When I was at school I used to draw every single day. Now it seems the only time I even pick up a pen is to fill in the little forms at Argos (I could've said 'the bookies' there, but that wouldn't give a good impression!). It used to be my way of relaxing and tuning out but pretending to be a grownup is taking up all my time these days.
When I'm in need of a little inspiration I look at the work of my favourite artist, fashion illustrator David Downton.
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| David Downton at work |
If you're talking about dream jobs then his is at the top of my list - he gets to travel the world drawing the beautiful people and hang out at fabulous, glitzy fash parties!
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| Paris Couture |
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| Carmen Dell'Orefice |
His style is fluid and looks effortless which, I can assure you, is no easy feat. As Mr Downton himself puts it in an interview with Tony Glenville: "In order to leave something out, first you have to put it in."
The finished work is a masterclass in 'deconstruction' and one that is not as spontaneously arrived at as it may seem - something which I have constantly reminded myself of during the development of my own style.
To really get the creative juices flowing, though, there is nothing like surrounding yourself with the smell of linseed oil and white spirit so I visited a very dear friend, artist Luci Metcalfe, at her studio in Wapping.
Luci and I have been friends since meeting on the train home one day at the beginning of our art foundation course nearly (eek!) 20 years ago and although we have followed different creative paths since, we've always stayed in touch.
After studying fine art, first at Canterbury and then the highly respected Slade School in London, Luci has held the Artist In Residence post with Imogen Heap at The Round House and now teaches at International Community School in Edgware Road, alongside mentoring graduate artists through the Arts Charity 'Morphe Arts'. Here, she answers a few questions about her work:
I have always loved making things, and this was encouraged in me from a very young age by creative parents. My dad used to take me to galleries and I have very early memories of seeing huge installations and colour-field paintings!!! In the more traditional galleries he would say: 'Go and find your favourite' and this association of art, with not only seriousness but fun, was important.
Who or what inspires you?
I saw Sigmar Polke's enormous paintings in the Hamburger Bahnhof gallery in Berlin when I was still a teenager and they had a profound effect on me. The way that he painted by pouring resins onto huge drum-like, see-through materials, stretched over structures which were visible was so refreshing and exciting. The scale of these was out of this world! I have more recently been inspired by painters like Nigel Cooke and Dexter Dalwood.
Luscious, painterly realism.
I am close to finishing (at last!) an 8ft by 8ft painting called 'Pink Wall'. I have sold its smaller cousin (which I am basing it on) but the buyer can't have it until I finish the big one which puts a healthy pressure on the process! It shows a huge, flourescent pink wall, with 2 empty chairs staring at it. We spend a lot of time these days staring at a 2-dimensional illusionistic space. I've taken away the projected illusions, and you're just left with the physical reality - the idea of people staring at a facade.
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| Pink Wall (work in progress) |
A builder!!
To see more of Luci's work, click here.
Watch this space to see how writing this post has inspired my own work!