A Look Inside my Creative Process
Ahead of the Christmas season I felt it was worth explaining how I create my art - especially as I have been starting to paint live at markets ever since I gave it a go at Urban Makers Market. I will be selling with them again over the festive season at the Ecology Pavilion in London, so if you would like to find me in person and perhaps see me in the midst of painting, check out the info at the end of the blog to know more!
Using the example of my latest painting, I want to take you through my creative process. 'Ceramic Starters (Mushrooms & Dumplings)' was painted using gouache, and I completed it entirely while selling at markets over the course of two days, taking about six hours in total.
The piece was originally only going to be a sketch / loose piece, but I was inspired by the saturated colours and bold shadows that were present in the reference photo due to the strong sunlight.
Aside from how they looked, the reason I wanted to paint these ceramic sculptures was because I had recently been repeatedly sat beside the same vendor at markets - Momo Productions. She's a ceramicist who also shares a love of creating with hands and sharing food with other people.
Momo Productions happened to be sharing the stall with a friend's business called MushAnd, who had created these mushroom sculptures and was promoting healthy mushroom-based products. I love mushrooms and adored the fact that the table almost looked like a spread of vegetarian starters at a restaurant, so decided to paint while selling in the sun at Lower Stable Street Market!
First I had the reference photo, and used what small paper I had with me to sketch it out in pencil. I focus on making sure that the big shapes are in their correct places first before sketching indications of details (but not going too far with it).
Then the first step in the painting process is to cover the page as quickly and vaguely as possible, making sure to do big shapes first, adding details later.
In this stage I kept going back and forth with the colours of the shadows - it made me remember just how much painting is about learning how to SEE reality for what it is, rather than what we think it looks like. I had to push shadows blue then red, before finally finding a balance and understanding where some were warm and some were cool.
The refining process is the most satisfying bit, where it feels like the hard work has been done and the last few highlights are suddenly bringing it to life. I completed the painting the next day while selling in Flea London Market by London Bridge, and was so happy with the outcome, I only wish I had painted it bigger!
That evening I scanned the finished painting, edited the scan, printed it out onto cards and giclee art prints, and cut / packaged them all to take to market the next day. I also mounted the original and packaged that one ready to be available to purchase.
I think the small size of this painting coupled with my exploration into painting while selling (in order to try to be more productive) made this one of the fastest turnarounds for new paintings for me in a while!
And that is my creative process. First, have a reason you want to paint something, then have a visual that draws you in regardless of whether you know the story behind it yet, after that focus on the big shapes, then play with and get lost in the colours, before finally add the delicious details. Can't wait to make more art while selling at markets in the coming months!
If you would like to find me at a market and potentially see me painting at markets over the Christmas period, I will be selling at various ones all around London - in particular I'm excited to be selling with Urban Makers Market on the 13th December at Ecology Pavilion, Find more info about Urban Makers Market here and their other event dates here!
