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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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Brianna Parker: Rhythm in Rituals

Brianna Parker won Péjú Oshin’s Choice Award in Jackson’s Art Prize this year with her work The Art of Frying Plantain. In this interview, she discusses physicalising her thoughts, the three stages of painting, and transforming a simple domestic task into a performance. Above image: Brianna in her shed studio space Josephine: Could you tell us about your artistic background? Brianna: I’ve always had a natural affinity for art. From early on, I discovered that creating was not only a way to express myself but also a way to make sense of the world around me. My sketchbooks became a space where I explored my reality, emotions, and imagination. Through exercising this love of creating I was able to refine my technical skills and visual communication, by experimenting with diverse mediums and studying the practices of other artists. My first step into the art world came through attending art school, which was an interesting yet eye-opening and formative experience. It not only allowed me to strengthen my artistic professionalism, but also gave me deeper insight into society and culture beyond the curriculum. Josephine: What does a typical working day in the studio look like for you? …

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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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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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