Interview: Introducing artist Ele Pack
Posted on March 17, 2016
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Please give a warm welcome to Ele Pack as she joins Curious Duke Gallery!
You can see more of Ele Pack’s artwork here.
What can you tell us about your practice and visual poems?
I am a painter obsessed with making images. I feel a strong need to create beauty and harmony. There always seem to be new paintings that I need to paint. I work full time in my studio in Hove. I prefer to work on large-scale paintings. I want to create paintings that are a sensory experience, that affect and envelop the viewer. I hope the audience responds to my work on a sensory and emotional level.
When you say you work until the image is ‘found’, what do you mean?
I work in a very organic way, building layers of painting and drawing, mark and gesture, without a fixed goal in mind. Although I may start with a strong intention, there are so many possibilities and nuances that cannot possibly be planned. So I think to learn, and truly develop as an artist, you do have to embrace these unknowns, and see what transpires – that’s when the magic happens:)
So I am constantly “finding” the images, which makes it continually exciting and unpredictable.
How do you choose your subjects and mediums for each artwork?
The subject, for me, tends to be a colour or mood. I have recently been using images from nature such as flowers, butterflies, leaves, which I feel create an environment, a space.
I think I try to create an “intimate dialogue” with the viewer by using these living subjects in an imaginary expansive universe.
I also feel that the paint and texture & marks that are created, are a subject, to be enjoyed, in their own right. My use of materials has really developed over the last few years. I use a diverse range of paint, spray paint, pencils, gold & silver leaf, and collage. I love to use this broad range to express a diversity of marks and sensibilities.
Does living in Brighton by the sea have an impact on your practice?
I moved to Brighton 6 years ago, and I LOVE it!! It is a great place to live. It is such a wonderful creative vibrant place, with such a diverse range of people. Last year I would go for a swim in the sea at 8am before heading to my studio, which was Gorgeous! I find the sea to be a very stabilising influence. Whenever I go and sit in front of the sea, I always feel calmed by it, and that everything is going to be alright:)
I think everything you experience feeds into your work; people, films, art, experience, colour, emotion. Definitely living in Brighton is a very positive experience.
Do you have a routine, or an exercise you have to do to get you started?
I never have any problem with motivation; there always seem to be more paintings to be painted! I always listen to music or podcasts while I’m painting. I think this helps to get in a “Flow” state, where you are completely tuned into your work…without being too self-conscious.
What advice would you give to anyone starting out?
Keep working, painting, making, looking, thinking, questioning. Look at everything. Teach yourself to critique your work. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes!
The 10,000 Hour Rule — closely associated with pop psych writer Malcolm Gladwell. The principle holds that 10,000 hours of "deliberate practice" are needed to become world-class in any field – so get cracking…!
Use all the available social media to promote your work to the big wide world. It’s free, and it is amazing the connections that you can make.
Be authentic.
Find your own language.
Love what you do.
If you could sum up your portfolio in one word, what would it be?
Aiming for “beauty”.
Not saying that I always achieve this:)
Liked this? Check out our Top 5 exhibitions to visit this week here.
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Written by Curious Duke Gallery blogger Sinéad Loftus.
Lover of all art and fluffy cats.