creative life, a few readily come to mind, that first moment I stood on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in the US is way up there in the momentous moments that shaped my work. I mean, how can any artist come up with anything to better that spectacle?
Looking at the first Josef Koudelka exhibition in London, when I was a student, was an awe inspiring moment I shall never forget, and the Diego Rivera exhibition in London too. Both spellbinding work from artists that were at the top of their game.
Early Morning Prayers. Sundarbans. West Bengal, India.
I wrote a message to myself on a piece of card that simply said, “Consider The Alternative”.
Think of the biggest professional risk you’ve taken. What helped you take that risk?What is the best piece of advice you’ve received? Why was it helpful?
The biggest risk I ever took in my career was the one at the very start when I had a well paid secure job, and it was, “Shall I do this or not?” The overwhelming answer was of course yes, because I most definitely didn’t want to spend the rest of my life working in an office that had no creative outlet. In fact, I wrote a message to myself on a piece of card that simply said, “Consider The Alternative”. This was stuck to my pin board and I saw it every time I passed it, and in times of despair it never failed to concentrate my mind very wonderfully.
The best piece of advice was given to me by an uncle of mine who was somewhat of a mentor, he said, “If you are going to do something, do it properly or not at all. Excellent work will always shine like a diamond”. So I always follow his advice, half-hearted efforts are always doomed to failure.
Barrie Watts at work. Photo credit: Jerry Young.
Tell us about your studio, what kind of place is it? Could you describe your usual work day in the studio?
My studio is the great outdoors and apart from my darkroom and office, my studio is where I do the bulk of my work. I treat India as my biggest studio, a place that has no equal on Planet Earth.
When I’m there I rise early and go out as the sun rises, although it does depend where I am in India. Recently my wife and I were in West Bengal in the Sundarbans, and every morning there was this unbelievably beautiful mist that simply enveloped everything in the most incredible soft subtle light. In these instances I would stay out for a few hours just walking and absorbing the atmosphere shooting images, talking to local people. Drinking chai and just communicating with the surroundings that I find myself in.
Typically when I’m printing my Platinum Palladium prints I work all day for 12 hours and am lucky to get four prints finished. I’m a perfectionist and second rate prints just will not do. The morning will be the time when I coat my paper and then it has to dry for a couple of hours to absorb the background humidity. I’m lucky that my darkroom has just the perfect humidity of about 65%, as too little or too much humidity will result in a substandard result. The rest of the day is spent preparing the negatives and exposing the sheets of dry sensitised paper under a strong UV lamp, and then developing them. If I produce some really nice prints for my efforts I will spend the rest of the day very happy, quite often the prints end up in the bin, and I have to do them again.
What was your first sale? Do you handle the commercials yourself or is it outsourced to a gallery/agent?
It’s difficult to remember my first sale but it must have been when I was a student. I have several agents that handle quite a bit of my normal commercial work but I handle all the print sales personally. I’m not averse to working with galleries but for some reason it just hasn’t developed that way. I think in the future more sales will be made online and via Social Media platforms. And from my point of view that method of selling is increasing each year. Within the last few weeks I’ve sent out prints to the US, Germany, Belgium, UK and the Far East.
The marketing of one’s work is always a fluid situation, and certainly the current Covid crisis is going to permanently change the way we can present our creative output to the world at large. The times are changing, so we have to move with them and use the technology that becomes available, and as artists we have to use it to our advantage.
The Route To Pushkar. Early morning and a Camel Herder heads tow.
Each year in early November, the Camel Herders in the desert state of Rajasthan India head towards the holy city of Pushkar. Here they congregate with camel breeders and dealers from all over India in the hope of selling their animals. At the peak of activities of the Camel Mela there can be over thirty thousand animals on a square mile of the Mela grounds in the arid desert outside the city.
Their route to the grounds takes them many days and over the harsh desert terrain of Rajasthan, through towns and villages. For many of them it is their only chance to sell their excess stock and buy new blood for their breeding herd. After maybe a week of hard bargaining the Camel herders head off home and disappear into the dust and heat of the desert.
How does your audience interact and react to the work you put out into the world?
The main interaction I have from my audience is mainly from my Social Media platforms, and without doubt that is a very valuable way of receiving feedback to ideas and output. Sometimes it’s surprising to see what people like from a subject point of view, and quite often a favourite image of mine might not be very popular by the folk that follow me. Because artistic taste is so subjective I don’t get too down hearted if an image of mine that I particularly favour isn’t liked by anyone else. As I say, I do this business principally to satisfy my artistic passion not to gain popularity on Instagram.
What are you working on now? What’s coming next season?
I am currently working on a book on my India travels. This will be linked to an exhibition too, which I hope I can bring to India at a later date. The current crisis has delayed it somewhat, but behind the scenes I am working flat out on it. Mostly the prints will be in Platinum Palladium, with a few in colour too. I feel an urgency to do this now, because each time I return to India I see rapid change in most places. Recently we were in Satjelia Island in the Sundarbans West Bengal, two weeks ago the Island was all but flattened by the Cyclone Amphan. My heart goes out to these beautiful people on this beautiful Island, I pray they that are all safe and well.
When I’m in India my most treasured moments are the human interactions I encounter on my travels. Whether it be from witnessing the Maha Kumbh in Allahabad or passing the time of day at a roadside chai stall.
Are you more of a studio artist or naturally collaborative by nature? How do you feel about commissions?
I am always open to do commissions, and from the early stage of my career that’s how I earned a living. Latterly I have plowed my own furrow so to speak. I cherish the moments when I am out in the landscape with just myself and my camera for company, and I suppose when I look back over my work I can see a theme of solitude, quietness and beauty in it. That wasn’t necessarily a conscious decision on my part, that’s just how I want to view the World in general.
On the other hand, when I’m in India my most treasured moments are the human interactions I encounter on my travels. Whether it be from witnessing the Maha Kumbh in Allahabad or passing the time of day at a roadside chai stall.
For enquiries contact: barrie [at] barriewatts [dot] com
Before you go – you might like to browse our Artist Interviews. Interviews of artists and outliers on how to be an artist. Contemporary artists on the source of their creative inspiration.