ARTIST INTERVIEW: Michael Youds
Michael Youds
Tell me about yourself, what inspired you to become an artist?
I went to art college in Blackburn, Lancashire, in the late 90s early 2000s. I really enjoyed it as it was very traditional. It mainly focused on painting, life drawing and studio practice. We also went to the pub a lot!
Probably, one of your most well known portraits is ‘I was blue, he was red’,why is this piece important to you? How did you come up with the concept and composition?
I'm also a twin and decided to do a painting of me and my brother David (who is also a painter), tilted 'I was Blue he was Red'. It's based on the colours our parents chose for us when we were very little to tell us apart. I'm a fan of David Hockey's early double portraits so the composition is loosely based on those.
I was Blue, he was Red
What do you think is the key to getting a likeness in portraiture?
Concentrate on the shapes and tone in the face and the likeness will come. Don't worry about the thing as a whole. You can always add extra details later if needed.
Tell me about your process for creating the award winning ‘Labour of Love’ painting, describe your creative process. How long did the painting take you to create?
My painting, ‘Labour of Love’ was quite an unusual one for me, as I normally paint people quite close to me other than the odd commission.
I used to walk past Tommy's music shop regularly and thought it would make a great subject. One day I plucked up the courage to ask him if he would like to be painted.
We agreed I would come back a few days later and take lots of reference photos while he was setting up his shop.
It took me around 10 months to complete.
I started off with a very detailed under drawing then added an acrylic wash over it to protect the drawing before finally starting in oils.
Labour Of Love
As well as portraiture, you also do still lifes, what do you find fascinating about the action figures which appear frequently in these paintings?
When I want a break from portraiture, I tend to do some still life painting. The action figures were a bit of fun and probably one of the few times that I've tried to make work commercially. I also have a full-time job so I can afford to pick and choose what I want to paint, without worrying if my work will sell or not.
Who is your favourite artist? If they were sat next to you right now, what would you ask them?
They say you should never meet your heroes but working in a gallery I've been lucky enough to meet a few artists that I greatly admire. Jenny Saville, Celia Paul, Peter Blake, Alison Watt among others. I tried to keep it professional when talking to them because I was aware I was in work and didn't want to scream at them ‘I'm your biggest fan!’. Also meeting Tai Shan Schierenberg on Sky Portrait Artist Of The Year was great as well.
Has art helped you in other areas of your life?
I know this sounds terrible, but I probably wouldn't have been interested in art if I wasn't good at it. So, I do feel I have been very lucky that way. I sometimes think my friends who aren't into art are really missing out on something.
Labour Of Love
What are your greatest achievements/challenges as an artist?
I've only recently had some success. I finished art school in 2004. In 2019 I won my first big prize, 1st prize in The Scottish Portait Awards and in 2020 I went on to win 3rd prize in the BP Portrait Awards.
Even if I hadn't won these prizes, I'd still be painting as it's something I've always done since leaving school. When I haven't been painting for a while, I feel agitated and can't wait to get back to it.
Recently, I had my painting of Tommy added to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery's collection which was massive for me and also a little strange because I work for the Scottish National Galleries as a gallery attendant.
Why do you think art is important in society?
I think art is a great visual record of the time that we are living in. And it can help make people notice things that they don't/won't always see.
