This week we are delighted to bring you an exclusive interview with Alex Russell Flint, whose atmospheric figurative paintings blend classical realism with cinematic storytelling and subtle narrative tension. Working from L’Ancienne École, his studio and home in rural France, the artist creates evocative compositions inspired by fashion, film, symbolism, and traditional painting techniques.

The artist kindly took time to speak with us at Hang-Up about his creative process, sources of inspiration, and the importance of mood within his work. Keep reading for the full interview, alongside a first look at Raindance, a new painting fresh from the studio.

ARF: I’ll see an object or item of clothing that catches my eye and triggers the imagination. I’ll be thinking of colour combinations, abstract shapes, and the mood I want to convey. It’s mostly about the mood. I’ll work with a model, and we’ll try out different ideas, taking photographs, which I’ll then review to see if the mood I’m after has been captured.

The next stage is sketches and colour studies from life before drawing the composition onto a toned canvas and doing a monochrome underpainting, followed by full colour.

ARF: The ‘twist’ is the tension I try to add to a painting to spice it up, leaving the viewer wondering what’s going on or what happened, and allowing them to come up with their own story behind it.