ARTIST INTERVIEW: ANNAM BUTT
Annam Butt
Please introduce yourself. How have you developed your passion for art into a career?
My name is Annam. I am a classically trained fine artist and part time retro cartoon geek. Turning my art into a career has been a process and I believe one of the main factors and catalysts would be teaching quite early into my studies, as well as getting my own studio recently which has immensely helped me keep focused and brought a ton of opportunities my way - which I may have not explored before if I had studied to the ‘easy’ route of teaching.
How has your British-Pakistani heritage inspired your work?
I am pretty transatlantic. I was born in London but raised in the states and then moved a ton of times in between to various different countries. I think just being weathered in the world has informed a lot of the inspiration for my work. It definitely moulded my mindset. Being British-Pakistani I feel like there are many like me who have travelled a lot in their youth and reverting back to your roots seems like an organic or obvious grasp. Having been born British-Pakistani it will always be the one constant in my life, so it feels natural to explore my heritage and culture when everything else is so interchangeable. My parents were big on my siblings and I ‘knowing ourselves’ and respecting our roots, this led me to want to paint people with similar experiences or objects with a sort of connection to myself. My work is not always linked to my culture, however it is somehow linked to the way I was raised and the environments and influences I was exposed to.
Why do you choose to paint/draw using classical techniques? How have the old masters influenced your own artwork? How have you added your own spin on this style?
When I was 8 I have this vivid memory of saying ‘I want to be able to paint like the paintings in the museums.’ I am not quite sure where I got this from, my parents certainly weren’t educating me on Rembrandt at that age, however, maybe through school I was aware of who he was by his paintings and that then became my mission. I will say I just believed you got that good by just getting older…Like a god given talent. I now believe there is no such thing and it’s just down to training and mileage. I googled ‘learn to paint in oil in South London’ 7 years ago and an atelier came up. I thought it was perfect, I just need a few pointers so I’ll do this. I still had no idea what an Atelier was, even as I attended, but I learnt quickly and became obsessed as many do.
I reference the old masters constantly, their compositions, their subjects, lighting, brush work; it all informs how I'd like to approach each painting. Currently I am branching out, still focusing on the technical but allowing myself to be influenced more by the narratives I want to represent or using materials that keep it fun for me. I bounce around a lot in my head, sometimes I want a really beautiful classical portrait of a person that captures a bit of their essence, or currently I want to just paint things that are a little more strange and fun to look at with wild colours.
What compels you to portraiture? What is your favourite facial feature to paint? Which feature do you find most challenging?
Mood and narrative drives me to want to paint portraits. It’s also a kind of universal language to capture someone well. Everyone knows what a face should look like and if it’s a little off or stiff looking. I guess wanting to be recognised for being highly skilled as well as evoking a mood or feeling is the biggest driving force. My parents are also my biggest critics so, if I can impress them, it feels like a massive achievement personally. Noses are my favourite to paint, they’ve got everything, rounded forms, hard edges, bone, fleshy bits, darks, chroma, I can go on! Noses are the best. All kinds. give me all of them.
Eyes I’d say are the hardest, to make them look natural and not a dead stare is difficult without overworking them.
Describe your creative process from start to finish of your most recent piece.
I usually have a few projects on the go at one time to keep my mind fresh, Currently, I have two very different sitters that I am painting for long projects (meaning several sittings over time) simultaneously. I do quick 2.5 hour quick sketches as well, typically on a Wednesday evening.
One of my sitters is currently a male with a ton of attitude, Gold grills in his mouth, an incredible gesture to the pose and a characterful face and personal aesthetic. I typically take some time to set up the sitter in the studio, working with them to curate a pose that is interesting but also comfortable enough to hold for 6 hours (20 mins at a time.) I mess with the lighting a bit to see what type of mood I'd like for them and pair a background to see what compliments them. Sometimes I can envision what I want the painting to look like in my head, or if I can not, I do a few quick compositional studies to choose the angle I’d like best and then go from there. I then frantically draw, mix paint, get in my head a bit. Have a bit of lunch. Fight with my Alexa since she has a mind of her own and is constantly disrupting my work flow…a big part of my ‘process’ is talking to the sitter as well as friends I have invited to paint with me at my studio. I often feel like getting to know the person you are painting influences the choices I make, I can also observe a more relaxed person who may make an expression I may bank for later in my mind. Each sitting I bring the painting up to a stage I want to leave it at preparing it for the next sitting (generally continued a week later). My current portrait is about 2 sessions, which would be about 12 hours. Once the sitter is gone I may tinker with a painting a little bit more from memory or references of old masters and their choices and then once it’s done it’s onto the next one.
How do you achieve a likeness with your sitters?
A likeness is often in minute details. It’s millimeters of change to bring it closer to a likeness. Sometimes you get it, sometimes you don’t. Sometimes likeness isn’t always the goal if it’s a study, you may just want to practice a technique or use a different palette. Although, I recently drew a friend and I personally felt it was the closest I had ever gotten to the trifecta. Likeness, expression and technical competence.
Who is your favourite artist? If they were sat next to you right now, what would you ask them? Do they have an influence on your work?
Michael Hussar is one of my favorites. Currently alive and I hope well! I don’t know if I would want to pick their brain on the boring technical stuff, or the “who are your influences’. I think I'd actually just like to be a fly on the wall and observe their world and day. Rather than prompting them, I’d like to just exist around them for a moment and be humble. I feel like he has lived a colourful life, he’s definitely living my dream for sure artistically, but I think I'd rather hear stories and experiences of his life so I can zoom away a happy little fly and not feel stupid for asking the same questions he has probably heard a million times.
His alla primas are insane and figurative sketches. The sheer amount of juicy paint he uses for them makes me want to be bolder with my studies. The choices of models and their expressions and attitudes, everything. I think he was also one of the artists I was very heavily influenced by in my teens way before I ever started training, I've just always loved his aesthetic.
Are you currently working on any new exciting projects?
I want to start a new self portrait soon. I try to do one annually. This time I want to make it a little strange and fun. There are a few collaborations with other makers I also have in the works for a possible solo show way in the future which I am really excited about.
Why do you think art is important in society
Art reflects society, educates, documents history, evokes, demonstrates skill or something new. It can take you out of your current state of mind, there is a reason it is used in some therapies. Whether you do it or just admire it, it’s again a universal language. Art creates human connection.
