Pam Hawkes
Who are your biggest creat ive influences? Medieval marginalia and religious iconography has been my biggest influence and inspiration. The craftsmen who painted these images were not allowed to veer from the imagery prescribed by the church, and yet these icons may assume whatever meaning or symbolic persona as ascribed by the viewer, or worshipper. This is what I strive for, idealized images which draw you in, but beyond that surface beauty I try to unsettle, to question the ideal. My use of metal leaf, heavy frames and the use of text which is used to confuse rather than illuminate, all refer to iconography.
If you could choose one person in your life that you feel understands your work and supports you more than anyone, who would that be? I have been very lucky to have so many supportive people around me, but I would have to say David, my partner, has been amazing. Not only has he a good critical eye and we often discuss my work, but he makes my frames and even built my studio.
When did you realize you wanted to make art seriously? I went to a small, specialist art school from the age of eleven where all branches of the arts were taught and taken as seriously as academic subjects. From there it was expected that you either went to art college or directly into industry as an apprentice, which I did as a trainee jewellery designer.
Night Music oil on copper leaf on board 104 x 61cm
So from an early age art was not only a viable option, but to do anything else was considered as failure. Looking back, I now think living up to those expectations was as difficult as fighting opposition to enter this world.
Do you think the internet is crucial to the success of artists today? I would have to say it’s not crucial, but it is an invaluable tool, life before wikipedia and google was just so much more difficult. I am a late- comer to social networking, I joined Facebook last year and Twitter just three weeks ago. Facebook has been a joy, discovering wonderful artists and finding an incredibly supportive, inspirational and diverse group of people has been a revelation. This, however, is no substitute for sheer hard work in the studio and getting your work shown in the real world, but I do realize it’s an important showcase for my work.
www.poetsandartists.com
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