With A Little Help From My Friends
Or finally finding inspiration for a new seriesSeptember 26, 2023
My phone showed me one of those ‘on this day a year ago’ photo memories last week, it was from my ‘artist retreat’ in Cornwall last September. The one I created for myself as a way to take time to experiment with mediums outside my iPad screen, without the pressure of creating something ‘good.’ I played with acrylic paint, watercolour and pencil – with varying degrees of success.
Although the retreat didn’t make me switch off my iPad completely, it did make me want to carry on doing more physical art. But instead of sticking with acrylic or watercolour paints to try to improve my skills, I decided to explore yet more mediums. One of them being gouache (pronounced goo-ash).
Café Euphrosyne
I’d wanted to start a new series for a while, but inspiration was elusive. It finally came through thinking about what brings me joy.
My planner has a weekly section called GRATEFUL FOR with three blank spaces. For the past four years, every week I fill one of these spaces with the word ‘friends’. And since the pandemic, seeing a friend gives me a feeling of lightness. Like I’m breathing easier afterwards. As an introvert, I didn’t think social interactions gave me energy. Turns out seeing people you love will do that!
As much as I love my husband, a partner isn’t enough to fulfill all your social and emotional needs. That’s one of the reasons why I hate the suggestion that women need to get married to be happy, but that’s a story for another time. Besides, it’s proven that having good friends makes you live longer than having a partner!
So I decided to start a series on friendship. I thought about various places where we meetup with friends. The first one is at a café, which I named Euphrosyne: the greek goddess of joy and mirth. Since the women seemed to be having such a blast, I wanted the title to reflect that.
Illustration close-up
Why gouache?
To be honest, although I DO believe that digital art is real art, it’s hard to ignore that the world at large still doesn’t. And since I’m trying to make a living – at least in part – from my art, I thought adding physical pieces to my shop could help with that goal. 🤞🏻Also, I was once asked if I sold ‘originals’, which don’t exist in digital form unless you sell only one copy, I guess. Or NFTs, but f*ck those.
This led me to gouache. Why gouache as opposed to other types of paint? I can’t quite remember now, but I was probably inspired by Bijou Karman and Laura Callaghan. And maybe by my friend Katty Maurey (again)!
The process
I did a rough sketch on my iPad for composition and colours. Of course, gouache pigments aren’t as bright as what can be produced on screen. A fact I knew yet I was still surprised when I couldn’t find the exact colours I wanted in the arts & craft store. Didn’t help that I bought a cheap ‘starter pack’ to begin with… I quickly realised that I needed to invest in better quality materials.
Initial rough sketchAs you can see, the women were more dressed up in this first iteration. I decided they needed to be more chill. They were only at a café, not a bar! This next sketch is the updated version, closer to the final piece.
Second rough sketch
A few inspirations came from sneaky pics I always take when I’m out and about and see something I like: a woman’s hair at the coffee shop (incidentally), or a woman’s face on the tube. Other inspirations were researched based on what I wanted the character’s style and personality to be like: one more casual, one more dressy. Which type of top, jewellery, footwear, or tattoo. And some inspirations came from researching ethical/sustainable small businesses, because that’s important to me. All the elements were curated through my taste though, obviously.
Two of the independent businesses found in the painting: a bag by Amstein and a necklace by Ray Makes Things. You might have noticed on IG that I actually own that necklace now!
As the scene is set in the morning, I wanted to show the presence of a low morning sun. A great way to incorporate more light and shadows into my work. I struggled when it came time to figuring out how the light should hit the people and objects, as I didn’t have any references, but I’m happy with the shadows on the wall.
I’m already onto my second painting of the series, which I’m hoping to show you next month. I’ll then put both in my shop and be able to say I’m selling originals, yay! I’ll probably also offer a more affordable version as limited edition art prints.
Judith xx
P.S. I realised that I forgot to add something important, so I will have to go back to the painting! The women’s skin is too perfect, they don’t have any moles or scars, which is just not realistic. I’ll have to fix that
Monthly inspiration
I went to see the Chanel exhibition at the V&A last week. It wasn’t the best exhibition ever – and Coco Chanel’s involvement with the Nazis was murky at best – but I still found many things inspiring. The craftsmanship and details of the garments, and how she materialised her ‘revolutionary’ idea that women should always be comfortable in their clothes. I also liked that her career spanned multiple decades and survived a 15 year hiatus. Plus, she started again at age 71, when she went on to create that famous Chanel tweed twinset.
Did you know there’s a chain at the hem of many Chanel jackets? It’s to create a weight so the jacket drapes perfectly after every movement.
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