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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Practical Advice For Overcoming Creative Stagnation

Whether you’re a professional or amateur artist, all of us experience creative block at some point. In these moments, it can be helpful to remind yourself of the routines and techniques you can use to get yourself out of a rut, and ways to deepen your daily creative practice in order to keep the stagnation at bay. Reinforced by pearls of wisdom from previous Jackson’s Art Prize winners, we’ve outlined and collected some of the best advice to help you find your flow. Above image: Eleanor Johnson at the V&A Museum, London     Seek Outside Inspiration Perhaps the first route to inspiration as an artist is to look outwards and ask, ‘What are other artists doing? What have they done in the past? How can they help me realise my own findings?’. While many artists share studio spaces, those who work alone may need to look a little further afield for creative dialogue when in a rut. As Abi Whitlock, winner of the People’s Choice Award, says “Working alone the majority of the time can lead to you becoming quite creatively stagnant and stuck in your own thoughts and patterns of working.”   Head to a gallery to see …

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Resist Techniques for Painting, Drawing, and Printmaking

In this article, I describe the resist technique by referring to historic examples, from dyed fabrics to etchings, and Henry Moore’s drawings. Then I demonstrate how you can apply the resist technique to a host of mediums, such as acrylic, oil paint, and mixed media for drawings. Articles in the Techniques Series define the meaning and context of art making processes and give practical tutorials on how to work with them.     Resist Techniques for Painting, Drawing, and Printmaking Definition: The resist technique refers to media or materials that have been used to block out or reject the subsequent layers that are applied to an artwork, to retain the quality of the ‘resisted’ area. For example, an oil pastel drawing will reject a layer of ink applied on top of it, adhering to the surrounding areas of paper, and tape applied over a dry area of oil painting will resist the next layer, so the original one can be revealed again later.   What is the Effect of the Resist Technique? The resist technique has a different visual effect depending on the medium or combination of mediums it’s used with. In general, it indicates that the artist is a …

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