Hello my reader and sorry for not writing in a while! I know being busy sounds like an excuse but I really do have so much to tell you now! This story though will be out of the studio and my comfort zone, so I hope you’ll appreciate my attempts.
This July I’ve gifted myself a day-trip to Nottingham – to sketch and enjoy the sun in urban vibes but also to visit a gallery. A gallery that soon will show a piece of my art but at that point, neither me or them knew that.
Everything started when my partner decided to go back to the roots of being a street graffiti artist. All the research for free walls to practice lead him to the Street art fest, organised by a volunteer driven gallery in Nottingham called ‘Surface’. After a friendly chat and a few emails, we were invited to paint a mural in the gallery itself. Bear in mind that when we visited the place, we had no idea that it’s even possible. My partner, like all of us, wanted to meet likeminded people, get inspired and learn more about various art opportunities, but one thing lead to another and just like that – we had a wall in a gallery to paint with the one condition to repaint it after the festival ends. It sounds sad in a way, but I found a solution, that will share with you later on. Then came the hard part – to come up with a project that will suit the space, the idea of the show and us, as artists. Yes, I say us. For a weekend I swapped the watercolours for acrylics and the paper for a big blank wall.
As artists, we have different approach and ideas but we knew from the beginning that we should combine our strengths – his graffiti letters with my animals. This was meant to be my third attempt to paint on a wall and both other times I painted cats and decided to stay true to myself choosing a cat theme again. Not that they are easy to paint, but carry the energy that can easily express me and my art, the meaning behind CatWell art and all I’ve been working for. If you want to see my progress painting on walls, you can check these videos here >
It was not an easy task to find the right reference of a cat though, as their poses can be really tricky. I wanted to exceed my previous murals and paint more than two cats, which takes time and dedication, not only for the painting itself but for the prepping part as well. I made a few sketches, to illustrate the idea how the cats will be positioned around the letters, even though I didn’t have letters to begin with. The written word, that the cats had to surround was easy to come up with, the name of the gallery – ‘Surface’. We both agreed on it, as it will be the first thing people will see entering the gallery, but the style, the shape and colour of the letters was a bigger challenge. And in situations like this, being a perfectionist like my partner is not really helpful. In other words – too many ideas, sketches and colours with less time to adapt and discuss them.
Finally we agreed on the word – Surface, divided in syllables, written vertically, surrounded by three cats, two in each side and one on top. And of course – my own cat has to be the one on top.
I have to admit that it’s an ambitious project to be finished in a weekend, as I don’t have much experience and couldn’t predict most of the obstacles in our way. It has its ups and downs working inside – no weather conditions can stop you, but you have to aerate the space and protect yourself and others, as we used spray paint. At least my partner did, I sticked to the acrylics. As for the colours of the letters we picked oranges and blues, to complement each other and the cats, I wanted to improvise a little, except on my cat Oscar, where I was determined to stick to his original fluff.
The first day was pretty emotional for me, as my brain couldn’t work on a bigger scale at the beginning. I was stuck in the ladder, trying to ignore everything around me, to be able to concentrate and mostly to stop myself from crying in public. Because the gallery was buzzing – artists bringing their pieces and volunteers making sure everything was right. After some progress on the cat came the first appreciative words and this gave me confidence to keep going. At one point a group of passing by people knocked on the window of the gallery, smiling, they drew hearts in the air and yelled how pretty my cats was. And yes, one tear escaped my right eye, but I was high in the ladder and nobody saw. At the end of this day I felt like I was hit with something hard. My whole body was in pain but still had this feeling in my heart that the things started to work out.
The second day was calmer, we were alone almost the whole day and focused on the task to finish it in time. I had to step out of the ladder, to leave my partner to do his job and had the opportunity to have a chat with a fellow artist. This made me thinking – art does not exist in a vacuum, communicating with other artists inspires you and leaves you with the feeling that you’re not alone.
I want to finish this with a few words about the vanishing art concept. Of course I would prefer my art to stay there forever, for as long as it cracks on the wall but there’s something enchanting in art, that won’t be there tomorrow or after two weeks. It reminds me of life, itself. It’s short but it leaves traces, changes other lives and stays in someone’s heart. But despite all that I still wanted to preserve this hard work in a way. So, I’ve documented the entire journey on YouTube, and I’ll be offering a print so you can take home a piece of this moment and keep the artwork alive beyond the wall, so stay tuned!
I am so grateful for the opportunity given us by ‘Surface’ gallery, for the patience and understanding of my partner and of course for all the smiles of random people I received during the process. Thank you, and you my reader for being here!
Stay creative!
Radost
