Freelance
Artist: Alistair Kennedy BA (Hons) Fine Art
What
inspires you to paint?
One
thing I was very into at university, that I have been revisiting
recently is film. Mostly foreign art house or European animation.
The films of Aki Kaurismaki (especially for ‘Match Factory
Girl’), Yasajiro Ozo, Jim Jarmusch and Wim Wenders. Also Jan
Svankmajer, The Quay Brothers and Stan Brakhage. I love the way
these films look, the colours and textures you can get from lighting
the shot differently and how strange normal everyday things can
look when shot in a certain way or at a certain angle. I also like
the idea of playing around with the narrative flow in order to alter
the viewer’s perception of things. I like to bring this into
my paintings.
Bleak
landscapes inspire me a lot. The more dramatically bleak the better.
I’m not sure why I’m drawn to bleak landscapes, they
just seem to have more of a presence. I like both urban and rural
landscapes, but there has to be some sort of detachment involved,
like the view through a window or a reflection, as a photograph
or in a film. I have spent a lot of time traveling, particularly
by train, so the view from the train window has featured in my work
a lot, and that is often very bleak. Being stuck on a train for
several hours, traveling through the midlands, particularly in the
middle of winter can be mentally draining.
My
Brother is a Scientist and the stuff he does is pretty inspirational.
I love science and I think that comes from him. When we meet up
we often have these long discussions about Math, Physics, or materials
science. I have to read a lot of stuff before and after to be able
to understand him, but some times I get to surprise him when I grasp
some of the real complex theories. He used to have a thing called
an electron microscope, which was able to take highly magnified
pictures of the tiniest particles. He’d bring them home and
I’d look at them for hours. It’s amazing what beautiful
patterns you get inside a piece of fractured metal.
I’m
interested in medical science a great deal, since being diagnosed
with a chronic illness 8 years ago. I have had to spend a lot of
time in hospital having tests or treatments. My latest work is based
on the idea of histology and histological slides.
If
I need inspiration, I often go down to London to visit the galleries
there. The National Gallery, Tate Modern and Tate Britain are great
places to visit. I can spend hours there and I always find something
new that lifts my spirits. I try to visit galleries as much as I
can both in this country and abroad.
What subjects do you usually paint?
Obviously
landscapes feature a lot in my work, but the subject matter changes
depending on my mood or what stuff I’m into at the time. My
work is ideas based, so will often go off in various directions.
I like to work on five or six pieces at one time. I’ve been
experimenting with abstraction more recently.
What
is involved in your role as Art Technician / Artist in Residence?
As
an Art Technician, I support the art teachers and make sure the
art department runs smoothly. This involves keeping each classroom
stocked with the essential equipment. I work closely with each tutor
to plan future projects and help set up the rooms for each lesson.
I’m also responsible for ordering new materials and checking
that everything is in good working order. I look after the kiln
area, making sure it is loaded properly and that both ceramic and
glass pieces are fired to the correct temperatures. I’m also
responsible for the gallery, setting up the exhibitions and hanging
the artworks to a professional standard.
I
have my own studio here as part of my role as artist in residence.
It gives students an opportunity to see a professional working artist
on a day to day basis and gives me the chance to work with students
on the progression of their artistic studies. I deliver workshops
and seminars and help prepare students portfolios for university
interviews.
How long have you been an Artist?
In
short about fifteen years, but I’ve loved drawing and painting
since I was very young. I could often found in a corner scribbling
away on any bits of paper I could find. I’d draw out little
stories from my imagination or make up new inventions of fantastic
machines or strange new worlds.
I
guess I have been into art since secondary school. It was my favourite
subject. My ambition when I left school was to go to university
and study art at degree level. Unfortunately my parents couldn't’t
afford to support me in this, so it took a long time to get there.
I had to leave home and work as well as studying. I never let go
of that dream of going to university. I learnt a lot during that
time that was really useful, working with other artists and learning
about discipline and having confidence in my own work.
I
haven’t felt comfortable calling myself an Artist until recently.
Previously I used to think of myself as a ‘collector of images
and ideas’. Probably only in the last seven years have I really
developed in to what I would call an artist. It is now on my passport
as my occupation.
Where
did you do your Degree?
I
chose to study fine art at Sheffield Hallam University because it
had the only course that allowed you to experiment with film alongside
painting and drawing. I got an unconditional offer based solely
on my interview and portfolio. I was totally self-funded.
The
course - BA (Hons) in Fine Art (combined Media) - gave you the chance
to work with any medium and the freedom to develop your own ideas
and direction. Being a bit older and having worked and traveled
before starting university was a big advantage. A lot of students
on the course, who had come straight from A’ levels, struggled
with the level of freedom given and with the discipline of working
off your own back. It is totally different from the school or college
environment.
How long do you spend in the Studio?
I
have two studios at the moment, the one at the school and one in
my house. At the school I’m based there on a Tuesday, Wednesday
and Thursday. Most of the time I’m busy looking after the
art department, but I get time to work on my own stuff in between
jobs and during the half term and summer holidays. I’m the
studio at my house a lot more, sometimes up to 12 hours a day. Being
an artist isn’t a 9 to 5 job, but you have to have the discipline
to get up early and get in the studio as much as possible even when
you don’t feel like it.
Art
needs to come from somewhere, so study and research is still a big
part of my fine art practice. I go to galleries as often as possible,
read a lot, travel new places and experiment with different techniques.
‘Theory
without practice is sterile. Practice without theory is futile (blind).’
- Karl Marx
Different
artists work in different ways, so work rates can vary. It’s
very common for an artist to have manic periods just before an exhibition
or a show. Its also common for artists to have quiet periods, these
can be very hard, when the work just isn’t happening.
How long does it take to do a painting?
It
often depends on the medium; oil paints can take up to six moths
to dry. Acrylics can dry in a few hours. Because I’m an ideas
based artist, the time between the conception of an idea and actual
artwork can vary. That’s why I work on more that one idea
at a time and more than one painting. On average though, most pieces
take a few days or a couple of weeks. Knowing when a painting is
finished is the hard part and that is something that can’t
be taught.
What is your favorite Painting / Artist?
This
changes all the time, I’ve struggled to pin down one single
painting or one single artist, as there are so many. Artists I really
like are Marina Ambromovic, Peter Doig, Cy Twombly, David Hockney,
John Virtue, William Blake, Deigo Velazquez, Yosimoto Nara. I love
the photography of Czech artist Joseph Sudek.
What subjects or themes do you use in your Photography?
Again
landscapes feature a lot, but I always try and alter or abstract
what I photograph, I’m always looking to for interesting shapes
or colours. I like to play around with framing and angles. I use
lot of Polaroid instant film, this means I can have my results immediately
and the colours are richer. I nearly always use a photograph as
the basis or hook for my painting. I build up sketchbooks using
these photos and drawings, which help to generate the ideas process.
As an Artist, are you able to make a reasonable living?
It
depends what you class as a reasonable living? Everything costs
money these days; studio space, materials, framing and putting on
an exhibition is very expensive. I have to do things like workshops,
commissions and the art technician’s job to be able to have
the freedom to work on my own fine art practice. There will always
be compromise at this stage.
Then
there is tax! As a Freelance Artist, I am self-employed, so I have
to submit a tax return every year. It’s a business, so I have
to take time out to make sure my books are up to date. At the moment
I have an accountant who helps with this but he is expensive too.
If you don’t do your tax return you get fined £100 and
have to pay interest on any tax you owe the government.
However,
if you asked me if I would rather do some thing else, then the answer
is no. I’ve done lots of other jobs, worked in factories,
call centres, in bars and I spent five years in an office job that
I hated.
I’m
not rich and probably never will be, but I have a lot of things
I never thought I’d have and achieved stuff I used to only
dream about. I can put food on the table and pay the mortgage. A
lot of people struggle to do that.
It’s
a great feeling when you sell a painting, but to me it’s only
a small part of what being an artist is about. I’d like people
to look at my work and feel inspired to do something in there own
life or maybe change someone’s view about the way they look
at the world. It’s a romantic notion, but that’s what
art should be about.
How many paintings do you usually have in a solo exhibition?
This
would vary depending on the size of the exhibition space. I always
want to pack in as much as possible; my last show had about 45 artworks,
a mix of painting and photography. I often treat solo exhibitions
as a single installation, so that all the works connect in some
way. A good show to me is at least 15 paintings.
How many Group or Solo exhibitions do you have in a year?
For
the last four years, I have been involved in Staffordshire Open
Studios, which has two exhibitions each year. I try and do at least
four or five other group shows in different parts of the country.
I always try and show at the Ticknall Summer show each year, purely
because the people are so nice and it’s a charity event. Solo
shows are quite hard to get off the ground, but two a year would
be my goal. It’s expensive to have a solo show and you often
don’t make much if any profit. The main benefit is exposure
and the ability to see your work up in a gallery environment.
How much, on average, do your paintings sell for?
Again
this depends on the medium and also the size. I sell prints and
drawings for between £45 - £85. Original paintings go
for £150/£200, Larger works £450/£600. Pricing
your work is very difficult, you need to take into account the cost
of your materials and how long it takes to complete a work. I try
to give my work a reasonable price, one that I would pay, if I saw
it I a gallery. You have to do your research and price work accordingly.
Most galleries charge commission of 20-30 % on each artwork, so
you have to build that in to your price.
What is the most that you have got for one of your paintings?
£450
for a single painting, £1600 for a triptych (a series of three
paintings) - That was a good day!
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