Pam Hawkes
Do you feel you fit into any particular movement or style? Although my initial reaction is to say no, on further reflection I would say it fitted into the formal notions of Romanticism, a vague term in itself. The roots of this word come from early medieval tales of sentimental love and feelings, inward looking and in opposition to the outward looking precision of classicism. A site where the realm of imagination and fantasy is paramount, yes, that’s probably where I would place my work.
As an artist how would you define success? I judge each individual painting according to my own evolving definitions in order to decide the extent to which I feel each work is successful. But my work has always sold well and that also defines success. For several years I have taught part-time as a supplement. Although it has been a little nerve-wracking at times, my main income has come from my own work, which is just as well since I have raised two children!
I have failed to win any awards and glittering prizes. Actually, I have never entered any competitions or juried exhibitions, partly due to a fear of rejection. I’m consciously getting over that, though, and have decided to enter one this year.
Would you say your artistic style found you, or you found it? When I was at college I, like most students, was constantly changing, paraphrasing whichever artist I was smitten with that month. I then had an epiphany when I discovered the Egyptian early christian encaustic portraits at the Louvre. The power, stillness and beauty of these led me to my passion with religious iconography which has been the basis of my work ever since. So maybe those encaustic portraits found me.
Would you say you had a time of night or day where you have more creative energy than others? I am hopeless in the mornings, I can’t concentrate, so if I am in the studio, it takes me hours before I can settle down to work. Evening and night is the time when I just get lost in painting and thoughts for new work. My studio is a very workman like place, but at night with either music or talking books and incense burning, there is no where else I would want to be.
What medium do you work in and what attracts you to it? Only thin translucent glazes of oil will show the glow of the metal leaf which is the basis of much of my work. I adore oil paint, how I can play with the surface from thin, runny glazes through to dried crusty smears, each surface is a narrative in itself. It is the most forgiving, playful, plastic and beautiful of all the mediums, but I am biased.
Do you have any pieces that you would never consider selling and why? Yes, just one. While I was doing my Masters I did a painting of my daughter when she was very young. At the time I was working with the notion of space and deconstruction, and this large painting had the centre as raw linen, a void, and work only on the margins . Not long after this she became critically ill and was in a wheelchair for eighteen months before she was able to walk again. To me, this painting is symbolic of not only of this terrible time, where death was almost certain, but of her courage, bravery and hope. It now lives, rolled up, in my studio.
www.pamhawkes.co.uk
www.poetsandartists.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118