Next week as part of the Liverpool Biennial Fringe Jessica Arrowsmith-Stanley will be taking the stage LIVE in our window to paint. Jessica will also be exhibiting work in the upcoming exhibition, AEROSOL at dot-art Gallery.
We spoke to her to find out what she loves about painting and what she's going to be up to next...
1. Painting in store, tell us about it?
I'm so excited! I'll be painting a city scape live in the Rex window for three days, creating an artwork almost from scratch for passers-by to watch. People will be able to see the method behind the work and the way in which the layers are assembled and being able to share that process with people in the heart of what is, for creatives of all kinds, the hub of the city. Its one of those opportunities that comes round to remind me that I have the best job in the world.
2. When did you start painting?
Ever since I can remember really. Everyone is encouraged to be creative as a child, through finger paints or messing around with cakes mixes and such; I guess I've never reached a point where I'm prepared to let go of that freedom.
3. Your style is very bright and modern, what inspired this?
When I started out, in school and college, I was always working with black and white because there's something beautiful about monochrome works and also because colour was a point of intimidation. With so many choices and directions to head in, it felt to me that there was much more room to make mistakes. One of my tutors basically told me to get stuck in, his point being that making mistakes creatively isn't necessarily a big deal. That was a definite turning point for me, I think being a little more honest with my personality and reflecting that in my work unshackled me a little. I started concentrating on trying to capture motion, which I couldn't imagine without the use if colour, and I'll always be grateful because nothing gives me greater joy than a big splash of bright colour.
4. We follow your Instagram and you love travelling. Where is your favourite place to travel?
Well I've recently got back from a little trip to Barcelona for the Primavera Sound festival, I absolutely loved it! I would definitely recommend it, and if you head there over the Summer check out the Andrea Fraser show at the MACBA, she's absolutely hilarious. She's got this very daring and cynical take on the commercial side of the arts and its a brilliant gallery as well.
My all time favourite place though, its got to be Orlando, Florida. Its obviously not the artiest place in the world, you're not going there to expand your mind but there's a nostalgia there. I was lucky enough to spend a lot of time there as a child and there's something about the place that is just so completely unashamed, it's infectious. Sometimes it can be really easy to be a little cynical about the world but honestly, there's nothing better than giving into a little magic and feeling like a giddy, carefree child again.
5. What has been your favourite piece of work to date?
I feel like my favourite work will always be the mural I painted for my end of year show on the second year of my degree at Westminster. It called it Mayfly and painted it straight on the walls of the studio, meaning that after assessment I was going have to paint the wall back to white. I got really caught up in the idea of a temporary work and it took on a life of its own. It grew beyond me in a lot of ways, I just couldn't stop expanding it. It ended up being twenty foot across and spilling onto the floor. It was a bit of a monster really, I put a lot of myself into it only to destroy it, it was a very different experience.
6. What's your process? Do you have to be in a particular frame of mind to work or is this something that comes naturally to you?
To create something new without a brief or commission I have to be in a place of total focus which feels very rare. I feel so lucky to be able to deal with so many lovely customers, its exciting to be able to make work for them every day.
7. Your cityscapes are amazing, has there been any that has been particularly tricky?
My latest Liverpool cityscapes were probably the most complicated to make. I wanted to go a bit deeper, to reflect the soul of the city a little, and to convey as much a possible the love that has gone into them. I did a lot more physical research for these ones, getting out and about and studying the textures of the buildings, finding tile patterns, getting a bit closer to the buildings to be able to present them more faithfully.
The new work will be available to view in the dot-art gallery in Queen's Avenue, off Castle Street, from the 15th of this month until September.
8. is there a song or album you love to work to?
To be totally honest, don't judge me, I can't listen to an album all the way through. I think my attention bounces around a little too much for one set of songs to hold it, I need a little bit of chaos elsewhere so I can concentrate. For working, playlists are the way forward, there are a few artists that I'm a little obsessed with at the minute though;
Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Charles Bradley & Breakdown Brass
9. So, what's in store for Jessica Arrowsmith-Stanley?
There's so many exciting things going on over the next few months, it's hard to keep track! As mentioned briefly before I've got some work in a group show with Nathan Pendlebury and David Andrews, two Liverpool based artists that are doing some very cool things, that's in the dot-art gallery.
There's a few more schemes and plots in the works but I can't talk about them just yet, keep your eyes peeled on social media for updates over what we're apparently still calling the Summer, @jazzstanart
Jessica will be composing the piece over 3 days in the display window at REX during 12pm - 3pm. Watch an original artwork being created and track her progress with #AEROSOL16