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ART FOR PLANET EARTH
It’s a concern inside of each one us nowadays about what’s happening to the planet: we can all physically feel and see the change in the world. Art is my way of protesting: I protest with a paintbrush - as writers and poets do with their pens.
I began Art for Planet Earth two years ago with each artwork showing the thread of the indivisibility of human and natural worlds to protest about humanity ’s destruction of our ecosystems, to get that frustration onto canvas and create a conversation about what we can do as individuals to take responsibility for our world, our home. And a call to action to create a brighter future.
Do artists have the choice as to whether or not we address political situations? Aren’t all artists art activists? I believe activism is an important part of any form of art and it’s our duty to chronicle what’s happening in our world. If we don’t do something radical now, within ten years nothing will be the same. For me, art truly is the highest form of hope.
I began Art for Planet Earth two years ago with each artwork showing the thread of the indivisibility of human and natural worlds to protest about humanity ’s destruction of our ecosystems, to get that frustration onto canvas and create a conversation about what we can do as individuals to take responsibility for our world, our home. And a call to action to create a brighter future.
Do artists have the choice as to whether or not we address political situations? Aren’t all artists art activists? I believe activism is an important part of any form of art and it’s our duty to chronicle what’s happening in our world. If we don’t do something radical now, within ten years nothing will be the same. For me, art truly is the highest form of hope.
SKETCHES
I have always loved working ‘en plein air’ in the beautiful Northamptonshire countryside. And many of these sketches were
made briefly with pen and watercolour during the Kettering and District Art Society monthly sketching breakfasts at the Kino
Lounge in Kettering.
made briefly with pen and watercolour during the Kettering and District Art Society monthly sketching breakfasts at the Kino
Lounge in Kettering.
WOMAN IN THE WORLD
Three women and a child walk together but alone - figures in a mysterious landscape, drifting through memory, colour and the quiet weight of unspoken stories and belonging, carrying inherited remembrances of a not-so-distant past: fragments of the past that linger in the silence between them, carried through colour and presence. The painting speaks of inheritance not as possession, but as emotional residue passed from one generation to the next.
A woman is clutching the olive branch of peace with despair and pain in her face because she’s at the centre of war, famine, death, standing in the ruins of bombed house. The woman next to her is a city woman and her only news is from TV or newspapers. She’s never felt it, but now is witness to the reality of war. A moment of hope as the next generation watch the angels of peace coming to rescue. A woman and a child in times of famine. And a young man gripping on to barbed wire, a victim of war.
A woman is clutching the olive branch of peace with despair and pain in her face because she’s at the centre of war, famine, death, standing in the ruins of bombed house. The woman next to her is a city woman and her only news is from TV or newspapers. She’s never felt it, but now is witness to the reality of war. A moment of hope as the next generation watch the angels of peace coming to rescue. A woman and a child in times of famine. And a young man gripping on to barbed wire, a victim of war.
NEW WORKS
All artists are on a journey — constantly searching beyond the obvious for some understanding of what, where and why they create. Through years in the studio my work has evolved from mostly figurative to Symbolic Expressionism and this is my path for … well years to come. Symbolic Expressionism holds within it abstraction, but pure abstraction can easily become chaos, and chaos alone is not enough. There has to be something that anchors the painting — something the eye and emotions can return to in order to make sense of the experience.
For some artists, like Jackson Pollock, colour, rhythm and depth became that anchor. In my work, it is often the figure. The human presence allows the viewer to move through the painting emotionally, navigating the tension between abstraction and recognition.
The challenge for the artist is knowing how far to go into abstraction before instinct tells you to stop — that moment when the painting finally feels complete. Go too far, and you risk losing the very thing you were trying to say. For me, abstraction is not about abandoning meaning. It is about allowing feeling, memory and instinct to emerge beyond literal representation — finding order, emotion and humanity within the chaos. And, always, letting the brush lead the way.
For some artists, like Jackson Pollock, colour, rhythm and depth became that anchor. In my work, it is often the figure. The human presence allows the viewer to move through the painting emotionally, navigating the tension between abstraction and recognition.
The challenge for the artist is knowing how far to go into abstraction before instinct tells you to stop — that moment when the painting finally feels complete. Go too far, and you risk losing the very thing you were trying to say. For me, abstraction is not about abandoning meaning. It is about allowing feeling, memory and instinct to emerge beyond literal representation — finding order, emotion and humanity within the chaos. And, always, letting the brush lead the way.
PORTRAITURE
Jack Watto’s portraiture focuses on capturing the emotional presence, individuality, and inner character of his subjects. Rooted in a strong figurative tradition shaped during his studies at the Slade School of Fine Art, his portraits balance observation with instinctive, expressive mark-making.
Working predominantly in oil on canvas, Watto uses layered colour, atmosphere, and energetic brushwork to create portraits that feel deeply human and emotionally resonant. Influenced by both classical portraiture and Abstract Expressionism, his works move beyond likeness alone, exploring identity, memory, vulnerability, and connection through paint.
Each portrait carries its own sense of presence, inviting the viewer to engage not only with the subject, but with the emotion and energy held within the work.
Working predominantly in oil on canvas, Watto uses layered colour, atmosphere, and energetic brushwork to create portraits that feel deeply human and emotionally resonant. Influenced by both classical portraiture and Abstract Expressionism, his works move beyond likeness alone, exploring identity, memory, vulnerability, and connection through paint.
Each portrait carries its own sense of presence, inviting the viewer to engage not only with the subject, but with the emotion and energy held within the work.
LIFE FIGURATIVE
Jack graduated in 1964 with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art from The Slade School of Art in London working with Frank Auerbach, mentoring with Howard Hodgkin and studying with Keith Vaughan whose figurative studies remain an inspiration to this day.
In his current move into Symbolic Abstraction, his figurative work anchors the painting - something the eye and emotions can return to in order to make sense of the experience. In his work, the human presence allows the viewer to move through the painting emotionally, navigating the tension between symbolism/abstraction and recognition
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