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Glenn Hernandez: Reflective Mark Making

Glenn Hernandez won a Jackson’s Choice Award in Jackson’s Art Prize this year with his work Aberration. In this interview, he discusses feeling divided between two versions of his life, the importance of spontaneity in his work, and how the political climate in the US impacts his creativity. Above image: The artist in his studio Josephine: Could you tell us about your artistic background? Glenn: I’ve been drawing and painting since I was five years old. My parents always encouraged it. I also love music and singing, in particular I love choral music and opera. I started out as a vocal performance major in college but I couldn’t get beyond my music theory courses so I fell back on studio art as my major. My earliest interests in art were more centered on illustration, especially the work of Golden Age illustrator Arthur Rackham. It wasn’t until I took my first art course in high school that I was exposed to fine art and the work of painters like Lucian Freud and Frank Auerbach. Nonetheless, my career as an artist has often been commercial. I’ve been an art director at game and animation studios, I’ve worked as an illustrator …

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Richard Goold: A New Nostalgia

Richard Goold won the Jackson’s Choice Award in Jackson’s Art Prize this year with his work My Father and Mr Cheese Planting Standard Roses. In this interview, he discusses drawing with Tesco highlighters, adapting his way of working since becoming a dad, and the significance of hessian. Above image: Richard Goold in his studio Josephine: Could you tell us about your artistic background? Richard: I’ve always painted from a very young age, more so than drawing, even. My mother is a painter, so I grew up going to the National Gallery with her and messing around with paint while she painted. It’s something I’ve always done and wanted to do for as long as I can remember. I went to UCA Farnham to do my fine art degree and had some great tutors and visiting lecturers. This was a great environment and place to push my practice. Going it alone after uni can be daunting, but I’d met some great people who helped in the years following. Josephine: What does a typical working day in the studio look like for you? Do you have any important routines or rituals? Richard: My studio days look very different …

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Sally Muir: A Series From The Subconscious

Sally Muir won the Planographic Award in Jackson’s Art Prize this year with her work Beyond Black 15. In this interview, she discusses her love-hate relationship with pastels, the ephemerality of tissue paper, and how monotype lets her explore new paths. Above image: Sally Muir in her studio Josephine: Could you tell us about your artistic background? Sally: I applied to art school when I was 17 and got rejected. I did various other jobs, mostly in publishing and bookshops, until I met my business partner, Joanna Osborne, and we became knitwear designers. That’s what I did for over 30 years, and then decided to try art school again and was accepted this time. So I did a year of foundation and then five years part-time at Bath School of Art and Design (where, coincidentally, I had originally applied). As I needed to make a living when I left, I started working to commission as a portrait artist, painting children mostly. Occasionally, I was asked to include a dog. Gradually, dogs took over, and I started to specialise in dogs, visiting my local dogs’ home and drawing the dogs there became the basis of a year-long project; drawing, …

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Sara Rossberg: A Luminous Obsession

Sara Rossberg won Joshua Donkor’s Choice Award in Jackson’s Art Prize this year with her work Emergence. In this interview, she discusses preserving the transparency of her layers, drawing as intensely as painting, and looking for detachment in her subjects. Above image: Sara Rossberg sitting in front of her painting Presence – Two in her studio Josephine: Could you tell us about your artistic background? Sara: I announced at the age of nine that I wanted to be an artist, much to the dismay of my father. After graduating from school in 1971, I entered art college, Staedelschule, Academy of Fine Arts in Frankfurt, Germany. During my second year, I was awarded a scholarship that included one year of studying abroad. So, after the end of my course at Staedelschule, this brought me to London in 1976. Initially, I enrolled at Camberwell College of Art and Crafts to study paper conservation with the intention of learning a skill that would provide me with an income while painting. Within weeks, I hated the course, gave up the whole idea and switched back to painting. As I was unable to move to a postgraduate college, I was given permission to …

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Eline Brontsema: The Fun in Finality

Eline Brontsema won the Relief Award in Jackson’s Art Prize this year with her work Stadtbad Spandau Nord. In this interview, she discusses the physical demands of woodcutting, allowing for spontaneity within her process, and the beauty of working slowly. Above image: Eline in the studio Josephine: Could you tell us about your artistic background? Eline: I’ve been drawing my whole life, and from a young age, I wanted to go to art school. After high school, I enrolled in the preparatory program at the Minerva Art Academy in Groningen. I was looking for an art program where I could learn technical skills. I was always drawing, but I also wanted to learn to paint well. Ultimately, I didn’t find what I was looking for. So I started studying Philosophy at the University of Groningen. That was fun, but after I finished, I still wanted to be an artist. After working for a while, I finally enrolled in the art academy, the Klassieke Academie in Groningen, the Netherlands, in 2014. Including the preparatory program, the study took six years. I graduated in 2020. This was what I’d always wanted! Josephine: What does a typical working day …

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Olga Babich: Drawing Home

Olga Babich won the Drawing Award in Jackson’s Art Prize this year with her work Forest. In this interview, she discusses taking her own reference photos, the perfect paper, and staying creative during difficult times. Above image: Olga Babich at her workspace Josephine: Could you tell us about your artistic background? Olga: I’ve loved drawing since childhood and would often find myself copying illustrations. However, when it came time to choose a career, I didn’t consider becoming an artist or even a designer. I studied law and worked in the field for two years. Everything changed while I was on maternity leave – I decided to take an online watercolour course. The lessons were high-quality and engaging, and they gave me not only a solid foundation but also something even more valuable: the confidence that it wasn’t too late to start. I was 26 at the time. That’s how my path as an artist began. Since then, I’ve taken many more courses, workshops, and masterclasses, and spent countless hours practicing and learning on my own. Today, art is both my passion and my profession – something I truly love and am grateful to do every day. …

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Lulu Weide: Subconscious Silhouettes

Lulu Weide won Hugo Barclay’s Choice Award in Jackson’s Art Prize this year with her work Never Been to Stone Henge. In this interview, she discusses finding inspiration in Swedish cliffs, the joy of working large, and allowing her work be rough around the edges. Above image: Lulu Weide in her London-based studio Josephine: Could you tell us about your artistic background? Lulu: Something that I will always be grateful for is that I have never been discouraged from pursuing art by my family. Sure – I’ve been warned about the hardships of working as an artist, and witnessed first hand the norm of juggling multiple jobs in the creative world – but that conversation has always ended in encouragement to find a way to keep going, rather than a push towards a career more ‘practical’. My family are very creative; having a dad who runs his own Mod Menswear brand and a mum who breathes creativity, working as a Print Lecturer at London College of Fashion, I have grown up with a real sense of appreciating colour, fabric, print, and pattern. It sounds cliché, but I’d also say being born in London, raised in South East London, …

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Susan Stillman: A Moment of Illumination

Susan Stillman won the Acrylic Award in Jackson’s Art Prize this year with her work Tangled. In this interview, she discusses working on 10 or more paintings at once, living a well-rounded life as an artist, and returning to the same subjects over and over with fresh eyes. Above image: Studio portrait with October/Alexander Josephine: Could you tell us about your artistic background? Susan: As far as I can remember, I’ve always thought of myself as an artist. I studied anatomy as a 15-year-old with the master, Stephen Rogers Peck, and went on later to study with Robert Beverly Hale at the Arts Students League. Figure Drawing was my first love, and I still return to it to recharge and reengage my observational skills. My high school art teacher, Dorrit Woolf, was responsible for my going to the Rhode Island School of Design for my BFA. After attending their summer program at age 16, I was sure it was the place for me. I chose Illustration as a major because it provided a rigorous foundation in drawing, and I also saw a path forward in supporting myself with my work. The most influential experience from RISD was my …

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Natasha Motaghi: Shaping Pictures From Words

Natasha Motaghi won the Amateur Award in Jackson’s Art Prize this year with her work Waters of August. In this interview, she discusses the challenges of balancing her creative practice with a 9-5, how her work is informed by her collection of overheard words and phrases, and stepping into the landscape of a song. Above image: Natasha in her studio Josephine: Could you tell us about your artistic background? Natasha: I was fortunate to grow up in a creative household on the outskirts of Manchester. My dad, a passionate painter, introduced me to drawing and painting from an early age. Every weekend, the dining table transformed into a makeshift studio where he would work with different mediums, and I would join in; painting, drawing, or making something crafty. As a teenager, I carried this creative energy into my education, beginning with an art foundation course at Winstanley College – an experience I remain deeply grateful for. From there, I went on to study Illustration and Textiles at Falmouth University before completing my MA in Textiles at the Royal College of Art in 2023. My practice has always explored the intersections of textiles and print, shaped by my background …

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Ky Lewis: The Essence of Trees

Ky Lewis won the Intaglio Award in Jackson’s Art Prize this year with her work Waiting For The Starman. In this interview, she discusses embracing the challenge of working with Tetra Pak, her visceral connection to trees, and keeping tabs on the resident spiders. Above image: Ky Lewis in front of her garden studio Josephine: Could you tell us about your artistic background? Ky: It is going to sound corny but I have always drawn, painted, printed… made things. Throughout primary and secondary school I had the best support ever from teachers who were really creative, and to be honest at the time, maths and science were an utter horror for me, so my world was art – in all its forms. I decided to do graphics initially – ‘It’s commercial art, you can make a living’ was the soundbite of the time. It was the early 80’s and so this is what I did, four years of it, but that foundation was incredible and Medway School of Art was an absolute joy with such a broad and intensive access to design, type, illustration, photography and really passionate tutors and excellent visiting lecturers. We were there everyday, all …

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