Megan's Art Space

It's that time of the month where I share some of my favourite illustrators whose work I've been liking over the past month. I have a real admiration for these people and their ability to create witty and creative narratives.  First is the work of Falmouth Graduate Lucie Ebrey. I came across her work through friends and follow her on Instagram. I love her sense of humour and how this is conveyed through her work. The witty use of characters and humour always makes me laugh, follow her account for a much needed laugh. Her distinct style and way of working makes her work stand out. This is also shown through the use of colour which makes the narrative and characters playful.  The ability to tell narrative through short snippets in the way she does is very effective and beautifully done. 'Tipsy' is one of my favourites because of combination of rhyming and colour combinations. Follow Lucie's work on her Tumblr:  http://muggyebes.tumblr.com Next is the w...

Beth is on the same course as me at Falmouth University. I first got the chance to see her incredible work when we talked about our love of nature and geometric pattern. Beth's way of working inspires me because we have a very similar interest in subject matter and mark-making. Her fascination with the idea of death is recurrent throughout her work and she contrasts this idea of death with her delicate way of working. This is what makes her work so thought provoking. The structure of her work is calming to look at because of this sense of symmetry and order. This is something I use in my own work with repetitive mark making. The sheer amount of detail within her work is stunning and she has a way with media which captures the delicate organic and natural subject matter. The combination of mark making and material is very effective in this piece. As she is working on a ground that has texture she has carefully considered how the material is applied. The end result bein...

Last week the Mall Galleries hosted an 'Out of Hours' exhibition which saw the work of staff who help maintain the galleries high quality of exhibitions. The work of three people in particular caught my eye. All the work differs in material and subject matter but I aim to show you the talent of these individuals. The work of Greg Eason caught my eye straight away because of how he combines intricate pencil drawings with structure. He considers space so well and this often adds to the narrative of the work. How he combines media is also very effective because of the sheer amount of technical skill the media harmonises with each other adding another dimension to the piece. With this work in particular beacause of the soft use of graphite the bright introduction of pink adds more character to the work. It also makes the subject matter appear more playful and changes the narrative of the piece. The work of Jack Sutherland appeals to me because of the use of structure ...

Livvy Kemp pointed me in the direction of the work of Tyga Helme . Her interest in subject matter is similar to mind and it seems we have a very similar way of viewing the world in the terms of mark. My goodness this woman is good though, how she combines media to create these striking landscapes is hauntingly beautiful. Mark making for me is about conveying feeling through repetition, she does this so well and her work is so so emotive. This is such a skill because she gives the work substance and depth just by the build up of mark.  She has a huge variety of visual language and her use of line motivates me to really push myself in this area. Her ink drawings appeal to me the most because of the fluidity of line and how it captures organic matter.  She breaks up the composition well and the sense of fragmentation gives the work movement and really makes the viewer engage with the piece. She also works with building up the scene on different  sections of paper...

Last week I went to the Mall Galleries to see what was on display. It's been ages since I've been able to go to London to emerge myself within the galleries and new work so I was very excited. I worked at the Mall Galleries in the summer and gained a huge insight into the work behind the scenes and preparation for shows. Work on display by SP Prescott in the Threadneedle Space at the Mall caught my eye straight away because it differs a lot to the usual work that is on display at the Mall. Straight away the use of colours and negative space caught me eye because of how the artist had manipulated the canvas.  "Prescott pushes accepted concepts of painting. Using the traditional stretched canvas as a starting point, she creates images and forms projecting from, or receding into the frame. By blurring two and three dimensions in this way, she intends to challenge the viewers’ perceptions of space and reality." This extract was taken from the Mall's website whi...

Since starting the blog I have found the work of some pretty talented people. However I think as an artist it is so easy to hide behind the work and let it do the talking. This is something I am trying to overcome and become more confident with talking about myself as an artist and my process. I thought I would start a tag which allows the artist to open up about themselves and reflect on their process. Falmouth, November 2015 1) Describe yourself in five words: Intense, Hardworking, Giving, Passionate and Emotional 2) Where are you happiest? Outside in the fresh air, in Espressini on a sunday morning or the print-room 3) What drives your practice? The process behind what I do. I am able to lose myself in the process in print-making and drawing. I also love to communicate with other artists and learn from their work. 4) Do you listen to music when you work? I used to all the time as a way of shutting off from the outside world. I also used to do pointillism dra...

I first met Samuel when I was on my foundation at Falmouth University last year. At first I could not have felt more intimidated by a person because of their technical ability and creativity. Who know that we would bond over a trip to Iceland (the food shop not the country unfortunately). Since then I have constantly been motivated by his way of working. He is someone who I have always been envious of because of his ability to combine media in a particular way. Sam's work grounds me and makes me feel calm. It does this in the same way that I use repetitive mark-making to calm down.Our work could not be any more different in the terms of how we create and process but on the foundation we connected for our love of collage.  At the time this was also motivated by the work of my other pal Sophie Eliza who has recently graduated from Falmouth University.  From the start of the foundation Sam's dedication to his practice was clear. He is someone who works very hard to ach...

The concept of spontaneous mark making and idea of line is something that has interested me for a long time. The meaning behind it and what this represents for both the artist and the viewer. However over the last couple of months I have come across the work of some very talented and creative individuals who are pushing the boundaries over drawing and the idea of who is making the mark and how this can be controlled. I will be exploring how these artists have used the idea of structure, machines and repetition to create these pieces of work. I was fortunate last week to be able to go to a guest lecture where the artist Conrad Shawcross  was speaking about his work and practice. Earlier this summer I was some of his work outside the Royal Academy. I was instantly drawn to it because I have a real fascination with structure and shape. His work provides the viewer with the idea of stability and familiarity because of this idea with repetition.  Last year I also had (and still d...

Before my foundation I found it very difficult to share work online. I would only show stuff I thought was worth posting. However since finishing my foundation and starting this blog back in June of this year I have grown in confidence to not only share the good, but also the bad. I do this for myself as a way of documenting progress and reflection. As a very visual person with the way I think and someone who is constantly switched on I am very forgetful and use sites like Facebook and Instagram as a way of documenting. I like to use Instagram as a visual journal but also as a way of looking back over my progress so that when I'm in a low mood with work or in general I can look back and remember to good times. I have found some of my favourite illustrators and artists on Instagram and Facebook. Through this I have been constantly motivated and inspired by these people to have the confidence to share my work too. Another thing I like to do is share the work of artists whose work I...

Going to an Art School surrounded by creative people 100% of the time is both a privilege and a curse I think. As someone who is constantly switched on and visually stimulated by my surroundings I have never really been good at the whole relaxing thing. Over the last couple of days I have been talking to Emily Lister, who studied Fine Art. It has been a real eye opener for me as she is someone who is full of everything I keep telling myself about an artist, whether that be to slow down and remember I have three years and a whole lifetime to pursue creative ideas or to just be kind to myself and learn that having days off doesn't make me a bad person. In the long run it will do me some good. I have been looking at her work over the past couple of days and it has really struck a chord with me. Her subject matter for a lot of her projects in some way or another is something I relate too heavily and it is really intriguing to see how she has tackled an idea. "Following an auto...

I was first shown the work of Livvy by Claire Leach, someone whose work I have admired for a long time and helped inspire me a lot on my foundation in times of doubt. Olivia completed an MA in Drawing at Wimbledon, London in 2013 and since then she has been working hard to create beautiful, intricate drawings which document nature and the idea of how this can take over. I feel a strong emotional connection to her work and the way that she has documented place. She chooses places people might overlook to turn into works of art is a skill she has mastered. She has a real ability to give mark making a representational narrative and this is something I want to push further. Olivia is someone who motivates me to continue with what I do, despite how I feel. She is so dedicated to her craft and this is why I think she is so successful in what she does. She has gone back to the route of what is important within art, drawing and made it her own. I am so happy to see someone whose core pract...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1ax7SD8wk4   This morning I was feeling very de-motivated so at the suggestion of some friends I decided to search youtube for some art documentaries to lose myself in. I came across the NOVA Documentary on New Art and the Young Artists behind it. Although this documentary is from 2010 a lot of what the artists said can still be relevant today. The Art world is a fast paced business and this is something that is touched upon in the documentary. One thing within the documentary that really made me think is how the artists engage with their audience and how they show this through their work. There were some artists who decided not to sign work with their name. They talk about doing this so the work is not limited to an audience and the work is not individualistic. I found this a very interesting concept and something that I want to look into further. The work of Artist Rebecca Ward who speaks in the documentary about her practice really enga...

I have been getting back into collage recently and combining mark making with this develop my work further. I love using found imagery from magazines and books and presenting a new narrative to the viewer. I thought I would share some of my favourite collage artists and books which has inspired me to pick up this medium again. Today I took this a step further and tried to translate what I made into an etching. Having spent a whole morning in the print room I managed to get something to show for all the effort I put in. This is definitely something I was to push but it is just thinking about how I can combine the elements together to the print works. Anthony Zinonos The beauty of Anthony's work is that he knows how to compose something that is minimal but striking. This is such a hard balance to get and he seems to know when to stop. His use of shape and colour is a huge influence within my own collage work. I think it is great how he combines found imagery in colour. However ...

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to sell work at an Arts Fair in Falmouth. This was a totally daunting and new experience to me. I was very nervous at the prospect of talking to people and having to price my work (I am awful at this). However when I arrived and set up all these nerves disappeared (a little) and I got the chance to see the work of talented Falmouth Illustrators and other creative people. I am constantly on the look out for new artists, illustrators and designers so this was the perfect opportunity. I thought I would share with you some of my favourites. A lot of these people I had the chance to meet on the day, which was even better because I was able to put a face to the work.  Jamie Edler I love Jamie's work because of how he convey's narrative so beautifully. I think his work is something that a lot of people could relate to. He creates quirky illustrations which for me capture and visualise things people might overlook or have trouble con...