ARTIST STATEMENT / FAQ

FAQ

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 7 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 five 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!

'alt.response' solo exhibition at Gallery DNA, 25 The Bridge.