‘Drawkwa Nomad’ £4,000.00 at newbloodart
1 When did you start to make art?
I have been drawing and making collages from a very young age, since before I attended pre-school I would spend time drawing with crayons on paper and chalk on the pavement outside. I have always been attracted to strong vivid colours and this has continued throughout my life.
2 How did you evolve into a professional artist?
I went to Uni to study my BA Hons in Painting (Northumbria Uni,Newcastle) and whilst I was there I showed my work in small exhibitions I set up in empty spaces, I was then commissioned by The British Arts Council to make a large scale public art piece in Newcastle. This was a crucial turning point in my career as it was my first fully funded public commission and was a very liberating way of working, I was given a studio for a month outside of University and had the space to experiment and really push the work away from the scrutiny of grades and modules.
After my BA Hons I moved to London and continued to show my work and to be invited to join group shows. Between my BA and my ongoing MFA (at The Slade School of Art) I curated a large show in Shoreditch, London. ‘Rapunzel Rapunzel’, was an all female show comprising of 8 female painters who were recent graduates from MA and MFA programmes in London. Since this I have continued to show my work widely across London and am currently in Crete, Greece on a residency programme making new works. When I return to London in August I will begin my second residency of the Summer at John Jones Project Space, Finsbury Park London. This will culminate in a Solo Show within the Project Space (opening October 2009).
3 What drove you to make art as a professional vocation?
I paint or draw every single day, I go insane and get so frustrated if I am not workingI Even when I watch television I am always drawing and fidgeting with ideas. From this natural urge I decided that this is the way I wish to spend the rest of my life producing work, showing it and curating shows of others work.
4 Explain your inspiration?
These works contain ‘personally imagined imagery’ collected from different cultures, eras and themes, memories of a childhood set in the Caribbean, Saudi Arabia and England offer images from many differing cultures. I have a magpie sensibility when it comes to the everyday, playfully borrowing and stealing images, colours and materials. Influences for the works are highly eclectic, ranging from the pastel shades of a Caribbean beach hut to the neon streets of New York, carnival costumes to cartoons, vintage furniture to creatures.
I love pound shops, DIY stores, and fashion magazines, I spend time with all of these influences that begin to feed into the works.
5 In what way does your inspiration transform into ideas?
A childlike theme runs throughout the work, which is evidenced through the application and colours of the paint. Waterfalls of oozing glossy paint cascades over flat crisp slabs of colour. Paint is dollopped, scribbled, poured, smudged and dragged. The deliberate ‘bad-handling’ of certain areas can be set against cool crisp areas. I want the work to be brazen, loud, whimsical and frolicsome.
The paintings become extensions of me, they are eclectic and cosmic. Automatic doodling allows the motifs to operate with ambiguous references, what might be a ‘dragons tail’ to one viewer could be a piece of frosting on a cake to another.
6 From Ideas to production of art – how? And why?
dont understand the phrasing of the question – sorry
7 Could your ideas be portrayed in any other medium? If so which?
In costumes, and set designs I see the paintings as other worlds, 3D spaces, where we cannot visit. Places I can only be dream of that are yet to be discovered and the motifs and forms in the works each have a personality in this way they could become creatures and have their own costumes made and this would also work in the same way the paintings do.
8 Which artists would you most like to blatantly rip off?
I want to make work that is fresh and exciting the instant I make a mark on a canvas and therefore I would not want to rip someone off, I want to make work that is entirely mine.
9 Why is your art made?
It is made because I need to find a physical way to express these ideas, it is not enough for me to purely talk through an idea, I need to go through the process of making the work.
10 What does being an artists mean to you?
To be an artist feels very free, you can make your own decisions, in essence work for yourself and make choices at the drop of a hat or take years to think through a piece. I think in many other professions this freedom of time would not exist.
11 Are you happy with your reasons for making art? i.e Are there any trade offs that make life hard?
The only trade off is finances, you have to sell work to eat, and if there are times when you are not selling work, you need to get work to earn money to eat and pay for paint and materials. I would not change my career path for anything, I am absolutally happy with the decisions I have made and the path I am taking.
12 When does your art become successful?
It becomes successful when the work is complete and I am pleased with the work and that I have achieved something that suprised me, that engages me.
13 What is art?
Wikipedias answer :- which I think sums it up nicely is
Art is the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions. It encompasses a diverse range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music and literature. The meaning of art is explored in a branch of philosophy known as aesthetics.
14 How do you start the process of making work?
I fill my studio with objects of inspiration, books, images, found materials and then start to make make stacks of drawings. These drawings are then pined up in the studio and I begin to paint from them directly or allow them to filter into the paintings and installations that I make.
15 Who prices your work? And how is the price decided upon?
I take advice from Art Dealers.
16 What is your next; move,project,show etc?
John Jones Project Space, Finsbury Park, London, the show will open the first week of October 2009.
17 What are the pros and cons of the art market?
Pros, it sells work which allows the artist to pay for the studio and make more work.
Cons, the control that very few people have within the Market, the larger dealers set the limits and everyone tends to follow, I prefer galleries that challenge the rules of how to show work and really pick adventurous artists.
18 Which pieces would you like to be remembered for?
, If someone sees one piece and is able to hold the essence of the image of that painting in their memory over a period of time then that is enough for me.
19 Any routine in making your artwork? If so what?
Just working everyday!
20 What has been the biggest break in your career?
Being accepted to The Slade School of Art, London, MFA 2008 – 2010
21 Who has been the biggest influence on you?
All the people that supported my decision to follow Art as a career.
22 How many artworks have you given away and to whom?
probably 20 and always to friends
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