Interview with mary owen
mary owen talks about art with her son, tim greenwood
When did you start painting?
I started painting in my teens. I started at school and did Art A Level, and then when I went to college I did Art as my special subject and gained a Distinction at college.
Who was your favourite teacher?
My favourite teacher was a chap called Mr Fulton. He actually bought one of my paintings! It was a study of trees – rather an abstract one. Before that I had been sketching the surrounding area.
What was the most valuable thing that Mr Fulton taught you?
He gave me encouragement. He advised me to follow my instincts. He was confident that I knew what I wanted to paint. So, he encouraged me.
When did you paint your first oil painting?
It was at college when I painted trees. But I didn’t use very thick oil paints at that point. I was still applying the paint fairly thinly. I started putting thicker oil paints on a bit later.
Do you prefer oils or watercolours?
I prefer oil painting because if you do something you’re not happy about you can paint over it. Whereas with watercolour it has to be right the first time. So, I would say that I prefer oil painting.
When you start a painting how do you decide which medium you are going to use – oil or watercolour?
I think if it is a strong composition, I would probably choose oil paint. If it was more delicate, I would probably choose watercolour.
What inspires you most to paint?
Trees, landforms and the colours of country landscapes.
Do you prefer painting landscapes or people?
I do feature people in my paintings. My earlier paintings, at Matlock, feature quite a few people in them.
Why do you prefer sculpture for portraits?
Well, I didn’t start doing sculpture until later, but then I was commissioned to do certain portraits in sculpture.
Of all the scenes and landscapes that you have painted, which one did you enjoy painting the most?
That’s a very difficult question because…I have enjoyed painting all of them! I can’t pick out a definite favourite.
Do you find it easier to paint on location or from a photograph? Which do you prefer?
I used to paint on location and go out sketching and painting, but now I find it more difficult and I make a quick sketch and take a photo and work from that at home.
Do you make a sketch and take a photo at the same time?
Quite often. I will make a sketch of what I want to show and take a photo to follow it up.
How has your painting style changed over time?
Some of my earlier paintings were a bit more abstract, like the painting of the yellow field and the sheep. Since then my style has become more impressionistic.
Who is your favourite painter?
I would choose a group of painters – the Impressionists. I like Monet and Pissarro, Renoir and Sisley. They are my favourite group of painters.
What is it about their painting style that you appreciate the most?
The Impressionists create an atmosphere, their art leaves you a bit of guesswork rather than painting it all exactly as it is.
Have the Impressionists influenced your work?
Yes, I think they must have done!
What is the hardest part of creating a painting?
I think it’s the beginning of it. Getting things done in the way you want to get them done. The most enjoyable part is finishing it and being happy with what you have done.
Where have you exhibited your work?
Quite a variety of places! These include The Reading Guild of Artists, Bath Society of Artists, Carousel Gallery in Chipping Sodbury, Corsham Arts Society, The Pound Arts Open Exhibition, The Peacock Arts Trail and the Rooksmoor Arts Gallery in Brock Street in Bath.
Did you study sculpture formally at school or college?
No, I didn’t study sculpture at school or college. I started sculpture because I’d stopped painting. I had small children and painting was very messy! When I lived near Reading I went to some life drawing classes, and then I had a few years when I wasn’t producing anything. I started again in classes at Corsham where I started carving alabaster and polyflon, that’s a type of stone, and also making standing figures from armatures and plaster of paris.
Do you prefer to work with real models, or from photographs?
Definitely real models because you can walk around them and see all different aspects of the figure.
How do you go about creating your sculptures?
Well, the stone sculptures that I did were influenced by body forms as well as the medium itself. And also the likeness of body shapes to sea-eroded rocks. The other figures that I created were obviously inspired by seeing the figure itself. The standing figures – I’m not quite sure what inspired those for me. I made those up myself, I think.
What part of the creative process of sculpting do you find the most enjoyable?
When I model the figures in clay I love the feel of the clay, and working the clay and forming it into a shape. That’s the most enjoyable part really.
What are your favourite materials to work with?
Clay – terracotta clay.
Which foundries have you worked with?
I have only got one actual bronze sculpture. After I had been on a holiday to Senegal I saw these women carrying children on their backs and I did sketches of those. And then completed the work when I came home. That is the only one that is actually a bronze. The others are all patinated bronze – which is a build-up of different paints and polishes to make it look like bronze.
Do you need to fire the patinated bronze?
Yes, after I finish the figure, I have to hollow it out and then it’s fired in a kiln and then after that I build up various layers of paints and polishes to get a finished look. It looks like bronze. So, in fact, when people buy them, these are just not as expensive as buying a bronze. They are something that people can afford. I think that’s why I sold so many, really!
How many do you think you have sold in your lifetime?
I have sold about a hundred sculptures.
Whose kiln did you use?
When I was in Corsham, the chap who taught me, Ken Cook, had a kiln there and then when I went down to Bath, at Sydney Place, to do life classes, they had a kiln there. Sometimes they used another pottery kiln in Bath as well.
How many years in total do you think you have been producing sculptures?
For over twenty years, I think. When Sydney Place closed down, because they sold it, it was part of Bath College of Art, I went to Bath Technical College to continue my work there.
Have you ever given away any of your work as gifts?
I have, yes. To the family.
Have you been commissioned to create sculptures for your clients?
Yes, I have. I have made head portraits of grandchildren, Ollie and Sophie, and Richard Ewen (a local artist). I had another one of a small child sitting on a bed commissioned by someone in the village.
Which sculpture work did you find most challenging?
Definitely the most difficult were the stone sculptures. I was having to use a chisel and a hammer. I was chiselling away and alabaster is quite soft, so you have to be careful not to break away too much. I did it all by hand. These days they probably use machines. I finished it off by grating it to get the rounded and smoothed shapes. That was the most difficult.
Which do you find the most enjoyable?
Definitely the clay. Creating the forms, smoothing it out into a shape.
Who is your favourite sculptor?
I think Rodin was a great sculptor. For a more modern favourite, I would say Henry Moore.
What do you enjoy most about Henry Moore’s work?
I like that he used figures – but he simplified the figures. And I like that they stand outside in the countryside.
What do you enjoy about Rodin’s work?
To be able to carve what he did, all by hand, was amazing.
What advice would you give to young sculptors who are just setting out?
I think they should start out by studying life figures, and then working from there. And try to use live models to start off with.
And what advice would you give to painters starting out?
Look at everything and decide what attracts you, and work on that!
