A couple of months ago, I visited two of my former Gallery Attendant colleagues, Rachel and Olga, and their housemate Maria, who live together not far from me in Edinburgh. They share a small studio - one room in their flat - and making art in that space is part of the life of their shared home. While they each have different backgrounds and creative interests, there are more similarities than differences in the ways they work, taking inspiration from personal memories and nostalgia. And, likewise, in their shared experience of living and working in Edinburgh at a particular stage of their lives and careers.
All three artists recently graduated from art colleges in Edinburgh and Glasgow. I was interested to find out how they were getting on in the first few years after graduation, which can be a challenging time. They were kind enough to answer some questions for this blog post about their art and inspirations. As always, it's better if you hear it in their words, not mine...
Could you briefly introduce yourselves and your art – where are you with it now and how did you get to this point (education, early inspirations, etc.)?
Olga: I’m Olga. I graduated from The Glasgow School of Art with a BA(Hons) in Painting and Printmaking in 2021. Throughout my time at university, I focused on themes of nostalgia, the uncanny, and memory. All of these themes are still prevalent throughout my work.
Rachel: I’m Rachel, I’m 24 and I’m originally from Lancashire. I’m currently working as a Gallery Attendant at the National Galleries of Scotland and I graduated from Edinburgh College of Art last year. I have enjoyed making art since I was very young, and it helped that I had a lot of encouragement from my parents and grandparents – they entered a drawing I did into a local competition when I was 6 and it won a prize. My grandad is a watercolourist and has always been a source of inspiration and encouragement, he’s a very kind and patient person and doesn’t take things too seriously – whenever I call him he’s always really supportive even though our art styles are so different. At the moment, I’m trying to get back into painting and keep my practice going after a bit of a break.
Maria: My name is Maria. I'm from Norway but I moved to Edinburgh in 2018 to study at Edinburgh College of Art, where I graduated with a Fine Art MA (Hons) degree in 2023. I have always been inspired by landscapes, and what feelings and memories nature evokes.
Could you describe your studio for the reader, and talk about how you work in the space? Any challenges, and any things you couldn’t do without?
O: As much as I’d like to be neater with my work I always end up in a mess of postcards, photographs and drawings while painting as I look for additional visual sources. I like to surround myself with visual aids to fuel my creativity.
R: We are lucky enough to have a spare room at our flat which has lots of large bookcases, a desk and a decent amount of floor space. We put down a tarpaulin sheet and an easel making a space for standing and painting, which is what I do. Maria paints smaller more detailed paintings so she likes to work at the desk, and sometimes we both use the space at the same time.
M: Music is an essential part of the painting process for me, and you will rarely find me in the studio without it. Sharing the studio space with other artists and being able to draw inspiration from each other is also very motivating.
R: Oh yeah, me and Maria have a Spotify blend that we sometimes put on if we are working in there together. The blend is interesting because we have really different music tastes so Spotify has tried to find a middle ground for us – but because I also share Spotify with my mum there are a LOT of 80s classics in there (some of them I will take the blame for).
M: I’ve been introducing Rachel to Radiohead
R: I’ve been enjoying it
How has your art life and work changed since graduating? And where would you like it to go next? Any goals or aspirations?
M: I’m still adjusting to working full time, which has left me with less time and energy for art, but I feel like I’m slowly getting back into it. In the future, I would love to be working with something that either allows creative expression or something that can be a source of inspiration.
O: My final year and graduation all happened during peak covid time which resulted in a very isolated working environment. This is why getting to share a space with other artists is important to me. I’m slowly finding my feet again after a disturbed few years.
R: Since graduating I have been adjusting to a different pace, without an exhibition to work towards I can feel a bit lost and lose motivation – but to have an exhibition I need to have art to show, so at the moment I am getting started on a new body of work. The three of us have talked about a show together and I think that could be really nice – Olga and Maria’s work complement each other so nicely as well.
Where do you look for ideas – if there’s anything you don’t mind sharing?
M: My art centres around memories and emotions, which are often expressed through landscapes, so I mainly draw inspiration from my own photographs and personal experiences.
O: The majority of my sources come from old family memories whether it’s photographs, videos, or by physically revisiting places from my family’s past. Processes of filmmaking and film photography have a big influence on the way I paint and my technique.
R: Same as these guys, I’m also really interested in the theme of memory and like to work from found postcards and images as well as some family ones too.
Rachel Howarth, Found, oil on canvas, 100 x 100 cm
How do you feel about making a career in the arts (or as an artist) in 2024 and beyond? Do you think things have changed – for better or worse?
R: I’m trying hard not to feel defeated at the moment! It is such a competitive environment, I feel lucky to have got the Gallery Attendant role when I did and to have a permanent contract (after being on a temporary one for around a year). The amount of applications the job receives and the rigorousness of the process has increased so much even within the space of a couple of years. I have found, as I’m sure is the case in every industry, that to get experience you need to already have experience, and it seems like in the arts the only way to get that initial experience is to volunteer or already have art world connections.
In terms of being an artist, I’ve been glad to see more free studio spaces popping up with OuterSpaces (an initiative giving artists studio spaces in disused office buildings) and Embassy Gallery creating opportunities for emerging artists and I am encouraged by friends that are managing to work and keep creating at the same time.
What’s the most memorable OR most inspiring exhibition you’ve seen in the past 5 years, and why?
O: My favourite artist is the Belgian artist Luc Tuymans whom I credit as my biggest artistic influence. I was very privileged to visit his retrospective show La Pelle in the Palazzo Grassi in Venice in 2019. I constantly revisit the exhibition when looking for inspiration.
Olga Pypno, untitled, oil on canvas, 120 x 100 cm
R: Andrew Cranston’s ‘What made you stop here?’ at the Hepworth Wakefield. I went to his exhibition ‘Never a joiner’ at Ingelby Gallery several times and was hugely inspired by his work, I was just in absolute awe. I then found out that the paintings I’d seen were due to travel to the Hepworth and be part of a much larger show, so me and my mum went for a day trip to Leeds just to see it. There is such a magical otherworldly quality to his artworks even though they use very ordinary everyday imagery – a cat, a living room sofa, a tent, etc. Each one has its own atmosphere and manages to resonate with me, and it was a memorable experience to have shared with my mum.
Do you have any upcoming shows or events you’d like your readers to know about? And/or any other artists or shows you think they should check out?
O: I am currently working towards my MSc in Modern and Contemporary Art at Edinburgh College of Art. Due to the course being more theory-based, the painting side of my practice is temporarily on hold but through my learning, I’m gaining a ton of inspiration for a future body of work. Lots of forests and film still paintings to come.
As for other artists' work, I’m really looking forward to watching Wilhelm Sasnal’s new film work The Assistant.
Maria Kvam, Forest Spirit, acrylic on wooden canvas board, 20 x 25 cm
M: I'm going to be exhibiting two paintings in the Macmillan Art Show at St John's Church, Edinburgh, 30th November - 1st December. A portion of sales proceeds goes to Macmillan Cancer Support, so it’s art for a good cause.
Thanks, Rachel, Olga, and Maria for letting me and my camera into your studio! Olga and Maria use Instagram at @olga.pypno and @novembervinder, where you can see more of their works. Rachel has some work online on her Society of Scottish Artists profile. And, thank you for reading!
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