Into the Artist's world with Orla Kane
Welcome to ‘Into the Artist’s world’.
Each month i will ask an artist who is teaching a class at STILL a few questions about themselves and their practise.
This month we have Glasgow based artist, Orla Kane....
Ellie - What are you reading at the moment?
Orla - I have had a couple of years where I've really struggled to finish any books but in the past couple of months I have finally gotten through a few with the last book I read is 'Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage' by Murikami and I have 'The Vegetarian' by Han Kang lined up to read next.
Ellie - When are you most creative? A certain time of day? Year?
Orla - I wish I could be picky about when I'm in the mood to make art, I struggle to turn it off so I'm quite good at any time I get in the studio (usually afternoons into evenings) to just get straight into making. I have always loved winter, I think the most inspiring days are cold, clear sky mornings, the past couple of weeks here (March) have been filled of them and it really gets me excited about heading into the studio.
Ellie - Who’s work inspires you and why?
Orla - Agnes Martin, Bridget Riley, Hayley Barker, Harald Sohlberg....
I have always loved both minimalism and intimate landscapes. With that being said I think the best inspiration is artists I know.
I'm fortunate to have shared a studio with my painting pal Joanna Holisz for a period of time last year, but even before that we used to occasionally do drawing and painting sessions in each other's spaces. I usually prefer to work alone but I love and appreciate our honest dialogue on each others' work and practice and it's always good to have a moan about everything too!
Ellie - What does this year look like for you? What are your intentions? Does it feel like a time of wintering or luminescence?
Orla - It has definitely been a long winter and I know everyone says it but the light and longer days makes a world of difference to my energy. Art wise I feel a bit hyper, I just want to work on everything at once- it's a nice feeling I want to make the most of it whilst the sentiment lasts.
Ellie - What’s an unexpected influence? Something which gave you a surprising jolt of creativity and stimulated your work?
Orla - Church windows! A couple of years ago I wanted to start drawing outside of a sketchbook and I started essentially doodling, squares, grids and colouring them in. At the time I lived opposite a building that used to be church and had a stunning flower shaped window, with soldered grids to keep in place the stained glass. I started drawing it habitually, I don't think it meant much at first but now I think of it as window into snippets of memories that inform my work. Like a quilt I remember, my great-aunt made for me when I was born, formed from triangles of ochre, red and deep blue framing flowers and teddy bears.
Ellie - Where have you been in the world that inspired your work? When have you had an adventure that fuelled your work? Where did you go? Who were you with? What did you do/why was it so interesting or stimulating?
Orla - I don't usually have a singular point of inspiration, I think my work is mainly fuelled by the drive to paint and draw and then I recognise glimpses of places I've been, experiences, colours... All together they are a bit like a map of an island. Rarely, a piece unintentionally transforms into somewhere I recognise. Last year I made a small painting called 'Winter in Douarnenez', it's a small village on the west coast of France that I visited on my first weekend on exchange during my 3rd year of art school. I spoke hardly any French and it was a Sunday so it was completely empty. It was a beautifully crisp day and the colour of the sea was so distinct, so when I saw that colour again in this painting I knew I had been here but in this version the browning leaves were snow falling against the deep background of sea green and glowing moon.
Ellie - What is your favourite medium to work in and why?
Orla - I love going between mediums, now I work half of my time in pencil and then will start painting afterwards. I prefer coloured pencils and oil, to me they feel like they have a lot of versatility, as I carry on with this approach to my practice I want my drawing to have elements that feel painterly and vice versa with my paintings, the two material definitely inspire both sides of my work.
Ellie - What motivates you to make your art?
Orla - I suppose I do it because it makes sense to me and it makes me happy, I think it's comforting knowing it will be a constant presence in my life in some form or other.
