We caught up with artist Luca Indraccolo on the final day of his week long oil painting short course to discuss his career path, his process and the place of creativity in the modern world.

Could you introduce yourself and the name of the course that you've been teaching this week?

I'm Luca Indraccolo, I'm a professional painter, I'm classically trained and I’ve been teaching a portrait painting workshop and I try to cover the basics of oil painting and the traditional methods to achieve a real likeness.

What drew you to oil painting as a medium? What do you love about it?

I used to be a graphic designer, I worked in advertising and visual art has always been one of my favourite things in life. Art in particular, especially paintings, always spoke to me as a child. Growing up in Italy, you come across Caravaggios in churches and things like that so I always felt a connection with oil painting.

You mentioned your career in advertising, what led you to take that step to a full time artist?

Yeah, that's very interesting. I still love all sorts of visual arts from photography to typography and digital art, however, I felt that in a corporate environment everything is done by committee. It's not just you, it’s not just your idea - it's always a common effort. Whereas I feel in painting there is nothing between me and the canvas, so it's just your soul to bear right there and I find that appealing in a strange way. That’s why I really like oil paintings.

What is your creative process? And how do you go about deciding what you're going to pursue as a piece?

I keep sketchbooks, but not in the traditional sense. Most people just record what they see and keep it almost like an exercise book. Whereas for me, it’s more of a notepad, I come up with a concept either because I've read something that inspires me in a book, or something I’ve watched in a movie, or just an experience in life. Those things kind of conjure up images in my head and I make sure I record them so then whenever I am a bit under pressure or I finish a project and I want to do the next one, all I need to do is go through my sketch books and really re-evaluate my notes, take one and expand on it.

West Dean is obviously all about introducing people to the creative pursuits, teaching them new techniques or expanding people’s practices. Why do you think it's important for people to engage in creativity?

Oh that's a very good question and one that probably I would need hours to reply to, but for me, the first and most obvious thing, it really expands your experience as a person. You're tapping into a part of the brain that is otherwise underutilised nowadays. Creativity doesn't just mean being artistic, it could be used in anything, it's just thinking slightly differently or laterally about a set of issues or problems.

Where does art and painting sit in a world of bottomless social media content where quantity is everything?

I know, but this is not a new issue. I mean, it’s just a new technology issue. But the new technology was there in the early 19th century when photography arrived on the scene. So is painting dead? Is it superfluous? I think from a consumption point of view, probably. But not from the human experience point of view and there is no substitute for that. So I think it is still relevant for that reason.

What excites you personally as an artist going forward? What projects are you hoping to realise in the future?

Yeah, I mean the next project is always the most exciting one, but in the long-term, for me this is a journey. In other words, if I were to achieve my ultimate goal as a painter, there would be no point in it. I know that by the time I achieved my next goal, my goalposts move. That’s the beauty of it, it’s a lifestyle, it's never going to be the end of the journey, it's going to keep evolving for the rest of time. For as long as I'm around!

Discover our full programme of short courses here.