Saatchi Online’s SHOWDOWN, our online tournament for artist’s, had close to 3000 entries. We interviewed some of the top finalists who told us about themselves and their experiences.
Revival 2 by Paul Bennett
Tell us what inspired this piece you submitted for SHOWDOWN?
PB: The painting “Revival 2″ was created after a visit to a remote beach on the West Coast of Scotland, just as summer was turning into autumn. The sun was trying to break through a cloud, heavy with rain, a couple of hours before it set for the day. The painting was based on my powerful memories of this experience, rather than any sketches or photography. The objective is to draw the viewer in to experience the turbulent and tranquil skies, and ferocious and placid seas – simultaneously.
Eva VWTII by Richard Brocken
Tell us what inspired this piece you submitted for SHOWDOWN?
RB: It is a photograph I made of my daughter Eva when she was sitting in our old Volkswagen camper in which we travelled a couple of years through Europe. I like the deep melancholic feeling, rain slithering down the window, encouraging this atmosphere of a deep sadness.
What advice would you give to other artists?
RB: Stay away from photographic rules.
How To Erase the Footprints by Walter Gam
Tell us what inspired this piece you submitted for SHOWDOWN?
WG: Recreate senses from a ordinary action. Change contexts. Explore concepts. My video ‘How To Erase the Footprints’, shows a girl sweeping the floor, infinitely. Deleting and leaving footprints.
Tell us about a typical day for you.
WG: It involves working or researching something for my pieces, many books, vegetarian food… Art, art and art…
- Shaft of Light by Pilvari Nosfe Pirtola
Please tell us about yourself:
I live and work in Helsinki, Finland. I was raised in an artist family that has been involved in the art world. Besides doing visual arts, I have worked in the field of experimental music and sound arts since the mid 90s, most notably with the group Grey Park. Currently, I am working for towards an exhibition of infrared photography opening in the early 2011.
Tell us what inspired this piece you submitted for SHOWDOWN?
PNP: The inspiration for the painting comes from the music I listen to while painting. My SHOWDOWN entry “Shaft of Light” was inspired by the album “He Has Left Us Alone But Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corner of Our Rooms” by A Silver Mount Zion
Valerie by Iliana Tosheva
Tell us about a typical day for you.
IT: My typical day is pretty hectic. I split my time between painting and photography and fashion designing/hand weaving.
When did you know you were an artist?
IT: At the age of 7 when I tried (and failed) to ‘produce’ some paints of my own. The result was a huge mess that angered my grandmother (for a very short while).
What kind of training did you receive?
IT: I have MA in Fine Arts (Sofia, Bulgaria, 1992) and I have attended a course in drawing at Central Saint Martins School of Art and Design (2009-2010).
Rainy Oxford Street by Eva Czarniecka
Tell us what inspired this piece you submitted for SHOWDOWN?
EC: I have always been close to Nature, as a result, the natural environment has been reflected onto my canvasses. My work is inspired by nature and designed to invoke the feelings of calmness and serenity. The Rain is an inspiration. It is an ideal of balance, clarity and purity found in our beautiful, enchanted world. I like to paint beach scenes, people and cities.
Withdrawn: Only to Contemplate Further by Jemma Grundon
Please tell us about yourself:
JG: I was born on 10th January 1985. I work and live in Bristol, England, from a studio at Jamaica Street Artist Studios. My work concerns the landscape and the evocative nature of the world we live in. I do not depict the real landscapes of our world, but the imaginary ones, the ones we travel to in our wildest and scariest dreams. In my work the landscape is used as a metaphor for an ever-changing and unpredictable world. I want the viewer to be enchanted and absorbed by my paintings, as if they were caught up in the moment of a tumultuous storm or sublime dream.
The Jump by Fotini Hamidieli
Tell us what inspired this piece you submitted for SHOWDOWN?
FH: I was simply drawing cups and saucers flying about. I wanted them to float forming a mass, and was wondering what would be that little thing which would make the whole composition ‘’take off’’. The image of a female figure on a swing letting herself go was an image that released me and drove me to do a series of drawings with masses of kitchen crockery piled up against this usually frail female who is trying to feel free on her swing.
Clouds & Sky by Rikke Laursen
Tell us what inspired this piece you submitted for SHOWDOWN?
RL: Before I start a piece of work, I am usually inspired by certain colours that I want to have a dominant position in the painting. In this work, I wanted the colours to be blue, green, white and black – and all other colours are then added as I go along. In this painting, I also wanted a more “rough” touch to it, than what I usually paint. I wanted to try to be more intuitive and rough in my use of black and grey. Normally I am very careful when I use these colours- but in this painting they are used in a more loose or random way which was my intention. In this painting I had a clear intention of what the composition should be.
The Ripper`s time by Dan Lavric
Tell us what inspired this piece you submitted for SHOWDOWN?
DL: That night, it was a cold, foggy night in November. I was just coming back home passing that deserted street at 11.30pm. Luckily, the camera was with me together with a monopod when I saw that man in the distance. So I decided to make the capture. I fixed the camera, set up the monopod and I shot it.
When did you know you were an artist?
DL: It wasn’t a specific moment. You accumulate the craft gradually by trying to get a style.
Winter by Richard van Mensvoort
Please tell us about yourself:
RVM: I was born in 1972 and, as a child, was obsessed with drawing anything that caught my eye. I studied Advertising and Presentation to make a career as a visualiser for a number of advertising agencies before I got restless and decided to travel the world. Somewhere between Australia and Malaysia he realised that painting was his calling. As a modern impressionist, I capture every day life in oil. I live and work in the scenic Dutch village Megen, but I consider the world as my playground.
Buscar los Paraisos by Giordano Vaquero Campo
Tell us what inspired this piece you submitted for SHOWDOWN?
GVC: This picture belongs to the series “The library of Dr. Faustus” I represent the continuing dissatisfaction of the human being in search of utopia.
What advice would you give to other artists?
GVC: Patience, perseverance and not get discouraged by failure.
Saatchi Online is currently accepting new submissions for the next SHOWDOWN. Voting starts Dec. 23. To enter your work into SHOWDOWN, go to http://saatchionline.com/showdown
And when you walked away from it and stood in the dark – where did the boxes, circles and angles go : did they direct your dreams and add definition to you confused life? Of course not – you missed half of the details, disregarded uninterpretated emotion of singular entities; and , cannot remember any colors or forms. You are blessed and in peace.
AND WHEN I AM DONE: YOUR FOOT SHALL BE A SHELL:
YOUR BRAIN WILL BE TEXTURED WITH DETAIL:
SCIENCE WILL AGAIN MEET ART;
AND THE PUDDLES AT YOUR FEET WILL BE THE
PATTERNS OF DIFFERENTIAL CURRENCY YOU DO NOT:
COMPREHEND : AND IN THE LACK OF COMPREHESION OF CURRENCY AND HUMANITY WE HAVE CREATED THE EVERLASTING PIECE OF ART.
I AM CELTIC SEEKING SILENCE WHEN I ARRIVE HOME. MANY
INTELLIGENT PEOPLE SPARE SPEECH., LIMIT INTRODUCTION TO THOUGHT AND SPARE ACTIVITY FOR BRIGHT LIGHTS OF INTELLIGENCE.