Archive: Workshop your Artist Statement!

[Vicki]

Thanks for your feedback, Lily! I will certainly change the order of the paragraphs.

[mijwallace]

Hi there, Lili, thanks for your feedback on the statement I wrote and the order tip, from the coaching call on Saturday i’ve created another statement which may be stonger, (see no2 below) can you let me know if I should choose on or combine them? Both you and Crista have been a great help and I think i’m close to finalising this 🙂

Statement 1

My love of the sea started with paintings of coastlines and the sea’s interaction with the land, the world beneath the waves has always fascinated me so I’ve explored this realm too and some of its inhabitants. Working in London has recently inspired me to create my own cityscapes and some versions of the city as I see them in my mind.

The place I was born and where I grew up were very different, from a fishing villiage on the north coast of Scotland to the wild beauty of Africa, where I lived for 20 years, a place unspoilt and rich in culture. Much of my work comes from those places and is mostly representative of memories or surreal versions of landscapes.

Statement 2

Having tried more traditional mediums of acrylic, oils and pastels, I always managed to get too caught up in the technical aspects of the process which prevented me from continuing beyond a certain point. I have found working digitally that I’ve been able to push through this barrier and continue the process allowing deep subconscious elements to emerge in my work.

In 2013 the end of a three year relationship left me in a dark place. My painting rescued me and took me on a bright landscape adventure. A palette of bright gaudy colours lifted my spirits and transported me to comforting places. Forests, the ocean, the desert, the city and even other worlds featured on my journey. Some pieces were a bright reaction against the darkness I felt inside, while others were a dark reminder of the precipice and oblivion never far away.

Two years after this period I had a yearning to subdue many bright colours in the palette and embrace some of the darkness within, with a series of cityscapes where it’s been more of a conscious decision, though always with the subconscious emerging later in the details. Despite these developments, I still return to the colour and warmth of earlier work, it’s an ever evolving journey…

 

[Deleted User]

Great job Mark and you’re right you are nearly there. I LOVE the parts about how making art makes you feel. You’re right, statement 2 is stronger but I don’t think you should apologise for getting too caught up in the first sentence. I think your second sentence would be stronger as your first explaining why you made a conscious decision to work digitally and why it makes you a fantastic artist! Almost there but it is important to get it to a place you are completely happy with.