Tips From Lhouette's Studios
As the flagship dealers of Lhouette’s distinctive genre of Pop Maximalism, Wyecliffe is pleased to share an insight into his studio practice as well as setting up your own. In his own words, the artist also provides his top tips for getting creative and staying positive in the coming weeks;
“Structurally I took inspiration from deficit interiors; broken plaster board exposing wooden beams, in keeping with the industrial aspect that influence a lot of the work. I then started to think about opposing ideas - ‘new and old’ and ‘life and death’ were the original working titles and this is where the theme developed,"
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... strewn across the plaster and firmly in the foreground is chaotic life and messy interpretations. The pop culture references are deliberately ambiguous and even random with some much darker ones too. I liked the idea of contrasting this against the palette background in something a bit more zen, clean, golden and rich”
Opening the Doors
Self-isolation and social distancing for a lot of people is proving to be quite a difficult 'lifestyle readjust', however for many professional creatives, artists and painters (such as myself) solitary periods in the studio is not only something they are accustomed to but actually an environment key to develop new ideas, experimentation and creative flow.
Become an Artist
For individuals or families stuck at home for some number of hours days and weeks ahead, become an artist! If you haven't already considered it, creating art is one of the best forms of escapism, a great therapy for mental health and personal wellbeing - something we could all do with more of during these unprecedented times. Lockdown may start to feel a little less draconian if your mind set is that of a practising artist working on your debut collection from your 'home studio’.
Plan Your Space
Obviously not everyone will have the space or budget to turn their home into Andy Warhol’s iconic New York Factory overnight - however with a bit of planned shifting of furniture in a designated room / garden or garage plus a good scavenge around the house for materials, most people can easily set up a designated creative space within their home. From there you can probably work out if you need or want to add to your itinerary through online art material websites, though there is no need to spend a fortune; many celebrated artists innovate with salvaged materials, collage from discarded newspapers or magazines and standard household items. You'll find a lot of practical methods and top tips out there online for you to try out with chosen methods. Personally, being a self-taught artist, I enjoy the non-dictated exploration and experimentation of mediums!
Tips From Lhouette
Aside from having a good stock of materials and area to produce work, your ‘creative headspace’ and approach is just as important - maybe more. Below I've put together just a few of my own personal approaches on keeping the creative tank full, as well as forming and steering ideas plus some considerations when creating artwork.
As the flagship dealers of Lhouette’s distinctive genre of Pop Maximalism, Wyecliffe is pleased to share an insight into his studio practice as well as setting up your own. In his own words, the artist also provides his top tips for getting creative and staying positive in the coming weeks;
OPENING THE DOORS
Self-isolation and social distancing for a lot of people is proving to be quite a difficult 'lifestyle readjust', however for many professional creatives, artists and painters (such as myself) solitary periods in the studio is not only something they are accustomed to but actually an environment key to develop new ideas, experimentation and creative flow.
BECOME AN ARTIST
For individuals or families stuck at home for some number of hours days and weeks ahead, become an artist! If you haven't already considered it, creating art is one of the best forms of escapism, a great therapy for mental health and personal wellbeing - something we could all do with more of during these unprecedented times. Lockdown may start to feel a little less draconian if your mind set is that of a practising artist working on your debut collection from your 'home studio’.
PLAN YOUR SPACE
Obviously not everyone will have the space or budget to turn their home into Andy Warhol’s iconic New York Factory overnight - however with a bit of planned shifting of furniture in a designated room / garden or garage plus a good scavenge around the house for materials, most people can easily set up a designated creative space within their home. From there you can probably work out if you need or want to add to your itinerary through online art material websites, though there is no need to spend a fortune; many celebrated artists innovate with salvaged materials, collage from discarded newspapers or magazines and standard household items. You'll find a lot of practical methods and top tips out there online for you to try out with chosen methods. Personally, being a self-taught artist, I enjoy the non-dictated exploration and experimentation of mediums!
TIPS FROM LHOUETTE
Aside from having a good stock of materials and area to produce work, your ‘creative headspace’ and approach is just as important - maybe more. Below I've put together just a few of my own personal approaches on keeping the creative tank full, as well as forming and steering ideas plus some considerations when creating artwork:
Pick A Genre
Find a genre, area, topic that really excites or speaks to you and research the hell out of it. For me, Pop Art and the Urban Art scene were major catalysts - through understanding comes confidence and further motivation to go create new works of art!
Landing an Idea
Try to keep your art and practice near the forefront of your mind at all times; inspiration is everywhere. It’s like keeping a net cast out to sea, constantly mining for concepts. For me the landing of a good idea is a major driving force and impulse to go and execute a painting.
Let Music Guide You
Playlists - listen to a mix of music with different temps and origins. My studio playlists vary from NWA to Tchaikovsky to Disney Classics to old school drum and bass. For me this really is anything emotive that helps to lift me up, visualise and translate a theme or story onto a canvas.
Document Notes
Take notes / photos to put together mood boards or sketch books. Sometimes a phrase, lyric, image, article, artwork, scene can inspire an idea. Often if you have problems committing these idea to a finished piece, banking these kind of things to memory by creating a folder on your phone or computer, whiteboard or sketchbook is a great way to look back on at a later date and reassess.
Try New Things
Experiment! It's important to build a set of tried and tested techniques and mediums to enable to express your vision, concept or thought. It’s an ongoing pursuit for any artist developing and refining these methods, and the more techniques you have under your belt the more light-bulb moments and confident you will have to communicate your art.
Learn From Mistakes
Things won't always work out the way you envisioned and so it's important not to be too disheartened (Smashing canvas with a bat or foetal position in the shower!) For me dissatisfaction is an essential driving force - the need and want to do something better next time. There are loads of exciting lessons to be learnt from mistakes and accidents when making art, so take it as a given.
Look At Bigger Picture
When considering a new idea for a painting I find it more exciting to look at it as a potential series or body of pieces rather than pressuring myself to nail one single idea first time. It helps to be open to overlapping themes across multiple canvases, playing with different orientations and gives you scope to ad lib from the main premise if desired and good way to record the evolution of an idea too. It's sometimes handy to sketch out studies, create digital proofs and visual throw togethers before getting stuck into creating a main piece.
A FINAL MESSAGE
Remember there are no real rules of play here these are just a few tips from my own practice to hopefully help or amplify efforts to anyone looking to make their own works of art either at home during these unusual times or for those already practising in the visual arts.
Stay Creative - Stay Safe
LEARN MORE ABOUT LHOUETTE
PICK A GENRE
Find a genre, area, topic that really excites or speaks to you and research the hell out of it. For me, Pop Art and the Urban Art scene were major catalysts - through understanding comes confidence and further motivation to go create new works of art!
LANDING AN IDEA
Try to keep your art and practice near the forefront of your mind at all times; inspiration is everywhere. It’s like keeping a net cast out to sea, constantly mining for concepts. For me the landing of a good idea is a major driving force and impulse to go and execute a painting.
LET MUSIC GUIDE YOU
Playlists - listen to a mix of music with different temps and origins. My studio playlists vary from NWA to Tchaikovsky to Disney Classics to old school drum and bass. For me this really is anything emotive that helps to lift me up, visualise and translate a theme or story onto a canvas.
DOCUMENT NOTES
Take notes / photos to put together mood boards or sketch books. Sometimes a phrase, lyric, image, article, artwork, scene can inspire an idea. Often if you have problems committing these idea to a finished piece, banking these kind of things to memory by creating a folder on your phone or computer, whiteboard or sketchbook is a great way to look back on at a later date and reassess.
TRY NEW THINGS
Experiment! It's important to build a set of tried and tested techniques and mediums to enable to express your vision, concept or thought. It’s an ongoing pursuit for any artist developing and refining these methods, and the more techniques you have under your belt the more light-bulb moments and confident you will have to communicate your art.
LEARN FROM MISTAKES
Things won't always work out the way you envisioned and so it's important not to be too disheartened (Smashing canvas with a bat or foetal position in the shower!) For me dissatisfaction is an essential driving force - the need and want to do something better next time. There are loads of exciting lessons to be learnt from mistakes and accidents when making art, so take it as a given.
LOOK AT BIGGER PICTURE
When considering a new idea for a painting I find it more exciting to look at it as a potential series or body of pieces rather than pressuring myself to nail one single idea first time. It helps to be open to overlapping themes across multiple canvases, playing with different orientations and gives you scope to ad lib from the main premise if desired and good way to record the evolution of an idea too. It's sometimes handy to sketch out studies, create digital proofs and visual throw togethers before getting stuck into creating a main piece.
A Final Message
Remember there are no real rules of play here these are just a few tips from my own practice to hopefully help or amplify efforts to anyone looking to make their own works of art either at home during these unusual times or for those already practising in the visual arts.
Stay Creative - Stay Safe
