When did you start your creative practice and why?
I have been drawing and painting since before I can remember always doodling or
squiggling something or other. However, I didn’t started painting professionally until 15 years ago. I had been very busy – a full time demanding job, studying a Business Degree, getting married and starting a family and hadn’t painted for a long time. When I took voluntary redundancy to spend more time with my children, I had the opportunity to start painting again and create my own business sharing something I loved creating with others.
How would you describe your artistic style to someone unfamiliar with your work?
I work predominantly with watercolours and my paintings have quite a distinctive, expressive style. I love using loose, layered washes to recreate the dramatic skies seen at dawn and dusk. Strongly contrasting with this my foregrounds are structured and complex, composed of crisp silhouettes – mostly delicately painted trees and British wildlife.
What is your creative process from idea to finished piece is it always the same?
I get a lot of my ideas when out and about walking - I am forever taking photos of interesting trees and places that call to me. Sometimes I get a very clear idea of a painting from a specific place, other times a painting is started from a tree I’ve seen. I use photos as ideas and sketch and practice a painting first, however I don’t like to be constrained to a specific image and the actual painting usually comes together on the paper very fluidly and often develops as I paint sometimes in a completely different direction than I initially intended. I also like to have a bit of humour in my work and often use the titles to create this.
Do you ever have creative blocks, how do you keep motivated?
Yes absolutely! I definitely have to be in the right frame of mind to paint and I have learned over the years that if I try to force it for example if I am under a deadline - it doesn’t end well. This is one of the reasons I seldom take commission work anymore - I don’t work well being ‘told’ what to create.
What tools, materials, or techniques are essential to your practice? Is there a colour you just couldnot do without?
I love my Rigger brushes and couldn’t paint the intricate details of my trees and animals without them especially my 5/0. I have a thing about brushes and seem to collect lots of them but always seem to use them same 5 or 6. With paints I love Daniel Smith’s Ultramarine – the granulation is lovely. I also love Sennelier watercolour paints. These have a honey-base and are superb for the wet-on-wet techniques I use for my backgrounds. The colours flow flawlessly and the honey improves their durability and gives them even more brilliance and luminosity.
How do you balance artistic expression with practical concerns like income or
marketing, social media?
I have a Business Degree and can pop my business head on when needed. However, I do get frustrated that often I spend most of my time doing ‘paperwork’ or social media stuff when I would rather be creating!
Have you got a project / award/ residency/ or idea are you excited to share with us?
I am working on two new series of work – one revolving around myths and fables involving forests and deer and the other creating paintings of local historical houses - Calke is the first one of these. Also, I have an exhibition coming up with the NHS ‘Home, Health and Hope Exhibition’ which I am excited about.
If your work could evoke one feeling or reaction in viewers, what would it be?
I walk a lot in the Peak District – I particularly like woodlands and water and I like to try and re-create the calmness I feel there in my paintings.
What is your website and how do we find you on social media?
www.squigglysue.co.uk
www.facebook.com/squigglysuedesigns
www.instragram.com/squigglysue
