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Category: Art

Samir Rakhmanov: Colour’s Emotional Charge

Samir Rakhmanov won Anita Klein’s Choice Award in Jackson’s Art Prize this year with his work A Burial. In this interview, he discusses his shift from realistic to expressive painting, making the most of daylight, and finding beauty within grief. Above image: Samir in the studio     Josephine: Could you tell us about your artistic background? Samir: I was born in a small town of Pavlohrad in Ukraine, but grew up in Baku, Azerbaijan. When I was a kid, I liked drawing – but honestly, nothing worth framing. My parents, being optimistic, put me in a small art school that had art lessons alongside regular subjects. That experiment didn’t last long, and I ended up in a regular middle school. For a few years after that, I barely drew at all. Then, in 8th grade, something clicked. I got hooked on drawing again, this time with a focus on manga, video game concept art, and illustration. That was the first time I thought, “Alright, maybe this is what I want to do”. A few years later, I got a graphic tablet and started doing a ton of digital painting. By the time I finished middle school, my goal was …

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David Rae: Golden Familiarity

David Rae won a Jackson’s Choice Award in Jackson’s Art Prize this year with his work Firestone 6. In this interview, he discusses the relevance of yellow, starting to paint less familiar places, and how a break can be a good thing. Above image: David in his studio     Josephine: Could you tell us about your artistic background? David: I’m not quite sure how or when exactly, I guess I always did some drawing and painting growing up, especially in winter when it was more miserable outside. I always wanted to go to art school, so that part was an easy decision. I studied in Aberdeen at Grays School of Art, graduating in 2017. I’ve been based in Edinburgh since 2021. Places and landscapes have always been at the forefront of my work, with the absence of figures being a constant.     Josephine: What does a typical working day in the studio look like for you? Do you have any important routines or rituals? David: I try to get there by 9:00 am and look at where things are, and make a plan for the day. Usually I try to work on at least a couple of paintings …

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Expert Advice on Open Calls for Artists

The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition has prompted me to offer some advice on Open Calls. The response letter carries a lot of weight for many artists, but it’s not the only open call out there to consider. We are going to look at the benefits of entering open calls, researching and choosing wisely, advice for your application, and healthy acceptance of the outcome.     Expert Advice on Open Calls for Artists   Why Enter An Open Call? An open call is an invitation for any artist to have their work considered for an exhibition, residency, prize, or grant. In this article, we’re going to focus on open call exhibitions, which are a smart way to get your work seen by more eyes, including potential new collectors and galleries. You can also meet new artists to connect with and gain experience in getting your work exhibition ready. There is nothing like seeing your work out in the wild, curated in a space alongside other artists. You can use these opportunities to invite people to come and see your work. For example, an artist I work with had a painting at the Mall Galleries, in London, and she hosted a coffee …

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Janie George: Insistent Colour

Janie George won Andrew Torr’s Choice Award in Jackson’s Art Prize this year with her work Pine Cone. In this interview, she discusses her practice of writing to help realise an idea, the perfection of indecision, and turning to ceramics to slow her down. Above image: Janie in her studio     Josephine: Could you tell us about your artistic background? Janie: I owe a lot to my mother who was very good at making things and had a good sense of style. We were a large family and had little money. Everything was pretty much handmade and hand-grown. She taught me how to sew, cook, and garden. She also bought me a sketchbook to record the wild flowers that I found. That experience of drawing to identify and know things was the beginning for me. I still draw things gathered from the fields. I was lucky in my art college experience; it was a more formal time, but people were pretty nurturing and kind. Although I paint now, I studied printmaking at college and lithography in particular. It was how I learnt to be very precise about colour. After college, I had longish periods without a studio. However, when …

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Martha Zmpounou: Visceral to Cerebral

Martha Zmpounou won Anne Rothenstein’s Choice Award this year with her work Dressing Up. In this interview, she discusses her hybrid creative practice, the unpredictability of watercolour, and her approach of discovering rather than creating her pieces. Above image: Martha in her studio     Josephine: Could you share the story of how you became an artist and tell us more about your artistic background? Martha: I joined a foundation course at 18 to prepare for the fine art school’s entry exams. I then continued on to complete my BA in Fine Art and Painting at Aristotle University of Fine and Applied Arts in Greece. During that time, I experimented a lot with printmaking, in particular etching and woodcutting, along with my painting practice. Looking back, those years were not only very fun, but also pivotal to my growth as an artist and all that was coming. It was an intense period, very formative in many ways. After graduating, I stopped painting for a couple of years and turned to handmade jewellery instead. When that cycle came to an end, I returned to drawing and painting, and went on to complete a Master’s degree at Central Saint Martins. I started …

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