As a result of various lifestyle choices combined with some bad and boring habits, I abruptly transitioned into a period of about 3 years, from 2018, of not creating, being interested in, or hardly involved with artwork. I had no concern with it anymore, and shut it off from what was formerly the biggest dedication of my time.
Across the barren 3 year stint, I had attempted to move into drawing or painting again on a few occasions, but each move felt forced & rigiD. there was no excitement or innovation in the work I was attempting, and each was a measly retreat to simulate the work I was making years prior. I’d regularly be asked by friends or family if I was still making artwork, but would dismiss it as, “it’s just not what I do anymore.”
It wasn’t until January 2021 when a flicker of artistic imagination came across me, perhaps un-coincidentally around the same time I’d stopped drinking for a while. The burst came from when I saw a friend share a small body of work using a handheld scanner, capturing motifs from shopfronts, custom lorry decals and other quirky everyday graphics.
It wasn’t so much the context of the work that enticed me, but more the playful adaptation from this niche, cheap, but somewhat photographic tool. Its ease of access & simple use suited a conversion back into creative practice it wasn’t as daunting as buying supplies and canvases and dedicating lengthy time & decent space to making work.
The subsequent body of work produced with the handheld scanner was titled en plein indoors. A play on the term en plein air (the act of painting outdoors), the series was created solely inside; The portrait scans taking place either in my own flat or the homes of close relatives, and the editing and amalgamation in my room on my laptop.
en plein indoors was casual - It was easy to start & engaging to play with and became a bridge into indulging in other mediums again. Following this were drawings and paintings worked from the digital pieces, consistent with my confidence.
As my belief in producing artwork burgeoned, I frantically skipped between styles and ideas, using different tools and taking different perspectives. It was here where I actually felt like an artist producing artwork again.
I look back at a lot of these works now though and feel they’re already distant from what I’m currently making, about a year down the line. some i still refer back to and find value in, whilst others not so much. I am pleased however to have tried a lot rather than to have been stubborn.
Where my style sits now feels a lot more stabilised, but isn’t stagnant. The processes and mediums I’ve felt most engaged with are the ones I’m now Making a more concise pursuit in; photo transfers, solvent transfers, assemblage, collage & texture making.
What I’ve mentioned so far over the past year may make it sound like everything was always up and consisted of nothing but positives - but this was hardly the case. The year was full of peaks and troughs. I went through stages of not making work for as long as 2 months, I’d feel general dissatisfaction in what I was making and stints of self-doubt that I’m not capable of continuing to create, even as recent as last week.
Yet from this I’ve learnt to be persistent & patient. I may not always want to be creative or to produce work and it's fine for me to allow these stages to pass. What is equally important however is to intervene when procrastination becomes regular, and take the necessary steps to move back towards being in a creative flow. For me, even something as small as browsing a particular favourite artist’s website or instagram for 2 minutes can give me that nudge of innovation. The hardest part isn’t doing it, but starting it.
