Interview : Rokoko Exhibition
Here’s the interview carried out by Danielle Darby, this was conducted to promote my last solo exhibition Rokoko which was held at the Signal Gallery in May 2012
SIGNAL GALLERY: Summarise your new work in three words…
BAEL: Darkness, Decadence and Mortality.
SG: Who or what do you take inspiration from?
BAEL: This exhibition has come from my negative associations with the art of the Rococo. The artists of that era depicted the Greek myths and legends in a sanitised and hollow fashion. I wanted to reclaim them and bring out a bleaker and more visceral atmosphere.
SG: If you could exhibit with any other artist (dead or alive) who would it be and why?
BAEL: That’s a tough question. I would say Alexander Tinei, I think he’s going to become a very significant artist in the near future. Even though his approach and style are very different from my own, his work has really inspired me recently, so I would love to show my work alongside his.
SG: What made you go by your pseudonym ‘Bael’?
BAEL: It probably comes from the fact that a lot of my favourite musicians use pseudonyms. I like the idea of keeping my personality and my art separate.
SG: How did you initially get into painting? As a self-taught artist, do you have a creative background?
BAEL: I was a very solitary kid growing up, so art became something I could do by myself and pour all my energy into. I wouldn’t describe it as ‘getting into painting’, because for as long as I can remember, drawing and painting has been my way of making sense of life.
SG: A typical day for you as an artist would be….
BAEL: I don’t really have a typical day as an artist. My painting schedule can be somewhat erratic. But there are a few constants: Cups of Tea, Cigarettes and Radio 3.
SG: What’s the most exciting event or achievement to have happened in your career to date?
BAEL: Having my work being seen by people is more than I could have originally hoped for. When I first started out a few years ago, I didn’t think that people would have such a strong response to my work.
SG: How is the art scene in North East of England where you live?
BAEL: Sadly, non-existent.
SG: You have a signature style to your work; I can point out a Bael when I see one. Did you have to experiment with ways of drawing before finding this style or did it come naturally to you?
BAEL: My style of painting has evolved from my love of drawing. Often painters will load a canvas with gallons of paint to show their mastery of the medium, whereas I want to create an image that has a sense of fragility and rawness, I don’t want people to be conscious of the labour of technique; I want the work to appear spontaneous. Developing a kind of electricity and crackle with a single line was a defining element in my progress as an artist.
SG: Do you work on a series of paintings simultaneously or do you finish one piece and begin another?
BAEL: Generally one at a time, I worry that if I become engrossed in another painting I’ll lose the original idea of what I wanted.
SG: Putting pen to paper (or paintbrush to canvas) do you work from preparatory drawings or just paint from imagination?
BAEL: I always work from preparatory drawings that I make from reference material; I don’t think painting straight from my imagination would work, the human form is complex and needs observation before it can be captured convincingly.
SG: What is the best advice you have been given?
BAEL: An artist must be the harshest critic of their own work.
SG: What can we expect from you in the next year?
BAEL: I’ve been so caught up with this exhibition that I haven’t really made plans! I think I’ll need a few weeks away from the studio, to clear out the clutter from my brain, before I embark on anything new.
BAEL: Darkness, Decadence and Mortality.
SG: Who or what do you take inspiration from?
BAEL: This exhibition has come from my negative associations with the art of the Rococo. The artists of that era depicted the Greek myths and legends in a sanitised and hollow fashion. I wanted to reclaim them and bring out a bleaker and more visceral atmosphere.
SG: If you could exhibit with any other artist (dead or alive) who would it be and why?
BAEL: That’s a tough question. I would say Alexander Tinei, I think he’s going to become a very significant artist in the near future. Even though his approach and style are very different from my own, his work has really inspired me recently, so I would love to show my work alongside his.
SG: What made you go by your pseudonym ‘Bael’?
BAEL: It probably comes from the fact that a lot of my favourite musicians use pseudonyms. I like the idea of keeping my personality and my art separate.
SG: How did you initially get into painting? As a self-taught artist, do you have a creative background?
BAEL: I was a very solitary kid growing up, so art became something I could do by myself and pour all my energy into. I wouldn’t describe it as ‘getting into painting’, because for as long as I can remember, drawing and painting has been my way of making sense of life.
SG: A typical day for you as an artist would be….
BAEL: I don’t really have a typical day as an artist. My painting schedule can be somewhat erratic. But there are a few constants: Cups of Tea, Cigarettes and Radio 3.
SG: What’s the most exciting event or achievement to have happened in your career to date?
BAEL: Having my work being seen by people is more than I could have originally hoped for. When I first started out a few years ago, I didn’t think that people would have such a strong response to my work.
SG: How is the art scene in North East of England where you live?
BAEL: Sadly, non-existent.
SG: You have a signature style to your work; I can point out a Bael when I see one. Did you have to experiment with ways of drawing before finding this style or did it come naturally to you?
BAEL: My style of painting has evolved from my love of drawing. Often painters will load a canvas with gallons of paint to show their mastery of the medium, whereas I want to create an image that has a sense of fragility and rawness, I don’t want people to be conscious of the labour of technique; I want the work to appear spontaneous. Developing a kind of electricity and crackle with a single line was a defining element in my progress as an artist.
SG: Do you work on a series of paintings simultaneously or do you finish one piece and begin another?
BAEL: Generally one at a time, I worry that if I become engrossed in another painting I’ll lose the original idea of what I wanted.
SG: Putting pen to paper (or paintbrush to canvas) do you work from preparatory drawings or just paint from imagination?
BAEL: I always work from preparatory drawings that I make from reference material; I don’t think painting straight from my imagination would work, the human form is complex and needs observation before it can be captured convincingly.
SG: What is the best advice you have been given?
BAEL: An artist must be the harshest critic of their own work.
SG: What can we expect from you in the next year?
BAEL: I’ve been so caught up with this exhibition that I haven’t really made plans! I think I’ll need a few weeks away from the studio, to clear out the clutter from my brain, before I embark on anything new.
