Stuart Bracewell – Interview With The Artist

When did you first become interested in art?
As a child I loved to draw, but I remember watching Stone Roses’ guitarist John Squire do an action painting Jackson Pollock style on TV as a teenager and that blew my mind. I was hooked!

What style of art do you use most?
These days I paint in what I suppose could be described as a “neoexpressionist” style. There are certainly strong echoes of the work of painters like Basquiat and Hockney there. But also I see a lot of earlier “primitivist” artists such as Asger Jorn, Karel Appel and Debuffet as well as the original expressionists in the look of my work too.

Has your style changed from when you first began as an artist?
Most definitely. I used to specialize in “interventions”. A kind of blend of conceptual, video and performance arts which mutated into a period of focus on land or environmental art.  I still see myself as wanting to produce some work within this tradition, but for now I’m finding a return to painting something of a revelation. I’m loving the directness and immediacy of drawing and painting as opposed to the much more drawn out and “intellectual” processes of my earlier work.

What medium do you use?
Acrylic and oil primarily. On canvas when I have it, on board or scraps of wood when I haven’t. I love oil bars too. Often I don’t use a brush, I like using a palette knife for the aggression I can get into the application of the paint, and sometimes I just use my fingers.

What made you choose that medium?
I used whatever I had to hand. I always seem to have supplies of oils and acrylics stashed in various places.

Do your ideas come from life or imagination?
My ideas are very much rooted in real life. I attempt to comment upon, and convey my experience of everyday life. These ideas are usually political in nature and thus are heavily coloured by interpretation, but very much rooted in lived experience I would say. I’ve seen a lot in this world, this is my way of speaking out about it.

How do you choose your images and colours?
As far as colour goes I try to restrict myself to only using primary colours straight from the tube and thus any other colours created are the result of the motion of the brushwork. I rarely select premixed colours or use a palette to mix. I do make exceptions to this however. Occasionally I like to add Gold or Silver and there is a tone of Blue that I prefer to the straight up primary blue. But in the main I like this restricted palette and the blunt visual impact it produces.

In terms of images, there seem to be two dominant trends within my current work. One is close-ups of the human face. The change in expressions or of focus allows me to represent my ideas through the focus upon its impact upon an individual’s emotional reaction to whatever aspect of society I am commenting upon. I also like to use crude symbolism (clenched fists, smoke stacks, dollar signs etc.) in order to exploit a visual vocabulary that already exists.

Who is your favourite artist?
Depends upon my mood! But I’d have a short list of: Banksy, Asger Jorn, Joseph Beuys and Richard Long. I also like Navajo sand painting, and a lot of Pacific North West stuff too.

What is your favourite piece of work by yourself?
“Kapital”. I like that the message is ambiguous enough to disguise the crude didacticism of the work. Visually it also appeals to me and is a good representative piece of my work containing most elements typical of my work.

How much time (on average) does it take to complete a work?
From planning to production can take a couple of months. The actual process of painting is usually complete in a few days.

How well do you take criticism?
Not well, I’m very sensitive! To be honest a lot of my work is seen by dozens of stroppy teenagers daily so if I can cope with their comments I ought to be able to manage criticism.

What do you do to overcome a ‘block’?
I go away and do something else. Sooner or later I’ll get an idea I need to realize. If I don’t, well, I don’t and I just get on with other stuff. I don’t really “feel” it as a block. I’ve enough other avenues to explore in my life.

How do you know something is ‘finished’? Is it easy to walk away?
It just is. Physically and emotionally I get a gut feeling. It is very easy to walk away. I’ve always got another piece lined up, or there is something else I want to do waiting for me.

Have you had exhibits in galleries?
In my days as an art student yes, but since? No. I consciously walked away from the gallery scene and haven’t really paid it much attention since. A piece of mine was published in “Art Not Oil”’s calendar this year and this was launched at Bristol’s Arnolfini Gallery. I suppose that’s the closest I’ve come in recent years.

Have you any exhibits in galleries planned for the future?
No. Not yet. I’m seriously considering it as an option for the future though. I’ve one or two possibilities to look at and the idea of exhibiting in one of the squatted social centres here, for example, intrigues me.

What are your plans for the future?
“There is no future and England’s dreaming…”
Seriously I try not to dwell too much on the future, or the past. I’m very lucky. I’ve fulfilled all my childhood ambitions to one degree or another. Here and now is where I want to be and so deserves my undivided attention!

What advice would you give new artists?
“Pain heals. Chicks dig scars and glory lasts forever!” Keanu put it better than I can, no?

Have you done any courses to help you?
Yes. I have a diploma in Graphic Design and a degree in Visual Arts. I’ve also done short courses in things like life drawing.

What do you do to market your work?
I don’t.
It’s not (officially) for sale.
I really don’t want to get sucked into the whole logic of the marketplace. It’s insidious and soon, in my mind, starts to dominate all other concerns. I’ve absolutely no interest in becoming a salesperson or in turning my work into a commodity. Of course, like everyone I have my price, but let’s just say it would have to be a lot!  That said, however, I would like a wider audience for my work so I’m starting to do a little promotion. I have a website/blog and am planning to produce artists’ postcards etc. in the near future.

Do you use social networking in your day to day life?
Yeah. I do. I’ve dabbled in the internet since its early days so I use a few social networking sites. I have galleries and profiles on Fine Art America and (to a lesser extent) DeviantArt.   I’m also on others such as Saatchi Online, Spraygraphic and Red Bubble but don’t really maintain them at the moment. Maybe if Beth gives me an invite I’ll join 1st Angel! As I’ve no interest in POD sales I’m interested in sites with good “community” features, networking and discussion. I use Twitter occasionally to publish details of works on the go. YouTube to broadcast promo films of my work and am getting a lot of requests to set up a Facebook “fan” page so that might happen in the near future…
My blog is the most often updated of them all though.

Are you available for work (commissions)?
Yes. If a project appeals to me I’ll see if I can fit it in. However my priority is not to earn money but to get involved in interesting projects or helping initiatives that I support. I’m trying to do some illustrations for a children’s story right now.

Have you got hobbies?
I play bass guitar in a punk rock band.
I love the outdoors and spend as much time as I can in the mountains; snowboarding or walking depending on the season I do occasionally try and climb a few too! Snowshoeing and snow-caving are amongst my plans this winter.
I also play football, study Environmental Anthropology part- time, and teach full-time and…well… I just about run out of free time at that point. Life is full, which is good!

Where are you based?
I’ve moved around a lot in recent years Wales, England, Portugal, Sudan, France and Mexico… though at the moment I’m in Milan, Italy.

Tags: Acrylics, Action Painting, Basquiat, Bracewell, Debuffet, Directness, Expressionists, Guitarist John, Hockney, Intellectual Processes, Jackson Pollock, John Squire, Jorn, Lived Experience, Oil Bars, Palette Knife, Performance Arts, Return To Painting, Stone Roses, Yr Idols

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 17th, 2009 at 02:24 and is filed under INTERVIEWS . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

ABOUT THIS COLUMNIST I live in Manchester, UK and spend my time working for the arts. My actual profession is Artist, but I spend more time now reporting and promoting artists. I also write for Our Gym (co.uk) and Galileo Was Right (com) All posts By: 1stAngel Website: http://1stangel.co.uk See Your Work on 1stAngel for Free