Meet the Artist | Interview with Georgina Harris | DegreeArt.com The Original Online Art Gallery

Meet the Artist | Interview with Georgina Harris

Georgina Harris is a painter based in the North-West of England. Georgina works outside in oil paints, to portray her ‘lived experience’ of being in a forest. The abstract brushstrokes describe her external senses and her internal experience of an environment. Georgina’s work aims to expose the mystical traditions surrounding British forests, but she hopes the colourful, abstract style of her work also invites the viewer to not take the paintings too seriously! Instead the viewer can play with finding their own meaning in the paintings. Fundamentally, Georgina attempts to challenge what our local parks and forests mean to us, and she works towards art that encourages a symbiotic connection to these spaces.

1) Which art movement do you consider most influential on your practice?

Abstract Expressionism.
 
2) Where do you go and when to make your best art?
 
My best art always comes from committing to regular time in my art studio. In the studio I can focus without any distractions, and do all the prep work for painting outside. Painting outside, or ‘en plein air’, is where I actually do most of my painting and drawing. This is where I think I make my best art, and I do this all year round, in almost any weather!
 
3) How do you describe your 'creative process'?
 
A crucial part of my creative process is seeing art and reading about art really regularly. I then process everything I’ve seen or read about by writing on my blog, making sculptures and painting outside. I’ll evaluate what I’ve made through writing, and then repeat the whole process. 
 
 
 
4) Which artist, living or deceased, is the greatest inspiration to you?
 
The abstract portrait painter Howard Hodgkins. I saw an exhibition of his work on a whim at the National Portrait Gallery a few years ago, and was blown away by how his painting was so abstract but also so emotionally impactful. His work has continued to be relevant to my practice ever since then. 
 
5) If you weren't an artist, what would you do?
 
That’s a difficult question because I couldn’t see myself doing anything else! If I had to choose, I think I would study as an architect.
 
6) What do you listen to for inspiration?
 
Lots and lots of podcasts. My favourites are the ‘Serpentine Podcast’ and the ‘Savvy Painter Podcast’. 
 
 
7) If you could own one artwork, and money was no object, which piece would you acquire?
 
David Hockney’s painting ‘Late Spring Tunnel’. 
 
8) If your dream museum or collection owner came calling, which would it be?
 
The Serpentine Gallery in London. 
 
9) What is your key piece of advice for artists embarking on a fine art or creative degree today?
 
Be open to trying new things, you might not get another chance to experiment so freely again. And, always make sure everything you make is for you and your art practice, not just for getting grades. That way, when you graduate you’ll be set up to keep on working. 
 
10) What is your favorite book of all time (fiction or non fiction)?
 
‘2001: A Space Odyssey’. The book deals with such vast ideas of space and time, it really blew me away. 
 
11) If you could hang or place your artwork in one non traditional art setting, where would that be?
 
I would love to exhibit my work outside, in the same place each painting was made. That way the viewer could see the painting in its own context. 
 
 
12) What was the biggest lesson your university course or time studying taught you?
 
It’s important that my work is backed up by academic reading and theory. This gives my work more depth and sustainability.
 
13) And finally, if we were to fast forward 10 years, where would we find you?
 
I hope you would find me healthy and fulfilled, with a flourishing artistic career and a happy home life. 
 
 
       
 

Learn more about Georgina and discover her collection of paintings. 

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