Emma Harrison
Emma is an Abstract/Expressionist artist that has been painting since she was very young, she has always found excitement and joy in experimenting with colour, texture and detail and she enjoys working with oil paints and creating multi-layered abstract pieces which she then showcases in her workplace and other venues.
She is passionate about creating art, partly because she is inspired by the likes of Picasso, Miro, Van Gogh and Rothko. As an artist she is highly motivated to develop her art career further and to find gallery representation.
Emma loves challenging herself and is a prolific artist with a collection of existing paintings which she has done and she is adding to this continuously.
Interview:
1. What got you started in your journey to become an artist? Do you remember the initial spark of inspiration? I have painted my whole life since I was a young girl, i found myself drawn to the paintbrush and the colours and have sought to capture some of the deep feelings and pools of inspiration which life and my past has provided me. Just the joy of every colour as it hits the canvas is something which keeps me motivated and creating new pieces as often as I can. I work in a place where I can showcase and sell some of my pieces which also helps because I am getting feedback and appreciation of my work. The best way to sum up my work is just love-life-love and all that’s in it for us to see and feel.
2. What are some of the greatest or most persistent hurdles you have faced as an artist so far? My biggest hurdle is myself. I’ve painted for 22 years and now it’s what I want to do as profession and make a living. I want to create what I need to, I believe that the art I am making on a regular basis has the capability to fulfill my soul and bring a sense of calm to the inner tempest of ideas, thoughts and memories. For me art is an opportunity to reclaim and sooth my mind. I need to be free to be me and the canvas gives me room to do so.
3. What is your chosen medium to work in and why do you choose this over all the other potential mediums? Oil paint and linquinex are my favourite mediums. I love oil paint because it is a very smooth medium, when you pair it with Linquinex you can actually get speedy results, the Linquinex helps the paint to dry faster and you can achieve specific effects with it aswell. Which means that the possibilities are greatly increased, I have control to paint slow or to speed up the process. The freedom/flexibility makes it fun for me and I can go back and add amazing layers and infuse feeling into each and every piece you create .
4. What drives your art, what are some of the motivations which are at the root of this creativity? A lot of internal forces drive my art, a lot of it is fuelled by emotions which I have from the more placid, to the powerful and ragin. The pain from past experiences or from everyday problems that we face. Some of my motivation to keep going also comes from excitement, happiness within my heart and soul. My husband and my family are an incredible source of stability and reinforcement.
5. Why do you choose to paint, draw or represent the subject matter that you do, in your artwork? I choose to paint because it is something that I am good at, I have been able to sell some pieces which shows that people do resonate with what i am making and I hope to continue slowly creating and selling more of my art, supplying people pieces which they have a connection with and want to proudly display in their homes.
6. In the past 2 to 3 years, in what ways have you seen your artwork improving? I have seen my art improve in terms of the depth which I am able to achieve with the paints, I have been working on developing more tone, texture and reflection in my artwork to better capture the emotional potency.
7. Who is you biggest artistic inspiration? Who is the artist you hope to emulate, meet or replicate in terms of their art or career? There are so many artistic inspirations behind the work I do, I work to do my own style with each and every piece but I would be remise if I didnt mention some of the great artists who have given me creative motivation to start or when I needed it the most. I love Richard Hambleton Joan Miro, Picasso, Van Gogh and ofcourse, Rothko.
8. What are you working towards as an artist? Are you looking for more recognition in the form of sales or gallery representation? I am working towards finding Gallery representation as an artist. I want to build up my audience and develop more recognition for the artwork which I am producing and I am hoping that this audience will then evolve into a source of steady income as I sell pieces and work exclusively on what I love to do.
9. Do you do commissions or offer bespoke work for clients such as murals? If so or not, why? I do abstract commissions for anyone that wants to order one, I already have quite a collection of paintings which need to be seen and sold but I also work very quickly and can produce bespoke pieces easily. I would consider anything in terms of commissions so long as it is within the realms of what I am capable of producing.
10. If you had advice for novice artists in 2024 or just other artists in general, what would that be? Just keep painting even on the days when you feel like just giving up and throwing away the paint brushes, paint when the pain is unbearable and it feels like your world is falling apart. Paint when you don't believe in what you see in front of you and paint when you do believe it, when you are inspired and can't stop because the ideas keep coming. Don’t you stop and don’t give up! It is your dream, your life and it is your duty to bring the ideas in your head, into reality, kicking and screaming. Don't Give Up!
