Chloe Gilbert Artist

I saw that Apple had put out a set of VR googles “Apple Vision Pro” that cost $3500. I’m slightly shocked at the cost and how awful they look. Toys for rich people.

It’s all terribly gauche.

I was working at my day job yesterday and didnt have time for painting, but in spare moments was thinking about what to paint for the future, and I’m pretty conflicted about that. I had an amazing idea two days ago about making something that was architectural and rococo but with Sci-if and fantasy elements. That ran out of steam about half a day later. Then I had some ideas about sticking with the knife painting and doubling down on the work that I had started way back in lockdown, to capture skies and light. And this is the crux of the matter. I am overrunning with ideas, but don’t have the time or the energy to attempt them all. Or the studio space. or a studio to have space in. This is a problem that will need a solution at some point.

Working out what to paint next is becoming a bigger and bigger issue for me though. If you have reference photos that you don’t mind me using to make a painting from please let me know. And if you have ideas for paintings that I should do also don’t hesitate to share that with me.

I really enjoy watching YouTube videos of other artists working, especially when they are talking about their work and what inspires them. But there is a danger when I watch the videos that I will, either consciously or unconsciously, begin to try and paint like them because that has inspired me. When I try to do that, my work suffers and I start to get depressed. And that is purely because I can’t possibly paint like them. I can only emulate them, and that will seem like a pale copy, and then I haven’t painted like me, from my heart.

Painting from your heart is the only way to progress as an artist. It is fun to watch other artists and learn from what they do, just so long as you don’t get carried away and try to be like them. To buy equipment and materials that they use in the vain hope that “the magic” that they have will somehow transfer to you is broken thinking. Of course you should learn from what they are doing, but then apply it in your work in your way, and not fall for the trap of trying to be like them.

When watching the videos of other artists, it is also important to listen to what they are saying as well as looking what they are doing. Often much more important. Listening really carefully is somewhat of a lost art these days, but if you can do it you will often pick up nuggets of pure golden information. Don’t just let the voice wash over you, listen to what they are saying.

Critically, what you have to do after watching these videos is to think about how you can use the things you have learned without slavishly copying or wanting to become the people you have watched. Make some notes about what you’ve learned. If the thing has inspired you so much that you have to grab your paints straight away and get to it, then that’s good! Just be careful to make sure that your are painting as you, and not as them.

The fear of facing a blank 'sheet of paper' is something that I should be used to as an artist. When it comes to painting, I have the advantage that I (usually) already know a fair bit about what I want to put on that paper, or canvas, or panel. By the time I get the paintbrushes and paint and palettes out I've either already done a sketch or a thumbnail, or I have an idea in my head of the direction of travel for the painting. But, when it comes to writing, I am at a disadvantage when compared to people who write a lot. I am unprepared, and struggle to put my thoughts in some semblance of order coherent enough to share.

My first thought was to reach for an AI to lay out a structure for me. The lazy approach. The stupid approach. I quickly grew out of that childish thought and started to write, heading off across uncharted territory, meandering towards my intended goal, that of writing a manifesto no less! Such a highbrow statement needs, nay demands, an explanation! Just who do you think you are Chloe?

Stretching the landscape and travel analogy as far as I can without breaking it, my aim here is to lay out why I am writing here, where my starting point is, where I intend to go, and how I intend to help people follow to where I'm going – or encourage them to travel past me and on to greater places.

First, up then, something about me. I'm an artist working in the south west of the UK, Bristol area. I really enjoy painting and can paint comfortably in gouache and acrylics and watercolours. I can also paint using water-mixable oils and tempera. I quite often use water soluble crayons as well in my work. I had a short career for a few years as a graphic designer and illustrator before moving into IT/Tech. Art is not currently my main source of work, but I would like it to be. I paint either fairly realistic landscape paintings, or semi-abstract ones. I occasionally do very abstract pieces.

My manifesto/artists statement about my work changes over time. But essentially, I strive to express something more than simply a pictorial output in my work as an artist. I can paint extremely realistic paintings, and these can take weeks or even months to do, but they lack something for me. Technically great, but sometimes they are slightly devoid of meaning. If you're going to do something photographic in nature, then use a camera. If you enjoy doing that, then that's fine, and I do enjoy doing that sometimes. But I feel that when we do that, we miss a great opportunity, the opportunity to express some things that can't easily be captured by a camera. A feeling, or an idea, or an expression. Or the wind. Or an emotion. Painting gives us a passport to go to places that nobody else has ever been, or only go to rarely. It feels to me that as artists we have a responsibility to go to those new places and report back what we find and how we got there. We are explorers, and we open new territories for others to follow.

Sometimes we will travel and find out that others have gotten there before us. No matter. It is good to travel to unfamiliar places and explore, even if the tourists have already posted everything to Instagram (and of course, the Fedi). Travel broadens the mind, and journeying as an artist is good for the heart and the soul.

My current work has started going in an odd direction. I am keen to explore the things behind the landscape, to express the feelings of a place, capture its moods, its ghosts of people past, and the mythology of places. I also want to try to hold a mirror up to the world as it is at the moment, broken, in need of love, and exhausted from years of exploitation from capitalists and others who have taken without care.

My aim is to act as that explorer. To look for new ways of seeing, and explaining, and showing something different. And then to help others come along the way. To do that I am going to start building some art courses and tuition guides for people who also want to take the journey. And for those who are already seasoned travellers, the opportunity for them to tell their tales as well.

A lot to do, so more coming soon to expand on this!