Tag Archives: artist

Painting flowers

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In the space between work times & all of life’s responsibilities I have come back to my art making more than I have in recent years. When teaching classes I encourage people to slow down – observe, make art – slowly. To do it for making art for art’s sake, this all contributes to our practice even when we are not creating ‘finished’ pieces. I encourage exploring different mediums even if it is not your usual medium – all of this helps develop our visual language. So, in the spirit of taking my own advice I am exploring paint and doing many little painting sketches. There’s no plan to exhibit these, it’s the practice of looking and painting and exploring colours.

The paintings I most admire are ones that are exploring the medium of paint itself, often from life. Or an expression/ impression of a moment/ concept. In my own practice I often find that I go to photographic realism which is never something I like to look at even by other artists. Even less so the more saturated our lives are with doctored imagery conveying the current ideal. I don’t find value in it, especially in the art space. I am not the art police, I am just speaking to my personal exploration of viewing and making art. But a copy of a copy of a copy is not for me. I feel it subtracts from the artwork and art.

It is surprising how hard it is to come out of a way I am used to painting, and how hard it is to do successfully. What I mean is somehow I got it into my head that to be a proper painter I had to paint realism and the result of this was mainly producing images I had no interest in looking at. Then I began to notice what sort of artworks I do respond to when going to exhibitions and I have been slowly trying to untangle the ways in which I make. I am aware that my practice is known primarily for drawing and drawing has and always be my primary love. But I have also always loved to paint and in the age of Marketing Our Art and being just One Thing, all neatly packaged – I get lost with it and if I can’t tell it or exhibit it what is the point in making it?

To be very clear, these are just traps I have fallen into all by myself. No one has ever made me make art in a particular way other then – Lily, make art. Which has always been left broad by others but trapped in my mind box all by my own making.

(I have probably referenced this before but..) in an email by Milton Glaser to me “Don’t be worried about being taken seriously.”

Here I am trying to unravel myself from what I think is expected but I made it all up.

Lastly, look at my cat 🙂

Studio Visit

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At the end Of July, Godwin Bradbeer had a beautiful exhibition at James Makin Galleries in Melbourne – The Ordinary Sublime. It was the last exhibition for the James Makin gallery, and what a beautiful one it was.

LINK

My beautiful friend Nic Plowman organized a visit to Godwin’s studio in August. Godwin’s work in original and it was an absolute privilege to see his working space. Large in scale, with a deep understanding of anatomy, muscle mass, light and shade.

It was interesting to hear about the evolution of his practice – from pen to photography now to a mixture of chinagraph, silver oxide and pastel on paper. We got to see the drawing tools themselves and hold some, it was inspiring and an experience I’ll never forget. Not to mention the beautiful studio kitty..

I am yet to make my best work

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I’ve really been through a stage of some sort this past year. Reflection, depression, sorting, connecting, ending, searching. At times it has been very distressing, and other times it’s just traveling along side my day to day, silent but present. I wouldn’t know what to call it, perhaps that’s something I can do when I’ve moved further away from it but whatever the last 12 months was, I really feel like now I have turned a new page.

P H E W

Perhaps this is what happens when you quit something that has been all consuming. I stopped drinking a year and a half ago and my life is SO different. May not look like that on the outside, I appreciate that – but who I am and how I relate to me and the world is very different. I’ve had to learn, though, that I cannot fill up all that space with just work. Art needs its own time, it also needs time off and just a few weeks ago I finally stopped. Well, I did a small thing here and there but ultimately – I stopped. Right at that point I started up teaching and really had to check myself to make sure I didn’t channel my bitterness about ( my ) Art to the teenagers I am to teach and guide. ( PS young people are the best people ) That was a great opportunity for reflection on myself, my Art and ultimately my disappointment with my own practice.

I’m lucky in that I know some pretty great people. I really feel like I have friends and a community around me that cares. I really feel held and able to let go a little and bounce back when I can. So thank you to everyone for the chats over coffees, teas, lake walks, train commutes, openings, emails and ( bloody ) facebook messenger. Thank you.

Last week I went into my studio for the first time in a month and pulled it completely apart. I’ve sorted, scrubbed, taken apart, given away, thrown out and moved things about. It’s a completely different space. I felt like I was suffocating here in a weird way and now it feels light, ready and hopeful.

I’m drawing again, I’m motivated again and I feel like I am yet to make my best work – which really is the best feeling.

Short Film by Marianne Latham

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still-one-lily-mae-martin

Marianne Latham contacted me as she is putting together a documentary about the nude in art. She was interviewing people in regard to the Benalla Nude but others as well. I really look forward to seeing the full doco! But she put together this short of me – I feel really humbled that Marianne wanted to come into my space and ask me about my work and my thoughts. It’s also rather timely as well – because I really need to write a new artist statement soon and this ( plus another interview I did, which is not yet online ) have really got me thinking about what is important to me in my work.

still-three-lily-mae-martin

Thank you Marianne!

Working, thinking

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I feel like I have been drawing this drawing forever. Which is utter nonsense because I only started it last week .. perhaps the week before.

But I’m at that point where even though I work and things get drawn and it’s evolving – I feel like it isn’t going anywhere.

Perhaps this is the danger of focusing all of my time on just one artwork. Maybe this is why I ( usually ) work on many artworks at once. Because if there is just one work then I think about that work. I think about it while I’m working on it, I think about it when I am packing up from working on it, I think about it at dinner time, I think about it while I’m showering, spending time with loved ones, changing a nappy. I think about it on trains and in cafĂ©s and I think about it while I am trying to sleep. Which is the worst because with no other outside influence I think about it in a hyper-realistic state. I note the textures, the way the ink takes hold of the paper, the layers – I feel myself drawing it.

So then I am doing all of this thinking and feeling and it’s taken up so much of me it almost feels like it is going to implode. There’s too much and when there’s so much information and feelings it’s almost like I’ve experienced this artwork completely and then I think, well, I don’t have to finish it. Because I’m kind of lost to it and what’s the point anyway.

So this is the point I photograph and upload it onto this blog to say look, I’m making things and something is happening – even if my tired brain, eyes and hands tell me otherwise.