Interview with Creative Drinks, Brisbane

Below is a brand new interview piece by Sophie Blackshaw @ Creative Drinks, which you can also read online here:
http://www.creativedrinks.com.au/interview-artist-sarah-beetson/

Artist Sarah Beetson’s work might be the only thing more colourful than her life.

She’s been commissioned by Stella McCartney in London, had an illustration agent in Canada, dabbled in the Melbourne scene for a moment, and she dreams of Coney Island.

But right now, she’s here with us, taking in all the fresh air Queensland has to offer on her boyfriend’s rural farm, just outside Brisbane.

Let her tell you how she ended up here; why we shouldn’t underestimate GoMa; how Patricia Arquette’s Alabama and Christian Slater’s Clarence influence a fashion label; that squatting isn’t as filthy as it sounds; and why, on earth, the dilapidated amusement parks just south of New York City have her name written all over them.

CD: Describe yourself as a person and artist in one sentence:Sarah: I live, eat, sleep and breathe as well as dress like, my art.

CD: What projects are you working on now?
Sarah: I am working on samples for my fashion illustration portfolio as well as creating work for the Supergraph Exhibitionin February – including limited edition print leggings and other clothing. I’m also preparing for my three-month self-initiated artist residency this May, in Coney Island.

CD: How would you describe your work?
Sarah: My work is a colourful calamity that combines strict order with total chaos!

CD: ”Beetson worked in styling, and created fabric prints for Stella McCartney, who then commissioned her to decorate the walls of the shoe room in her Bruton St. shop. Since then, Beetson has curated an extensive list of clients…” So why choose Brisbane after that?
Sarah: I moved to Melbourne originally and totally loved it, I still visit often. I moved here to live on my boyfriend’s family farm, and took advantage of the beautiful rural location that is still very close to both Brisbane and the Gold Coast. I have a giant studio space here, so I can spread out and create giant sized paintings, all the while surrounded by nature and visited by wallabies and pet chickens.

CD: What are your thoughts on Brisbane as a place for artists?
Sarah: I think Brisbane has the greatest art gallery in the country, (GOMA), and I think it rivals the best galleries in London and New York. It has impressive international exhibitions like the Andy Warhol and Valentino shows, the latter of which was only shown additionally in Paris. Culturally, I feel drawn to Brisbane as it is kind of a mini-Melbourne. I love West End and the fact that there are all these little Queenslanders nestled in amongst the big city buildings. I also love the Gold Coast, and I’m really excited about the developing arts precinct there. With great galleries like 19 Karen and the amazing Rabbit & Cocoon with its Marketta, I am eager to see what the future will bring for The Arts on the GC.

CD: What exhibitions were you involved in throughout 2013?

Sarah: I exhibited my 5th solo exhibition: All of The Places That I Have Lived at 19 Karen Contemporary Artspace in Mermaid Beach. The exhibition featured a series of 30+ self portraits from birth to date, contained within the framework of the 20+ dwellings I have lived in across two continents over the years. It was a study in nostalgia, encompassing major events in my life and in popular culture throughout. I was also delighted to be invited to Paris to exhibit a huge retrospective of my work at Gallerie Claude-Samuel, Viaduc Des Arts, in June. The exhibition was titled Rainbowspective and featured the best of my work over the past five years – both my personal work and illustration work, and I was given a massive 180m² to show in!

CD: Often people who have spent extensive lengths of time overseas never feel quite at home again in one place. Does this affect you, or your work, in any way?
Sarah: I definitely feel more and more displaced and alien as I continue to travel. I created two self portraits in 2012 entitled Australitish and Britalien(the latter of which was shortlisted for the 2012 Metro Award). The portraits explore my ever more confused national identity.

CD: You like to watch at least 1-2 films per day. Is there one film that has had a lasting impact on you, or your work specifically?
Sarah: I would say the films of John Waters have had a profound affect on my aesthetic, in that they have really encouraged me to find my own artistic voice and not be constrained or afraid or censor myself in any way. But in terms of one singular film, I’d have to say the Quentin Tarantino written, Tony Scott directed 1993 classic True Romance would be my favourite and most influential film. I even named my Camden Market clothing label ‘Clarence & Alabama’ after the lead characters, back in 2003. It is the candy coloured, sun-drenched, palm trees and cheap motels combined with Elvis, rockabilly and white trash that has saturated my work the most.

CD: Have you faced any major setbacks in your life that have impacted your art?
Sarah: I think the hardest thing that has affected my art has been finances. Upon graduation from my Illustration degree in 2002, I found myself living in London, struggling to climb the rungs on the creative ladder. The term ‘impoverished artist’ is an understatement – I was living below the poverty line, existing on £130 per week cobbled from numerous bar jobs whilst interning in the fashion industry full time AND paying £112 per week in rent – £18 for food, travel, bills etc is not much! I relied on tips to cover bus fare to work and I fed myself eating whatever was offered free at my job (cheese toasties, sausage rolls, tea and alcohol!) I literally ate one decent meal a day.

I hung in there finding time to create art wherever I could in between jobs in my tiny flat, often working on my bed due to lack of space. By early 2004, my debt and overdraft had reached crisis point and I faced leaving London – when suddenly I was thrown a lifeline. Bartending friends from The Electric Ballroom (where I also worked and sold my Clarence & Alabama hand painted clothing from a free market stall) were living in squats – utilizing London’s abandoned empty buildings for free living and studio space. I met some amazing creative people in those squats who are now successful actors, burlesque stars, artists, fashion designers and TV tarot sensations!

I am so proud to call those people my friends. In my year or so squatting, I saved enough money to rent a new flat. I was able to take on a job that began as a one-day-a-week portfolio assistant and bloomed into the international role I now have as a talent scout for Illustration Ltd (I couldn’t have given up my bar jobs to accommodate that role had I still had that £112 per week rental noose around my neck). I developed my portfolio in those squats, and in doing so followed illustration commissions. I got an illustration agent in Canada and one in London. It took three years, but I got back on my feet. It was so hard at the time, but I’m glad I went through it as it makes me so thankful for where I am today. It was worth it for the career I was able to develop.

CD: Can you tell me about your ‘Coney Island Dream’, and any progress it’s made?
Sarah: This northern hemisphere summer [May to August] I plan to spend three months in Coney Island, USA, in a self-initiated artist residency. I will stay in an artists’ loft in Brooklyn, and travel out to Coney every day on the subway, photographing and drawing all that I see and immersing myself in this most inspiring place. Since I first discovered it in 2002, I have made five short one-day pilgrimages to Coney Island, on the shores of Brooklyn, New York City. Coney is a decaying wonderland of dilapidated amusements and some of the most edible typography one might endeavour to feast their eyes upon. I have kept scrapbooks of photographs from each trip, which I use to inform illustration work and paintings. Yet, each time I return via the Subway to Stilwell Ave, I am heartbroken to find a little bit more of Coney has disappeared since my last visit. It has been a dream of mine since I discovered Coney 12 years ago, to return to Coney for a decent period of time (not just a day trip) and paint all that I see there.

This sabbatical will allow me to fully immerse myself in Coney Island for months on end; to experience a summer season, and finally see The Mermaid Parade. Due to being granted time off from work, I will be able to create without restraint, and experience being a full-time artist for the first time. I will create a body of work that will reflect Coney Island’s present, as well as examining its history; and paint a portrait of an ever-changing environment that will serve as an interesting visual account of a moment in Coney Island’s history in the future. I’ll continue to develop this body of work upon my return to Australia, creating some large-scale paintings based upon my experience. I created an Indigogo campaign which provided almost half of the money I need to get there, and I have managed to save about the same amount again. So my flights are booked, and my dream is coming true!

CD: Finally, where do you see yourself in five years time?
Sarah: In much the same spot, but hopefully with trips to South America, Japan and of course Coney Island under my belt, exhibiting and creating art au continuum.

Computer Arts Design Classic in Coney Island!

A little while ago, Computer Arts Magazine asked me to talk about what I considered to be my design classic. I chose the delicious signage at Gregory & Paul's eatery, now named Paul's Daughter, on the Coney Island Boardwalk. You can read the article in full below. Take a look at how you can help me return to Coney Island in 2014 here:
http://igg.me/at/sarahbeetsonconeyisland

My Coney Island Dream

Next summer, I am planning to live out a dream. I am hoping to spend 3 months in Coney Island, Brooklyn USA, in a self-initiated artist residency. I am planning to stay in an artist loft, and travel down to Coney on the F Train every day, to photograph, sketch and paint all the things that I find there, from decaying amusements, hand painted signage, seaside delicacies like fried shrimp and saltwater taffy, to the colourful community, curious tourists and beach oddities that populate this most inspiring place. Please take a look at the link below and share it via your social networks to help me live out my dream:

http://igg.me/at/sarahbeetsonconeyisland/x/2195815

Interview with 1968 Magazine, Canada

Check out this interview I did recently with Fashion Magazine 1968 in Canada. You can see the full issue online here: http://www.1968magazine.com/index.cfmpagePath=INTERVIEWS/ILLUSTRATORS/SARAH_BEETSON&id=54900

Sarah Beetson’s resume is as full, colourful, and diverse as her illustrations. The Manchester, UK-born illustrator has a style of her own that has attracted many clients, from magazines, newspapers, and personal clients, to Trader Joe’s in the US. She graduated from Falmouth College of Arts in Cornwall in 2002 with 1st class honours, and spent the next four years living and working in London as an illustrator and graphic designer. There, Beetson worked in styling, and created fabric prints for Stella McCartney, who then commissioned her to decorate the walls of the shoe room in her Burton St. shop. Since then, Beetson has curated an extensive list of clients like The Telegraph and the Times (UK), The Globe and Mail here in Toronto, The Wall St. Journal, Diesel, La Perla, Reader’s Digest, Scholastic Books, The British Fashion Council, IKEA, and Continental Airlines among many, many more. She relocated from the UK to Australia in 2006 where she created works for numerous exhibitions.

When did you realize that you wanted to be an illustrator? 

When I was 8 I had three ambitions: to be a professional tennis player and win Wimbledon (until I realized I wasn’t too good at tennis), to be a rockstar (I even made my first failed attempt at learning guitar), or to illustrate children's books like Quentin Blake. I got close to the third one.

Why fashion illustration? 

Fashion has always provided a huge inspiration to me, particularly in my youth as I was beginning to find my own personal style. I wondered why people in the street did not dress as the models did in fashion shoots; often bizarrely themed with many layers of clothing, eccentric styling and heaps of colour, so I started to do that myself. People often tell me I look like my work, as it became a natural progression that I would draw the things I loved to wear myself.

Were you ever interested in moving into the fine art world of oils and canvas?

In recent years, as a diversion from commissioned illustration, I have widely exhibited my personal work via galleries, showing in solo and group exhibitions in London, Paris, New York, Portland, Ottawa, Melbourne and The Gold Coast, Australia. I was never tempted by oils, though I often work on raw canvas or linen. Almost all of the materials I use are water-based, with the exception of spray-paint, and my favourite painting medium is Acryl-Gouache.

Your work contains lots of diverse subjects; where do you tend to get your inspiration from?

I find much inspiration from my travels; I live between Australia and the UK, spending 3-4 months a year in London and often stopping off in between. I love typography and collect photographs of examples I love the world over. I particularly like decaying signage on shop fronts, amusement parks and neon signs. I read widely into the subjects that interest me and will conduct much research when working on personal projects or without tight deadlines. Apart from the fashion industry, I’d say my greatest source of inspiration comes from film. I watch at least 1-2 movies per day from all kinds of genres/time periods, and when I am in the city I’ll often take an inspiration day, hoping between cinemas, and taking in 5 movies.

Your work is full of balance between line weight, texture, and punches of colour, but how did you refine this signature style?

Whilst I was at art school in Falmouth, UK, I was initially using a number of techniques to create work, none of which I was really in love with. During life drawing classes, we were taught the blind contour drawing technique, in which you place your pen/pencil on the paper and look at the subject, drawing ‘blindly’ without taking your eyes from the subject. This technique can be totally haphazard with moments of clarity; a mess of abstract lines with a perfect hand or eye within it. I decided to combine this technique with the bunch of other materials / styles I liked to work with, and hence my style was born.

How would you describe your work?

A very well planned, carefully executed accumulation of chaotic colourful madness?!

How has living in London influenced your work?

In so many ways, from the people I lived and worked with and the city itself, to the general poverty I lived in when I first moved there. I do think the London streets have the most daring fashion statements of any city in the world. When I first arrived I was forever accosting brilliantly dressed people into letting me draw them. I have lived in other cities (Melbourne in Australia possibly being my favourite, it has an alternative arty feeling very like Portland in the US), but I think what sets London apart, and keeps me returning, is the self deprecating character of The British. We can look at things like art and fashion with irony and humour and not take ourselves too seriously.

How did it feel to get your first big client?

I was ecstatic when I was commissioned by Tank Magazine whilst I was still finishing my Illustration Degree. They asked me to produce 12 illustrations centred around food for the OXO book. A couple of those pieces are still in my portfolio today. My next big job was a teen fashion editorial for Fashion 18 Magazine in Toronto. It was a graffiti inspired piece about the Barbie girl in school who the girls dislike and the boys want to get with.

Looking back at your clients, how does it feel to see so many esteemed names/brands?

I have been really lucky to work with some fantastic people, and even luckier that some of those clients believed in me when I was 21 and straight out of art school, and really provided me with that step up onto the illustration ladder. Getting representation with 2 agencies in my graduate year played a huge part in this, and I count Shelley Brown of i2iArt, Toronto, and Harry Lyon Smith of Illustration Ltd, London, as the key players in shaping my career.

What got you interested in exploring so many different mediums in your work?

As I mentioned previously, the combining of all the existing materials in my work with the blind contour drawing technique was the catalyst for developing my style. And as I began to travel around, I started to collect more and more materials that I could use to paint, draw, collage, create backgrounds with, etc. I really began working on tissue paper pasted on wood or paper, but over the years I have experimented with working on canvas, photographs, and fabric. When I first moved to London, I spent one year interning in the fashion industry, and to make rent as well as working in bars and nightclubs, I started experimenting on fabric and creating t-shirts and sneakers to sell on my stall in Camden market. That has evolved to digitally printed capsule collections today. I still create every element with my work by hand, but over the last 5 years or so, I have developed techniques of creating different elements within each piece separately, and scanning them individually in order to be able to create layered files in Photoshop, and accommodate changes for clients on their every whim. This has enabled my work to be animated, and I was hired for a campaign to prevent drink driving during Perth Fashion Week, Australia.

If you could move to any city in the world to work, where would it be and why?

I think New York would be my ultimate, having visited it so often, but never stayed long enough to feel like a New Yorker. But for now, I am quite content floating between Australia and the UK, and all the travels that happen in between!

What do you feel has been your biggest achievement so far?

Among these have been working with Stella McCartney in the early days of her label, working with Mary Portas at Yellowdoor, illustrating for major newspapers including The Globe and Mail (Toronto), The Times and The Telgraph (UK) and The Miami Herald, winning the Creative Review (UK) Best in Book prize for illustration in 2011, being shortlisted for the 2012 Metro Award (a $50,000 Australian Art Gallery Prize), exhibiting at Somerset House, London, as part of Pick Me Up 2012, and being invited to exhibit “Rainbowspective” in Paris earlier this year, showing the best of the last 5 years of my work.

Do you have a favourite artist (illustrator or otherwise)?

There are so many I don’t know if I could pick one favourite, but here are some: Keith Haring, Antonio Gaudi, Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Julie Verhoeven, Cary Kwok, Henry Darger, Grayson Perry, Yoshitomo Nara, Aubrey Beardsley, Robert Crumb, Alan Moore, Antonio Lopez, Vaughan Bode…. and many more.

Is there someone you dream of working with or for?

I would love to create a fashion illustration spread working with John Galliano.

What is it that you like most about working in your industry?

I do love working from home in my own studio on the farm where I live in Queensland, Australia. It is a huge space which enables me to create large scale paintings, and unlike in a shared office, my pet chickens get to come in and hang out. I also love the excitement that comes with the anticipation of an enquiry or the arrival of a brief; a few days prior to Christmas, 2012, I was poised to potentially fly to New York for an illustration project during fashion week which didn’t come off, as projects often don’t, but that kind of spontaneity is something I really love about being an illustrator. When an enquiry comes into one of my agents, the terms, deadline and brief are discussed, then we go ahead and I begin researching, gathering references, making sketches, and working with the client to create the realized illustration; all of this is rather exciting, challenging and fun!

Do you have a favourite piece amongst your work?

I think often my favourite piece is the one I have just finished creating. But I would say that the piece I always think is one I created back in 2002, which is the profile image on my Facebook Fan Page, and is called “Miss Sherbet Dip”. It was from a drag queen; inspired photo shoot from the Falmouth days, and features my first muse and good friend, Knud Kleppe in full drag. Knud is now a successful animator working for a major Oslo TV network, and is also in the rockerbilly band “The Lucky Bullets” who were finalists to represent Norway at Eurovision 2011!

Many have said that illustration is a dying art form; what is your view on the subject?

I would strongly argue quite the opposite. I think for almost ten years now, illustration has been having a major resurgence, and is currently in its heyday this century. I am a talent scout for my UK rep, Illustration Ltd, and I think there are more fantastic artists out there right now than there have been for a long time. Illustration is widely used across advertising, publishing, TV, web and digital media, employing a very diverse range of styles and artists. When I first left art school 10 years ago, there was nowhere near as much illustration usage clearly visible at all levels of media as there is today. I feel like in some part the financial crisis helped illustrators, as clients potentially had to cut their photography budgets back, but saved on using illustration in its place. Photographers need to hire models, locations, etc, whereas illustrators require a small setup and are often far more cost-effective to commission.

Do you have any advice for aspiring illustrators?

Get your work out there, approach clients and agents, and expect knockbacks. Keep contacting the right folk, and keep developing your style and portfolio. Even if you aren’t getting work, you need to keep creating and moving forward, don’t stagnate. Aim to create a style and voice of your own; innovate, don’t imitate. Seek advice from the industry and respond to it when you receive it. It can take years to build a career and gain industry recognition. Make sure you have a great website with a simple, user friendly design that lets the work speak clearly. Tumblr, Blogspot and Wordpress can be great vehicles; you don’t need to spend lots of money on flashy web development. Utilize social media. Enter competitions. Email the clients you want to work for and send them your samples. Don’t give up!

Do you have a favourite motto?

I like: “Do or do not, there is no try” (Yoda)

And: “There’s no fate but what we make” (Sarah Connor, Terminator 2)

What are your goals for the next five years?

In February 2014, I’ll be taking part in Supergraph Melbourne, a graphic Arts Fair in which I will exhibit prints and originals, and sell printed clothing, cushions and my illustrated naughty playing cards, as well as creating Live Portraits of visitors. Later in the year, I plan to take a summer sabbatical and spend three months in the place that has inspired me most over the years: Coney Island in New York. I will take my travel easel, A3 moleskine and art materials, and just thoroughly immerse myself in the place, sketching all that I see. Upon my return to Australia, I’ll be developing this body of work and will also focus on similar themes in my hometown of The Gold Coast, also a classic seaside resort with many amusements and signage to inspire. Over the next five years I plan to return to Japan, which has been the source of many ideas since my last trip, and I’m hoping to get to South America with my boyfriend and taking in the culture and colours. All the while I’ll continue to develop my illustration portfolio, and I look forward to discovering the jobs and commissions which may come my way.

New Fashion Illustrations

I have been spending the last few months working on developing some new images for my fashion illustration portfolio. A few of these are commissioned editorial pieces, but the majority are self-initiated works. I have been really lucky to have the help of my boyfriend in photographing shoots for me, and have enlisted the help of some good friends to model for me. Here are the results:

Sarah Print Leggings - ONLY 1 PAIR CURRENTLY AVAILABLE!

Yippee! Here are my brand new Sarah Metamorphosis Print leggings! They feature illustrations from my "All of The Places That I Have Lived" series, and form a timeline of self-portraits from birth to date.

Currently, there is ONLY 1 PAIR AVAILABLE! I am giving them away as a reward for helping to fund my 3 month artist residency in Coney Island NYC, summer 2014. The pair would be custom made for the buyer to fit size XS - L. Here is where to find them: http://igg.me/at/sarahbeetsonconeyisland/x/2195815

And here's how they look!

SNEAK PEAK! Fabric repeats for leggings!

Here is an exclusive look at the pattern repeats which have already been printed onto stretch 100% cotton jersey - and will be made into a very VERY limited collection of leggings and tees. More info about where to grab yourself a pair coming sooooooooon!