the moon from my attic: acrylics

Monday, October 29, 2012

The Inspirational World of Fine Art: Artist LIzzie Spikes

In an earlier post of my Fine Art series, I talked about a slogan for my art studio: "Making the World a Better Place through Art." But as I mentioned in a brief interview to Artsy Shark this week, I tweaked it to be: "Partnering to Make the World a Better Place through Art." It summarizes even better my main purpose for doing what I do because, truly, I work with many wonderful people - from other designers and artists to manufacturers - so it's really team work. And to me that's fun, inspirational and rewarding!

Artist Lizzie Spikes

This UK artist I am about to present is also very inspirational and fun. Her art is very close to my heart - she paints on driftwood. Her name is Lizzie Spikes and she is an arts graduate who lives, works and walks on the beautiful West coast of Wales. Lizzie says: "I live on the way to the middle of nowhere near Aberystwyth and I create a great many of my paintings on canvases fashioned from the driftwood that I find washed up Ceredigions beaches. The planks and other wooden flotsam and jetsam show evidence of their previous uses and users and I try to incorporate this into my work. I work with and am inspired by the layers of old paint, the nail holes and the man made shapes along with the forms fashioned by the sea in order to create original and inspiring canvases for my painting. I hope to give these pieces of wood new life and purpose."

© Lizzie Spikes

The Moon from My Attic: What brought you to art in the first place? I have been drawing and painting for as long as I can remember- very rarely does a day go by without me picking up a pencil or paintbrush. I love the sense of calm and removal from reality that I get when I am involved in making a piece. As to where it all began - my siblings and I grew up in rural Ceredigion in what we described as ‘the middle of nowhere’ and every Saturday morning a friend of our mum's called Haley gave an art class. We crammed into the back room of her cottage and discovered how to do collage, pottery and papier mache, how to make puppets and boats and bowls and how to realize what it was that we had in our heads. These art classes gave a focus to our weeks through primary and secondary school and a large number of Haley's past pupils have gone on to practice art and crafts.

© Lizzie Spikes

TMFMA: What's exciting about your creative work? What I find most exciting about my work is the element of the unknown implicit in using found objects. I march along the local beaches and collect the driftwood pieces that will dictate what it is that I am going to make. I usually know immediately what it is that I will turn the wood pieces into and it means that I always have new inspiration and a freshness in what I do.

TMFMA: Who has inspired you in your art journey? Many people and places have influenced me artistically - the main one being the teachers and tutors who I have encountered throughout my artistic education. I have been fortunate enough to have been taught by some very interesting and inspiring people who have encouraged and inspired me a great deal. My younger sister, Dorry Spikes, is an illustrator and I am always amazed and inspired by what she creates.

© Lizzie Spikes

TMFMA: Tell us about a recent project you'd like to share. For the past eight years I have worked around being a full time mother to my two young sons - Jacob and Ollie. I found that having to focus on the boys gave me a sense of freedom from my own expectations and those of others and enabled me to make and create with a new found enjoyment. Ollie has just started school and I am gearing up to make new pieces for the Christmas shows and markets that I will have time to attend. I have an exhibition scheduled in Cardiff next Spring and my plan is to create pieces based on places along the length of the newly opened Welsh Coastal path … a winter of walking and sketching awaits and I can hardly wait.

TMFMA: Any other info that you'd like to share about? My sister's work can be seen at dotspikes.com.

© Dorry Spikes

My cousin who lives over the hill is also fab - she works more in textiles (felt making, screen printing, sewing) and her name is Ruth Packham. You can find her on Facebook as Ruth Packham Art.

Find out more about Lizzie at:

driftwooddesigns.co.uk

mail@driftwooddesigns.co.uk

Facebook Page

Monday, June 18, 2012

Sketchbooks and Drawing - Artist Marilyn MacGregor

As several eco-green and handmade craft trends got mentioned at Surtex, I pulled out a set of paintings I did sometime ago while I was experimenting with my acrylic colors on fine cork paper – a marvelous sustainable medium. To my surprise, the colors have been holding up pretty good over time so I think I'll try some new ones.

I get inspired by many other types of art in addition to arts and crafts. The particular one I am about to show below is from artist Marilyn MacGregor. Her style is classic and vibrant at the same time, a very good combo!

Marilyn and I started in this licensing adventure pretty much around the same time without knowing each other at all, but eventually we ended up in the same agency, Montage Licensing. We've been having a good time playing newbies together.

Artist Marilyn MacGregor

The Moon from My Attic: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your art? My art always begins with drawing, whether it's for illustration, licensing, or works on paper that I show in galleries. I love to draw and have always kept sketchbooks. My habit of drawing is the basis not only for the way I do art but also the way I see the world – I love the connections and details that hide in plain sight.

TMFMA: What is exciting about your creative work? My style is very loose and spontaneous – I think the most exciting thing is that it is so fresh and unforced. It took a while to develop my own trust in the process I use, and avoiding fussing over a drawing to make it 'perfect.' I value the life in my work rather than a stiffer sort of perfection.

© Marilyn MacGregor - Wild Cats Calendar Collection

TMFMA: Is there a person or thing that has influenced you in your artistic efforts? What inspires you? My hefty inventory of sketchbooks, especially from my travels, is a great source of inspiration and ideas. The sketchbooks recall to me so many interesting places and people. I've spent a lot of time in Paris so many of my drawings keep the beauty and pleasure of that favorite place fresh in my mind. I'm also a teacher and art historian so I often find ways to incorporate ideas from art history. As for people, my father was an early influence – he was the one who urged me to draw all the time. We used to go on sketching day trips together - a nice memory.

TMFMA: Tell us of your experience as an art licensing artist. I spent quite a few years as an illustrator in New York, working for various publishers and magazines. I then moved to California and started teaching, particularly studio art and art history in high schools. I'm back on the East Coast now (in Philadelphia) and am new to art licensing. The work feels very familiar to me as a long-time illustrator, but I'm learning and exploring the field. I’m grateful to have an agent, Kimberly Montgomery of Montage Licensing, with extensive experience as both an artist and agent. Her help is invaluable. I'm also very grateful to be meeting and connecting with so many other licensing artists, starting with you, Alex! I love the sense of community I'm finding among licensing designers and artists. I've been at the last two Surtex shows, first just walking, and then this year as an artist with Montage Licensing. I saw so much great work, got tons of ideas, and met so many great people!

TMFMA: What project are you currently working on and what's exciting about it?

I'm presently working on some follow up requests from Surtex, a mix of sketchbook-like drawings and more composed designs. It's all exciting – I love it when Kimberly says, "what about this? Can you do something with this idea?" - I like the challenge of trying something new!

TMFMA: What are your future aspirations and goals as an artist? I hope and intend to keep developing a strong portfolio of designs and illustrations and building a reputation and client base for my particular style. I am a believer in the on-line possibilities for artist entrepreneurs so I maintain Esty and Spoonflower shops – I can sell work directly but they also function as labs for ideas. I also intend to continue showing my work in galleries and writing about art – reviews, articles and a weekly blog about art and art history. It seems like a lot of plates spinning sometimes, but I feel that each aspect informs all the others.

TMFMA: Any important tips and tricks you'd like to share about art licensing? The most important thing is to feel comfortable and confident with your own style, rather than changing to chase after a particular market. Also, don't be afraid to experiment and teach yourself – I've found Photoshop, for instance, to be an amazingly elastic resource that rewards time spent figuring our what you can do with it for your particular needs.

Find Marilyn here:

mmacgregordesign.com

etsy.com/shop/MacGregorArt

spoonflower.com/profiles/macdesign

artsmarttalk.com/artsmartsblog.html