2008    interview

student    niky dix

What made you decide to be an artist?
Aged about 4 yrs. old I drew a card of an interior for my dad and inside I wrote “dear daddy when I grow up I want to be an artist love from Jessica”. Also, my “a level” art tutor made me apply to Falmouth college to do a foundation course and I guess things took off from there.

Which artists have influenced you at any point, and why?
I don’t feel that i have been consciously influenced by any artists in my own work. I do however, admire the work of Karl Weschke, William Turner, Lucien  Freud and Gary Hume : I like these artists for their work itself and their beliefs.

How have these artists impacted on your own work?
They haven’t.

What is influencing you at the moment for current works?
My home life. The change of winter into summer and the flowers in the shops and gardens. A sketchbook of drawings of buildings in St. Ives, sennen and at Gwenver.

What is your opinion about the Newlyn society / School of Art and / or the St. Ives School of Art?
These  artists and their art are part of our heritage and art history whether you “like” the artists and their work or not : we should learn from the past.

Do you have an opinion about any modern artists who might have exhibited at galleries such as the Saatchi gallery?
Art is such a personal “thing”. In my opinion it doesn’t make you a greater or a lesser artist to have exhibited at the Saatchi gallery but if you do exhibit there i’m sure that it “helps” your career in many ways.

Have you always worked in acrylic or have you used or experimented with other mediums? – What qualities do you like about the mediums you use most?
I have used oils in the past but they do not dry quickly enough for me, I am too impatient! I love acrylics because of their versatility, you can use them as thinly as water colours or as thickly as oils. I love painting on only canvas now: I worked on board and cloth too much when I was younger!

Much of your work uses a reduced palette, what are your influences or reasons for using this limited range of colours?
I use a multitude of colour in my paintings it only appears as if I don’t : if you look at the edges of the canvas or count the colours in a piece of work you will see what I mean. This is simply the way in which I work.

Your work also involves the simplicity of form, what inspires you and what key points would your draw on from your subject?
I only draw or paint what i honestly see in or feel for a subject : I obviously have a very simplistic view of the world!

Can you explain the linear aspects of your work and the use of layering?
No. It’s just part of my work process.
I love the power and strength that one mark can make : the emotion that it can induce. The layering process is the method in which I can get to a point of completion in my work through adding and taking away.

Do you have any other influences, or points you think I might find interesting?
Yes : read the information I send you!

What one piece of advice would you give to someone starting out as an aspiring artist?
Work hard and have the confidence to believe in what you do.