I had the privilege of interviewing the talented artist Hannah Adamaszek:

 

1. Tell us a bit about yourself…

I love painting and people so I combine both together. I manage to put a serene feeling into the work which I guess reflects my personality and I think brings out the things I love, that feeling of being outside and in the mountains. I also love the native Indian dress and jewelry, which I’ve started trying to combine. If I don’t have a painting on the go I get a bit restless so that keeps me going.

I’ve loved art since I was young, and always been drawing and painting since I can remember. My Dad was always painting too which was a big inspiration whilst I was growing up. I remember entering art competitions and drawing animals through out Primary school. From there I carried on drawing at school and college, and really started getting into painting when I did the Foundation course. It was great drawing everyday and trying different things with no pressure, I think I really got my style from my college days.

2. Did you study art or are you self-taught?

I studied art at West Kent College where I did a foundation course.  It was great to use so many mediums and do life drawing once a week, which really helped me learn.  It was there that I learnt photography and worked taking pictures with street performers an the homeless.  I was painting a lot too, and my style really started to develop.  I then went on to Bournemouth to do a fine art degree, but didn’t learn anything new there. Once I finished my degree I stopped painting for about 5-6 years.

3. How would you describe your work in one sentence?

It is stripped down to the basics and raw, yet is serene.

4. Looking at your work, I feel that there is an influence of Native America in your work? Is this the case?

Yeah for sure, I love the native Indians.  When I was younger my Dad painted a lot of them and I think that’s where the influence has come from.  I have some old books with photos of the different tribes and the way they lived, costume, rituals and ceremonies.  I love how they lived from the land and how everything had a purpose. They seem to live in the present moment.

5. What kind of music do you listen to and does it have any influence on your work?

I like all sorts of music, so it depends what mood I’m in.  Lately I’ve been listening to Kid Koala, Kyson and Kita, so bit of a mix.  I’m lucky enough to have some very talented friends and am working with them on some artwork.  I’ve recently filmed with Toby Kennedy doing a piece for his EP release in May.  We are using the video of me painting as a video for his Harmonne track.  The painting was influenced by the song and work together as one collaboration.

I’m also working on some album artwork for Kyson, with the album being released in September.  Its been great to have some focus and make work specific to music.

6. Do you look at what other artists are doing and is it a good idea to compare your work to others?

I’m always on the look out for art that I like.  I love artists like Conor Harrington, Anthony Lister, Etam Cru and older artists like Francis Bacon and Toulouse Lautrec.  I never like to compare my work to anyone else’s.  I think its important to look for influences outside of art, to keep work fresh and new.

7. I know that you are quite inspired by street art and that it plays a large part in your work. What is the appeal of street art as opposed to fine art?

Street art is brilliant because its so accessible.  I got to check out some of Anthony Listers work when I was up in London last.  Plus the paintings are huge.  Its great to see work that’s been made for a certain space.  I’d love to see some more ROA work on my travels next.  Art in the streets isn’t made for selling, so its much truer to the artist.

8. A while ago, you painted one of your women onto a billboard. How long did that piece take to create and did you enjoy working on such a large scale?

I painted the Brandalism piece on a smaller canvas, then we printed out the picture to fit a billboard and the guys went and pasted loads up around the UK as part of an anti advertising campaign.  But I love to work large scale.  This year I’m hoping to paint a big wall or a building.

9. When studying art a few years ago, I was taught that you should never draw or paint from a photograph as it makes the drawing or painting look flat. Do you agree with this?

I prefer to draw from life, but unless you want to make something look true to life I think it doesn’t matter.  It really depends on what you want from your painting.

10. What is your favorite image you have created and why?

I think the most popular piece I have done is Aztec. I’ve had a lot of really positive feedback from people on the look and feel of the work. It’s one that had its challenges as I was painting … There may be at least three other versions of it underneath, but I enjoyed this one a lot. I did it not long after coming back from a skiing trip and was really relaxed whilst painting it; I think my mood often comes through in the piece.  I love this quote by Scott Jurek, I think this sums up how I feel about this painting.

 What I was often chasing was a state of mind – a place where worries that seemed monumental melted away, where the beauty and timelessness of the universe, of the present moment, came into sharp focus.”

11. You use quite a range of materials in your work and you have dabbled with photography in the past, but how important do you think photography is to art?

The love of photography for me came from documentary and war correspondence.  A real way to see what is really happening in the world.  I find photography more important to document rather than for its artistic qualities, but I don’t dismiss it, its just what interests me more.

12.  What is your opinion the current commercialism and popularity of street art? Do you think that selling street art in galleries somewhat takes away the essence of it?

Street art is something I love, and have seen more now from its popularity.  But I don’t like how advertising is cashing in on artists, mimicking their styles to make money when the artist gets nothing.  Selling in a gallery is different, for the artist to make a living doing something that they love it is a positive.  The artist still has the option to make art in the streets, it really depends what they want.

13.  How do you keep yourself motivated to keep creating images?

I love to paint so it’s not too hard to get motivated.  Its great starting something new and never really being sure where its going to take you.   I find pinterest a really great tool to get inspired and usually start on there getting the feeling or picking a few shapes to get started with.  Running helps me focus on my art too, just getting outside and switching off makes ideas appear.

14.  How do you market yourself?

I’m really lucky to be working with some amazing galleries, and they do a lot of the promoting for me.  I joined up to instagram, twitter, facebook and pinterest too and post some process shots up there.  I’ve also written to a few companies to see where we can work together and have had a positive response from doing that.  There is so much I can learn in marketing, especially in social media.

15.  What do you think your art says about you?

I think everyone has bit of a dark side. I think my rebellious side comes out in my work and my influence from my punk years. In the past I’ve tried to take this part out of my work, but it never works, now I just work with it. I don’t think people realised I had a dark side until they saw my paintings.

16.  Who is your favorite artist and why?

Its hard to pick just one artist, there are so many great artists out there.  I’m really into Conor Harrington, I love the way he uses paint and layers the painting.  Remi Rough is a huge favorite too, the composition of his paintings and the colors he uses are amazing.  It’d be great to have a Remi Rough painting in my flat.  Another abstract artist I’m loving is Kristin Gaudio Endlsley.  We’ve started to collaborate over the past few months, she has an awesome ability to put colour and texture together.

17.  I particularly like your image entitled “Brandalism”. Can you talk a bit about the image and the story behind creating it?

The Brandalism project was designed to attack the destructive impact of the advertising industry.  The event has been hijacked by advertising execs imposing often farcical branding regulations throughout the 17 day event.

In a direct response to this and the often ill-considered suggestions made in advertising relating to body image and wellbeing, I used my billboard space in Bristol to show the contrast of nature against the decay and unnaturally underweight models. The blending of street art and fine art flavors helping to force the point home.  The use of underweight models in advertising is putting pressure on us imitate them as advertising emphasizes being underweight as standard.  They lure us into an unhealthy lifestyle promoting eating disorders. I wanted to make a picture like the fashion and cosmetic ads that’d I’d seen, pulling people in with the model surrounded by an excessively pretty environment.

I chose to take part in the Brandalism project because I was inspired by its aim to address the destructive role of the advertising industry on society. I hope that Brandalism can help initiate discussion and social change around a range of issues.

18.  What is the hardest part about being an artist?

 It’s a lot of hard work and you have to be a jack of all trades if you want to get your work noticed.  I end up spending more time on social media and marketing than I do painting at the moment.

19.  Do you have any advice for aspiring artists?

Just keep at it and don’t be put off by the rejections.  If you keep on going at it something will come about and who knows what will happen from there.