When did you start your creative practice and why?
I’m sufficiently old fashioned to believe I was born an artist, so I’ve always had a practice
How would you describe your artistic style to someone unfamiliar with your work?
I hope my work is characterised by an approach rather than a style. My approach is that of the flaneur, one who travels hopefully, across media and contexts. However, I do like to combine accurate draftsmanship with gestural spontaneity, and drawing remains central.
What themes or ideas do you find yourself returning to most often?
I’m interested in unpicking the layers that make up a sense of place.
What is your creative process from idea to finished piece is it always the same?
It is always different, but usually starts with drawing.
Is there a particular piece of yours that feels especially meaningful? Why?
In the Hopton Hall exhibition the most meaningful is probably the drawing of the Bazouki. This is part of a body of work that followed my ‘Instruments of Domestic Ritual’ exhibition at the Lace Market Gallery in Nottingham in 2016. The exhibition consisted of accurately rendered drawings of the utensils I used for cooking, and sought to make a link between the craft aspects of art and cooking. Following this, I started to draw the musical instruments that friends brought to music sessions, making a link between the craft aspects of drawing and playing music. All of the drawings were executed in black ink on white paper. However, whilst drawing Peter’s bazouki, I spilt a cup of coffee and stained the paper. The drawing was nearly finished, so I was very annoyed! I nearly threw it away, but realised that I could make a more interesting statement by embracing the accident and painting the coffee cup, in
colour, bringing a post-modern/ironic sensibility to what would otherwise have been a rather conservative composition.
What do you find challenging as an artist, and how do you overcome these challenges?
Apart from generating an income, the challenge of making visual statements that are
relevant. How do I overcome the challenge? By keeping clam and carrying on!
Do you ever have creative blocks, how do you keep motivated?
I have never had a create block (yet)!
How does your immediate environment or location play in your work?
All of my work, especially since moving to Belper 5 years ago, is inspired by the context in which it is made. The geography and history of the Derwent Valley is my main theme.
Who are the artists (past or present) who have strongly influenced you?
After my father, Maxwell-Jones…Mark Wallinger, Cornelia Parker, Wayne Thiebaud, Richard Long and Claude Monet.
How has your style or perspective evolved over time?
As a schoolboy, I was very excited by the physicality of mark making and the graphic visual language that characterised expressionistic approaches to pop art as exemplified by the likes of Rauschenberg, Johns and Oldenburg. As an undergraduate, I was attracted to abstraction, then post-dada and conceptual art. As a postgraduate I became interested in performative approaches to painting and drawing. Over the past decade or so I’ve been revaluating the craft side of fine art.
What tools, materials, or techniques are essential to your practice? Is there a colour you just could not do without?
Since I was very young, I’ve loved soft pencils and good quality paper.
A colour I couldn’t live without is Payne’s Grey.
How do you balance artistic expression with practical concerns like income or marketing, social media?
I’m not very good at balancing. My life is unhealthy chaotic!
If you could give the younger you advice, what would it be?
Get your teaching qualifications as soon as you can because you’re not going to be able to make living selling art.
Have you got a project / award/ residency/ or idea are you excited to share with us?
I find the work I’m producing now, exploring the River Derwent and valley through
which it cuts, deeply exciting. I sold quite a few paintings at the ‘Regarding the River’
exhibition at No.28 in Belper, which suggests that I’m tapping into a zeitgeist (for the
first time in my life)! I’m negotiating with various art and non-art venues located in
the Derwent Valley to exhibit these paintings and newer works executed on
transparent substrates. I’m also designing site specific performances for each venue.
If your work could evoke one feeling or reaction in viewers, what would it be?
intrigue.
What is your website and how do we find you on social media?
Website chrislewisjonesartist.com
x- @Flaneur56
Facebook Chris Lewis-Jones
