ZR Southcombe - I am an artist

Proudly supported by:

Jonathon Hagger & Amanda Staley

In collaboration with:

Anna Simpson, Jane Thorne, Andrew Black, Catherine Warren & Megan Murphy

This book is dedicated to:

Chris Mahan, one of the world's greatest supporters of art.

I AM AN ARTIST

PATREON EDITION

ABOUT THIS BOOK

T his book was born out of my own return to artmaking. As a child, I loved making stuff, whether that be painting or drawing or crafting (thanks, Mum!). By the time I finished highschool, I had plans to become an art teacher but it wasn't to be. I ended up withdrawing from art school and becoming a primary school teacher.

Fast forward a couple of years and I had stopped teaching full time to give my creative soul some nurturing. In 2014 the journey began with my first published book, What Stars Are Made Of . Midway through 2015, with three books under my wing, the itch to start painting returned. In the past, my work had been tailored to the education system; to grades and my interpretation of teacher expectations. Now, I was painting just for me.

What I discovered is that when I painted for me, people actually liked it. I also realised

that I didn't necessarily want the artist career that you're 'supposed' to dream about you

know, that tortured creative soul who waits to get discovered by the big galleries. If there's one thing I've learnt, it's that there's no one right way to do things and the less trodden path is so much more fun!

Throughout this book you'll find activities you can do, some personal experience from me, and advice from a range of real working artists Jane, Megan, Andrew and Catherine. I suggest that you read through the book completely first, and then use it as a reference tool when you're feeling stuck, or need a bit of inspiration.

One last note: You'll find a LOT of advice in this book, and from people you meet. More often than not, everyone is well-intentioned but at the end of the day you have to do what feels right for you. What I hope you'll find throughout this book is that each artist in here has a different process, purpose, and source of inspiration. I hope that you will be able to use this book as a starting point in your own journey of exploration, expression, experimentation & play.

Happy art making! - Zee xx

WHAT MAKES AN ARTIST?

A ccording to the dictionary , an artist is simply a person who creates art . So if you make art, then you are an artist. But... what is art? It's something that is created with imagination and skill that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feelings. That's a bit wordy, so let's break it down.

Something created with imagination means that it's not exactly how you would see it in the real world. Even a selfie is created with imagination you're making up a pose, considering what's in the background, and what you want to show. It might be a scene or event you remember, or maybe it's inspired from a movie you've seen.

Being skilled at something means you're good at it, so creating something with skill is rather subjective. Some good advice here is to do your best, keep improving, and let your audience worry about whether it's good or not! The second part of the definition the bit about expressing ideas or feelings is so much more important anyway.

For most people, it takes a while before we can embrace the title of being 'an artist'. It took me a long time to call myself a writer, too even though I had published books!

Jane says, Tell people you are and you will be e.g. I am an artist; I am an illustrator (I use both - its fun).

Megan sees it more as a way of life: I didn't become an artist, I have always been an artist. It is the way I express myself. Curiosity is the key; it is what drives you.

And just FYI... The modern English word art comes from the Old French word art , which in turn comes from the Latin artem which is a form of the Latin ars . Phew! Thats a long history for a short word. Heres the important bit. The Latin word ars means to join. And thats all art is, really. Its the joining of ideas, images, words, feelings - whatever! - to come together and create something new. So artists - let's get creating!

COMMUNICATION

C atherine puts it well when she says, Art is just a means of communication.

Art can be a way to help build awareness of important ideas like, in Catherine's case, global warming, feminism, or animal welfare. For Jane, it's about communicating the beauty of things people might usually find mundane, boring or creepy you'll see lots of creepy crawlies in her work!

M y own work is more about expressing feelings than ideas, and I find that people resonate with this. Sometimes it's nice to look at a painting and just feel good.

DO THIS: What do you want to communicate?

Think about what is important to you, no matter how small or big that might be, and how you might communicate this topic to other people through art.