Beyond MA Painting - dreams, goals, hopes and ambitions
My MA Painting experience has been an intense and full of chalenges. I feel accomplished and honoured to be able to say I was part of the Camberwell College of Arts institution. I will be eternally grateful to my family, in particular to my father, for having helped me throughout these last months, always encouraging me to keep fighting for my dreams.
But now it's time to think about the future. As MA finishes I want to take the reins of my art career and practise, sustain myself as an artist and eventually be able to spend most of my working time in my future studio. However, there are steps I need to take in order to achieve that. I believe it will take a while, but as long as I keep my goals as my priorities I'll be closer to it.
So, after some consideration, I decided to split my post MA objectives into three groups, as a way to prioritize between those I can immediately accomplish and those that will take more time.
Short term objectives - what I can do immediately after my MA finishes;
Middle term objectives - the objectives I can try to accomplish somewhere in a near future, in some months;
Long term objectives - objectives I have for a more distant future, however, these are very important to keep attached to and never let go;
Continuous objectives - these I can continuously do since the moment I finish my MA, not being conditioned by other responsibilities I may get along the way. They are important because they can help both middle and long term objectives being acomplished.
Short term objectives
1 - Find a studio and a financial way to sustain my daily art practice
My top priority as soon as I leave MA is to keep my regular artistic practice. In order to do that, I will need to find a studio in London as well as a financial way to sustain both rent and art supplies. I will need to find a job, ideally related to the art world, that wouldn't be as time consuming as a full time, in order to be able to make the most of studio time. However, finding an art related job might be difficult, so if needed, I will have to work in a different sector. Above all, I need to "buy" my studio practice time.
Some art jobs and non art jobs related websites:
Regarding the studio, I have some MA colleagues who also will be looking for a studio space so my intention is to share a space with one or more of them. However, if I find a more suitable place in, for example, a shared community of artists, I wouldn't mind that as well. It must be affordable in terms of price, and the bigger space I can find the better.
Here are some websites that help me find a good studio place.
2 - Develop and invest in my social media and digital presence
Besides keeping my art practise routine, developing my social media and digital media is also one step I can immediately start to take as soon as I finish my MA. Throughout these past years I focused my attention mainly on Instagram and Facebook. I was able to gather some viewings to my work, as well as some financial return through sales and commissions. However, in order to develop that further, I need to look for alternatives that can make the digital presence of my work grow even more.
One example is my website. I will use the one developed during my MA and adapt it to a professional audience, although I believe it is close to those standards.
I'll explore patreon website (https://www.patreon.com/), a platform that helps freelance creatives, which includes artists, on getting financial support of fans through a monthly membership
I need to add new and more varied content to my blog (https://gorillacave.blogspot.com/) such as webcomics or written journal entries.
Allocate all my digital pages in one place, linktree (https://linktr.ee/), a very easy and free way to gather all the links one may have such as Instagram, Website, blog….
Develop my online shop using the website Redbubble (https://www.redbubble.com/). Again, this might be an opportunity to have another font of financial support.
Middle term objectives
3 - Look for artistic residencies opportunities in the Uk or outside the uk
I’ve always been attracted to the idea of participating in art residencies. Not only is a way to develop close relationships with other artists and share knowledge and ideas with them, it's also a way to visit other countries. Besides some events I help organize in my hometown in Portugal, namely “RAS '' (Santarém’s Artistic Residency) I never truly had one experience of being part of an artistic residency experience. However, by watching some of the MA Painting presentations and examples of artists who participated , namely Alicia Paz, I now feel even more attracted to that idea.
With that in mind, after I can establish myself in London, I will start to look for the opportunity of being part of an art residency project by responding to open calls or sending proposals according to what might be required. Ideally, I would like to go without the need to finance my participation, but if a good opportunity comes and I have the financial resources for that I would go.
Here are some websites that might help me on finding a suitable opportunity:
Long term objectives
4 - Apply to a phd
Before doing an MA in Painting, which has been an objective I had for years, I never really thought about the possibility of doing a PHD. However, my experience studying in Camberwell led me to connect and understand my artistic practice much more deeply than I anticipated. Besides that, during some of the perspective talks I had the opportunity to assist during the year I was able to witness other PHD students’ experiences and understand that although a PHD being an academic route, It can focus tremendously on the development of the art practice, opening new and exciting perspectives. I believe that comes from the constant questioning and knowledge sharing an institution can provide something that back in Portugal I felt I needed.
This, however, is a long term objective. In terms of knowledge I feel I am not ready yet to apply to a PHD. I need at least one or two years to consolidate concepts and research on many levels. Besides that, at the moment I lack both financial support and artistic maturity, both issues I need to work on. When I finally apply, I will need to find some sort of funding or scholarships. It is, however, an objective I intend to pursue, one that needs time to maturrate, and attainable only when I finally feel finally ready to.
5 - Be financially sustainable only from my artwork
I believe this is an ambition shared by any artist who truly loves his work. Despite the frustrations and step backs, in the end our home is our studio. So, to be financially independent solely through developed artwork is my last but most important goal.
Evidently there are many ways to achieve that, but none is easy. Some basic rules, in my opinio, and from my still limited experience, essential.
Discipline and honesty with my art practice are crucial. I must commit myself to spend as much time in the studio as possible, even if that means sacrificing leisure time or similar kinds of activities.
Never being afraid to try new approaches to art, being those through art projects, residencies, exhibitions among others. Also never stop trying to approach art prizes, open calls, galleries, or similar opportunities. Most likely there will be many more rejections than acceptances so I need to be prepared for that.
Being socially active in what concerns building a network with other people who navigate the same artworld. This, however, doesn't necessarily mean the sometimes called “social climbing” or obligation to be in show openings and similar situations which, to be honest, I hate. It is, however, very important to support other artists, friends or not friends, whose work is interesting and worth sharing. Never being afraid to be generous with positive reactions is a very important step, in my opinion, to develop a strong network of peers. So being socially active can be a positive thing.
The fact is that there is not one single direction or path to follow in what concerns building an art career. Sometimes one just needs to be in the right place at the right time. But objectively, the chances are greater if we chase that right place more often. So I will never, never, stop trying.
Continuous objectives
A - Cultivate a sense of community among a group of friends and artists with whom I can keep exchange ideas and develop other projects
B - Look for opportunities for open calls, prizes, group exhibitions in order to be able to show my work as much as possible
There are many websites which are constantly being updated with these tipe of opportunities. .
C .- Explore new ideas, deepen my technical and conceptual art knowledge, keep drawing
Plans for the future: Graphic novels and Mural art painting
Throughout my MA I had the opportunity to try different approaches to my art practice. Although painting and drawing kept being the core techniques I dealt with, others like printmaking, ceramics, or digital painting gave me the possibility to understand how important is versatility and trying new things.
With that in mind, and also looking back at my earlier years as an artist, I came up with two ideas I feel I can explore again in a near future with more confidence, being those graphic novels and mural/ street art.
Graphic novels
One of the biggest influences I had when I was younger were comic books. Honestly, that passion never truly abandoned me and I believe that my art practice shares some influences regarding this particular language.
These last few years, even if I did some work more strongly connected to comic books or graphic novels, my mais focus has been painting and drawing. And the fact that I never truly had a strong enough story or defined art style that was adequate to create a graphic novel made me reticent about the idea on the idea of taking this practice further.
Now, however, after the exposure MA gave us to a varied range of artists and art practices, I feel I’m ready to give this particular interest another try in order to have my own book. Also, with my drawing practice being much stronger now, particularly because I cultivated this habit of daily using my sketchbook, I believe that also may be a helpful tool.
In the meantime, however, I need to be aware of some important steps that might help me accomplish this idea.
Firstly, get a stronger connection and knowledge regarding the particularities of the graphic novels language. This means regaining my comic books reading habits while paying attention to the narrative and to integrate it with the images, my biggest gap.
Here are some authors and publication who might be important to research:
Art Spiegelman (Maus)
Alan Moore (V for Vendetta, Watchmen…)
Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi
Frank Miller (300, Sin City…)
Will Eisner
Mark Millar (Kick Ass, Batman…)
Hugo Pratt (Corto Maltese…)
It would also be important to understand how the comic book tradition varies depending on the country and respective culture. In America, France, Belgium, Japan, comic books are strongly connected to their people’s reading habits while also exploring lesser known graphic novel traditoens in other countries.
Besides this research aspect, I need to understand what technical aspects suit my art style better. Should I use colour or only black ink? Traditional mediums or digital?
Finally, to look for publishing companies either in the UK or Portugal. That also raises the question, should I write in Portuguese or English? Something to be debated along the writing process.
Here is a list of publishing companies in the UK and Portugal who might be useful.
United Kingdom:
Myriad editions (https://myriadeditions.com/)
Penguin books (https://www.penguin.co.uk/genres/children/genres/graphic-novels-comics.html)
(Bloobsburrry) ( https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/fiction/graphic-novels/)
Book Baby (https://www.bookbaby.com/)
Dead Star Publishing (https://deadstarpublishing.co.uk/submissions/)
Portugal
Kingpin Books (https://kbportugal.pt/)
Tinta da China (https://tintadachina.pt/)
Devir (https://editoradevir.pt/)
Porto Editora (https://www.portoeditora.pt/produtos/lista/banda-desenhada/8066x5839x18001)
There is another realm of opportunities, eventually even cheaper, and that can be useful to understand how the audience reacts to my work, the internet.
Here are some websites of free comic book and graphic novel stories as well as shorter webcomics where It is possible to publish work for free.
Webcomic app (https://www.webcomicsapp.com/)
Comic Book Plus (https://comicbookplus.com/)
Comixology (https://www.comixology.com/free-comics)
There isn't a straightforward way in order to publish a comic book. However, some things I surely need to atend. Above all, I understand what type of story and graphic style I feel comfortable with. After that, it's a matter of keep trying.
Mural Art/ Street Art
With the way I worked scale and immersiveness in some of my MA works, the idea of mural painting and street art kept coming to my mind.
It's a fact I enjoy working with scale. Being able to produce my paper works and charcoal drawings gave me that certainty. Back in Portugal I did try some approaches to wall painting and street art, although I felt I was still looking for my art signature and these works felt incomplete.
Mural Art/ Street Art
With the way I worked scale and immersiveness in some of my MA works, the idea of mural painting and street art kept coming to my mind.
It's a fact I enjoy working with scale. Being able to produce my paper works and charcoal drawings gave me that certainty. Back in Portugal I did try some approaches to wall painting and street art, although I felt I was still looking for my art signature and these works felt incomplete.
These can either be in London or outside. There are many opportunities, and eventually, getting near to artists who work mainly with this type of art might also be useful. So eventually, social media is a good way to approach them.
With that in mind, it's a matter of understanding if the best way to work on street art/ mural art is to find specific opportunities either through open calls or create my own proposals and present them to an institution who might finance it. It requires, however, some research in order to understand that.
Anyway, it's an area I intend to explore, alongside my main studio practice.
References
Spiegelman, A. (1980). Maus : a survivor's tale. New York :Pantheon Books
Moore, A.; & Gibbons, D. (1987) Watchmen. New York: Warner Books
Miller, F., & Varley, L. (1999) 300. New York: Dark Horse Comics
Miller, F., & Varley, L. (2011) Kick Ass. New York: Marvel Comics
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário