Anthea Williams

Please can you give me an introduction about yourself

I am a London based artist, creating drawings and paintings. I studied sculpture at Wimbledon College of Arts (UAL), and went on to achieve a Master of Arts from the Royal College of Art in London. Having always valued the practice of depicting form through drawing, in the last five years I have moved away from sculpture and explored painting in oil and acrylic. To develop my skills into painting, I studied at The Heatherley School of Fine Art in London under the tuition of members of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters.

What inspired you to do art?

My passion for creativity started as a child when I would spend hours drawing, knitting, painting, sewing, constructing, collaging – it didn’t matter what, as long as I was making something. As a teenager I attended ceramics classes at Camden Art Centre, gaining enough experience to teach the artist led workshops. Having amazing art teachers has inspired me to work as an artist educator in galleries, schools and art colleges, alongside my art practice.

Describe your creative process; from start to finish of one of your works. Where do you find your inspiration?

My current work is figurative and from observation, therefore the sitter is the main inspiration. In addition, exhibitions and books are a great source, inspiring me to try a new palette of colours or composition. When planning a painting, the choices I make will be based on how much time I have, the scale of the piece and the materials I am using. I start by painting with one colour and a smallish brush, to establish the composition and proportions. Next, I paint in the big areas of tone and then add colour, working across the whole painting until it is done.

What is your favourite piece of work that you have created and why?

My favourite pieces of work are the ones where the marks seem to happen by chance, but are in fact just enough to explain the image without excess visual information.

Who is your favourite artist and why? Do they have an influence on your work?

I am inspired by so many artworks that I have seen here and abroad. I am particularly interested in artists who connect with the human condition and express a rawness in their work. When studying, I was greatly influenced by seeing Michelangelo sculptures in Rome, Elisabeth Frink Goggle Head sculptures, and the Francis Bacon Triptych in Tate Britain. Currently, the interest and debate around figurative art means there are lots of fantastic shows on, featuring artists past and present.

How do you know when a painting/drawing is finished?

I trust myself to sense when enough information has been given in an artwork for it to be finished. This means knowing what to include and what to leave out. When working from observation, the picture ends when the subject is no longer there. For instance, when the portrait sitter leaves!

Do you get attached to your paintings? Is it hard to part with your paintings?

When depicting someone whom I don’t know well, I get attached to the picture as an object, but I don’t mind parting with it. However, if I’m painting someone who I am close to, I have an emotional attachment to the picture, so would be much less likely to part with it.

What do you think makes your work unique?

The uniqueness of my work is the capturing of the moment when the picture is being created. Each work is dependent on the elements present at the time, such as the sitter, setting and lighting. The intense focus involved when working from life creates a dynamic situation, and I paint in a state of conscious decision making and intuition. My aim is to produce work combining accuracy with alive and sensitive mark-making.

What is the greatest piece of advice that you have been given as an artist?

The greatest piece of advice I have been given is to treat making art as an investigation, so that when you start a piece you do not know how it will look at the end of the creative process.

What has been your biggest achievement so far?

As one thing builds on another, I’m not able to select a biggest achievement. At the RCA I received the Henry Moore Scholarship and did a residency at Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris. I have success in selling work and exhibiting, including at Whitworth Young Contemporaries, The Tub Hackney, Highgate Contemporary, Barbican Library and with The London Group. As an educator, my achievement is sharing my knowledge and skills to enable others to enjoy and use visual language. My approach to having a creative life is a commitment to maintaining a practice of making art, and challenging myself to look more, in order to see more.

Why do you think art is important in society?

I believe that art is important in society as it is an interpretation of the world, which helps us to look again at our surroundings and to address issues in society. Art stimulates creative thinking and encourages us to ask questions and to imagine what might be possible. I think our environments are enhanced by art and our wellbeing benefits when we engage with making art.

http://www.antheawilliams.co.uk