At the time I wasn’t aware of many artists who worked with printmaking and collage in this way and felt I was in uncharted territory. Whilst breaking ground is exciting, it’s also scary, and I simply wasn’t brave enough to forge ahead. Steven Pressfield in his book The War of Art argues that “the more important a call or action is to our souls evolution, the more resistance we will feel toward pursuing it”. Those points at which we are the most resistant can signify a moment of breakthrough. Resistance was there in bucket loads, but back then I was unaware of the strength resistance has.
Fast forward 14 years and I have been on a fabulous journey through collagraphy, mark making, acrylics, oil paint and much, much more. I and am far braver than I was then and I have achieved a huge amount on many levels.Taking my MA led me to explore many more avenues, theorists and approaches. I can also recognise that back in 2009 I was far more concerned about pleasing an audience. I was drawn towards landscape not on because of my time in Spain, but also because landscape is probably the most popular genre! I suspect I was also working to a formula; each collage had a tree or two, and I distinctly remember thinking ‘I like this one without a tree’ but felt without it it would be too abstract, too edgy, too difficult to sell.
Studying these works now from the distance of time I can see many echoes that have travelled with me through the years. The building of layers, the textures of wood and stone, the browns and ochres. I can also see a strong interest in shape, in particular the irregular shape of the collages as they spill out of the rectangle. They remind me of the tetra pack prints I made for my MA, the collages I regularly do in my sketchbook, and the prints I was doing last year from Karen Stampers cardboard. This visual language is my voice, it’s authentic to me and I can see how it has travelled with me, and nurtured my art over the years. My past self was was relying too much on the validation of others.
It is clear now looking back that whilst the process was exciting and interesting the subject matter was all wrong. I’m not a landscape artist. I love being out in the wild open places but other than occasional forays into geology it doesn’t feed into my work. I am a product of my upbringing; a flat without a garden in South London. We would have occasional trips to the South Downs or Brighton but other than that wide open spaces are not in my DNA, neither are trees, plants or flowers. Give me rust, concrete and signage anytime!
I can see clearly what I want to revisit and what I want to leave in the past. I’m excited to see where revisiting this process but with a more authentic head on my shoulders and the wealth of knowledge I have inside it will lead me! Cheryl’s TAM has taught me the value in slowing down, to take the time to acknowledge and make note of those moments of joy, and to hold an intention that allows me to narrow my focus and dig deeper.
This month I have been back to Spain but in a busy town. My focus is firmly on the urban, on collage and printmaking. I am taking the time to reflect as I go and only have an audience of one in mind….myself!
*If you want to immerse yourself in the urban through mixed media head to my URBAN EXPLORATIONS course, it only runs once a year.
You frightened the life out of me when I saw such a long email and read the first couple of paragraphs.
I was afraid it was a “well it’s been great folks, but now I’m chucking it all in” type of message.
So glad it isn’t!
Eek Pauline! Hopefully I’ve got anothe few decades yet! 🤣🤣🤣
Dear Sally, I can relate very well to your comments. I’ve been making art all my life (now 69) and have jumped from one thing to another – without mastering I have to say – but what has drawn me for the past 10 or 15 years have been buildings – interiors/exteriors – the urban world. And I can’t leave it alone. I admire landscape artists but I know that rolling hills just aren’t for me. I’ve only just started your Monotype course and am getting to grips with the Gel plate and its possibilities but know that I want to do the Urban Explorations next year. So, thank you. I need to stay true to what pulls me and stop thinking I should do traditional landscapes.
Yes!! The landscape pressure is HUGE and I simply don’t get why. Well historically it’s a clear line from 17th Dutch through to Romanticism and Impressionism but….. 🤪 I think if you are in it, are passionate about it, and can relate to it then fine, but for many its just an easy hook to hang their work on. Keep the faith, and if you feel you are faltering just email me!
A great blog Sally
Thanks Pat 😊
A thoughtful & helpful blog, thank you, Sally So agree about rural landscapes ! but I am scared of urban scenes, as the proportions are so hard, even in the loosest style. I really just like abstract, but hard too ! I think I jump from one thing to another through self doubt, as well as through curiosity for the next thing.
You don’t have to keep proportions, and can be as abstract or not as you like. Start by taking photos, collecting and playing…. better still do Urban Explorations! It will teach you how to build a project 😉
Sally, What a generous way to share your journey! Having come back into art for the last 10 years or so, (after a career and kids!), I struggle with the imposter syndrome! Coupled with an abstract direction it is often hard to say, in an artist statement, why I am drawn to this mark, that color, this abstract imagery when it’s mostly the process for me. I loved reading how you moved from landscape and leaned into the urban environments that felt more authentic to you. Thank you for your honesty and your courses! They have allowed me to add to my arsenal lots of shiny objects along the way!
Thanks Joanne 😊
Always fascinating to read – thank you.
😊😊
Really looking forward to starting the course on Monday. Feel like this will pull together a number of avenues I’ve been exploring. Love your teaching approach, Sally. Thanks for all you do.
I’m looking forward to it too..😊
Really enjoyed this blog, so much of what you’ve said resonates with me, thank you again for sharing so generously, much food for thought
Thanks Janice 😊
Thank you Sally.
It is always so helpful to understand the journey that someone has made, as we sometimes see only what is happening now. In this busy life, getting to know yourself takes time and a certain amount of research and analysis. it is so good to recognise this. I can relate to so much of what you have described, it is a clear pointer to what is important, and where to go next. This came at a good time for me, and is much appreciated.
So glad it resonated Elizabeth 😊
Wonderful read! Thank you! I am VERY excited for the upcoming class! My history is in UrbX photography. Many years of exploring and photographing urban ruins. I have since transitioned to acrylic abstract painting so this is such a perfect fit!! I’m also in the give “me rust any day”camp!
I’m looking forward to it too.. 😊😊😊 #rustlust
I really really really LOVE this post!! I have jumped around art making for DECADES feeling both EXCITED (new/fun/different) & GUILTY (never “mastering” any one style, $$$ investments) but like you I absolutely LOVE the LEARNING & the connections I’ve made with other students & the instructors – they are as important to me as the art because they are a part of my life’s journey. I, too, love abstracts, urban “decay” and my landscape love is the American southwest – desert with cactus & tumbleweeds, mountain plateaus, rock walled canyons, the high desert with scrubby trees & the vast open spaces vistas of land & sky. I am just learning the art of printmaking (at 67) and you,Sally, are the reason I’ve come to this and I thank you for the “permission” to focus on the genre that speaks to my heart. I also lived in Seville in the mid 60’s as a kid – there are parts of the USA that remind me of the Andalusian landscapes, a part of my heart was left in Spain & I hope to return some day 🥰
Thanks so much Carol! I agree, the bare, brown, ochre, rugged landscape is fabulous. Near here in Andalusia…further East than Seville is where they filmed spaghetti westerns. You can visit and try on costumes and meet VERY old Spanish guys who worked as extras😅
Brilliant blog Sally. I can so relate to everything you say – continually being curious to explore the next thing but, certainly in my case, probably not stopping long enough to reflect on what has gone before. For me, I’ve always loved both natural and man made, rural and urban landscape, absorbing it all in great gulps of excitement. But in the past I have only looked. It’s very different allowing time, space and effort to think and create in a multi-sensory way, in order to make something meaningful out of what I have previously only observed visually. So I’m travelling slowly through your gelli plate course rather than continually rushing on to the next thing. Lots of experimentation with colour, texture and shape, and being firm with myself not to gallop on to making concertina books and collage before I’m ready. When I took up art 3 years ago, I thought I would just enjoy my retirement painting the odd landscape to give me something to do, but am instead finding a whole new world to explore. To travel is to arrive. What bliss to be engrossed in all of this at the age of 75! Thankyou Sally for opening the doors for me.
Thanks Rhona!! It is bliss isnt it? Sometimes frustrated but NEVER bored! 😊😇
Great blog post Sally. Afraid I’m always tempted by new techniques and never stop for long enough – so I’ll be good and hold off from more of your tempting courses for now!
Quite agree about landscape. I love being and walking in it so long as there’s a village, town or even just a café en route but I have no desire to sketch, paint or even print it. Bring on those urban man-made shapes!
Has to be refreshments! 🤣
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and insights.
It’s been a journey for me and I am hooked for life!
It’s been a pleasure. Hooked for life? My job is done😅
I loved reading this Sally! I’ve been creating for years and am probably the proverbial Jack of all trades, master of none😆. I like variety in my creative life and am easily distracted by new things to learn too. But, I do recognise my limitations and will have no difficulty in holding my hands up and admitting when something is not for me – pottery is a fine example. Tried it, but will definitely leave it to the experts – much too messy and physically demanding 😁 – give me a piece of paper and paints or inks any day! I’ve loved all the courses I’ve done with you and they all feed into each other which is great! Thank you😀
Thanks Caroline… I had to teach pottery at high school.. oh my!!!
I try to make out they are all planned to seamlessly connect but in reality I’ve just spent three years uploading my head? The connection is purely down to it being the only one I have 🤣
Sally, I really love your post. Thank you for sharing your journey. I have been an artist for most of my adult life. I will soon turn 73. I have jumped from oils, coloured pencil, graphite, pastels, urban sketching with watercolor, pen & ink and now collage and abstract with acrylic. I have loved all phases. I sometimes think all this jumping has hindered my ability to be the artist I see in my dreams. Weird. At times idle art supplies weigh on me. But I have learned over the years you will return to them using them in a different manner. The part of art I really enjoy is the learning. Learning about your journey and seeing the various responses from other artists has been up lifting. So thank you. Making these jumps is not easy. I am about to make another one and step away from life drawing. Thank you again for sharing.
Thank you Carmen. I agree the hunger for knowledge is never satisfied! Whilst I admire those who choose a path early on I wouldn’t change my journey for the world. You won’t be stepping away from it, it’s hardwired knowledge that will serve you well. 😉😊
What a rich, layered, fascinating read Sally! So grateful to hear about your journey, exploration and review of where you’ve been and how you’ve identified themes moving forward. Such a great reminder for me particularly that this is a never ending journey of exploration, possibility and uncovering of so much of who we are and who we are yet to become- so exciting💞
Thanks Shelley! I have a Ron Pokrasso quote on my studio wall “If I knew where I was going I’d be lost” 😊
WOW! I am just the same. I tend to flit from one thing to another and never fully dig into anything deeper than what’s on the surface, before I get bored and move on. I chastise myself for that, telling myself, ‘just pick one genre and stick to it! Don’t just be a Jack of all trades and master at nothing’, but it’s who I am and it makes me happy…and then I discovered rust and decay and texture and abstract and urban and printing and I’m suddenly digging deeper. I was born in South East London too – we had that conversation in Confident Compositions – and the majority of my childhood was spent hanging out in small gangs, making camps in old garages and inside dumped burnt out cars on the council estate I lived. Looking forward to Urban Explorations starting on Monday! Whoop Whoop!
Yeh!! I remember our chats on CC. Looking forward to Monday too😊😊
Thank you for sharing your journey. I too jump from one thing to another, being tempted and excited to try something new and feel that I’m not a master of any one thing and feel I should be. I also feel I should create pieces that people will like but then feel that this is not me. This is something I have gone back and forth with in my own head and probably why I haven’t committed to putting my work out there yet, despite friends and family saying I should and what am I waiting for etc. I suppose at the end of the day, how do I know what people will like, everyone has different tastes? So I am trying now to just do it, make pieces that I like and are true to me and hopefully I will finally get to that place where I feel content and confident enough to put myself out there!
P.S I too am not a landscape person and much prefer urban, old, worn, decay and definitely rust! 🙂
Thanks Celia. Yes, leaving the audience at the door is important. Your work will resonate with those who understand, THAT is your audience… 😊😊😊
What an interesting and thought provoking blog. A lot resonated, thank you.
Thanks Joanne! 😊😊
Wise and wonderful YOU.
Back at ya Chris….xxx
Such a wonderful blog post, Sally! Thank you for sharing your thoughts! This resonated so much for me as I am born & raised in NYC & attracted to concrete, peeling paint, etc. Your courses (Confident Composition & Urban Explorations) have been a fabulous catalyst for what I thought were new directions, but realized were there all along, they just had to be uncovered. Thank you for your inspiration & for sharing so generously!
It was all there waiting for you Patricia! 😊😊😊
A wonderful read, thank you. I love the idea of points where we could linger longer and echoes that travel with us. I too enjoy constant motion and the thrill of discovery.. but every now and then it is good to pause, take stock and consider.. I probably need to book one of those moments in with myself 😂
Booking in a regular slot would be good, I hadn’t thought of that, thanks!
Thank goodness – so relieved!🍷Am now trying to decide about your urban explorations course- I am moving much further into abstraction and particularly into looking at the zillions of photos I’ve taken whilst abroad of walls and old buildings. Plus the art historian part of me loves ecclesiastical architecture … so I guess that I might be talking myself into it!
We start on Monday! 😊
Such a good post to those of us who seem to seek validation. I was a writer/marketing person before I became an artist. My MA is in technical writing, so you can see my insecurities. So looking back for me is into nature, trees, wildlife, plants. And I thank you for reminding me.
Thanks Patricia😊