When did you start your creative practice and why?
From the earliest age, I’ve never been happier than when drawing, painting or making and was given my first professional quality paint set as a 7 th birthday present. Alongside practical art education to Masters Degree level, I was fortunate to be able to study art history, in depth and as a distinct subject, from the age of 16. An inspirational
art history tutor set me on a never-ending journey of exploration!
How would you describe your artistic style to someone unfamiliar with your work?
My work is representational and rooted in traditional media. It is always underpinned by drawing from direct observation but I also enjoy pushing boundaries, mixing media and using it in unexpected ways. [Three-dimensional drawings and semi-abstract outcomes for example.] I become absorbed in a theme or subject and will explore a wide
range of media in order to find the best way[s] of expressing what it was that attracted me to it – and hopefully to ultimately reveal that to the viewer.
Who are the artists (past or present) who have strongly influenced you?
Naming one particular artist as a source of inspiration is a bit like being asked to choose a favourite child but, of course, as someone for whom drawing is so important, Dürer has to be a strong contender. Perhaps more surprisingly, I’m equally inspired by the processes employed by mixed media or abstract artists such as Anselm Kiefer
or Antoni Tàpies .
What themes or ideas do you find yourself returning to most often?
I’m inspired by a wide range of subject matter but the concept of “Time and Space” links all the disparate subject matter and techniques. Whether it is an apparently empty landscape that includes traces of agricultural or other human activity, an atmospheric interior, figures or a collection of objects, I’m intrigued by the past histories that
shape appearances and create mood. This has resulted in a number of works that use either illusionary or actual transparent layers in the composition.
Is there a particular piece of yours that feels especially meaningful? Why?
Like most artists I am my severest critic and am rarely completely satisfied with what I create. It is, after all, what keeps me investigating and moving forwards!
One very large oil painting, “Turning Point,” is perhaps an exception. Measuring 120x90cm it evolved from sketches made near the Nine Ladies Stone Circle on Stanton Moor, Derbyshire. A single, semi-transparent figure, is standing in a highlighted clearing - a circular space within a wooded landscape. Seen from behind and carrying a backpack, they are facing a sunset. The torso, however, is about to turn slightly towards the viewer, suggesting a sense of uncertainty or hesitation – a turning point. The composition doesn’t dictate a specific meaning; it is open to a raft of responses. I was delighted when it was shortlisted for the inaugural £10,000 Castlegate prize and included in that 2021 exhibition.
Have you got a project / award/ residency/ or idea are you excited to share with us?
From January – March 2023 I was awarded a fully funded residency in Lüneburg, Germany. This exciting opportunity was one that certainly took me out of my comfort zone. I was operating in a different language most of the time and sketching in new environments. The resulting body of work, entitled “Forwards” was exhibited at the Galerie im Glockenhof, Lüneburg, in October 2024. Figures, whether individual or in groups, were depicted with luggage or bags. They are seen from behind, optimistically moving forwards to new futures. It is very rare for an artist to be offered the chance to work towards such a coherent, themed exhibition, designed for display in a particular space. Amazingly I’m now engaged in another, similar project. The opportunity arose for me to record the now dangerously derelict Robinson’s factory at Walton Mill, Chesterfield. The company, in existence since 1839, once employed nearly 4000 people over three huge sites in the town. Having filled sketchbooks on arranged
visits [full safety precautions needed], a series of finished paintings, drawings and mixed–media pieces is underway. The intention is that these will be exhibited alongside the firm’s archive material and form part of a social history exhibition at the newly refurbished Chesterfield Museum, early in 2028.
What is your website and how do we find you on social media?
www.suejblake.co.uk
https://www.instagram.com/suej_blake
