Hello and welcome to the 33rd interview for my blog 3 Art Questions With Jackson! This time I have interviewed London based artist and Instagram star Camilla! We've been following each other on Instagram for a long time now. She is a lot of fun and her art is really cool. I really enjoyed what she had to say in this interview and I enjoyed getting the perspective of someone who lives in a different country. Thanks for reading!
Jackson: What made you want to become an artist? Do you think where an artist lives influences the work?
Camilla: Good question! I honestly tried art when I had lots of free time and nothing much to do. It was suggested to me and I said "sure why not" because I love to try new things! I really enjoyed it and liked the results. I ended up showing some friends and some people I was working with and they were really impressed. Almost right away a friend of a friend wanted to buy a painting I had done and it just went from there really and so my ideas kept flowing. I had to paint! I filled a small room with so many paintings over summer and decided to call it my studio. There's always something in there drying!
I think where an artist lives can definitely influence their art! Although I have so many abstract ideas which even I don't know where they come from, I just paint them out when they arrive. I have always been surrounded by beautiful trees and I love nature so I paint a lot of trees!
Also, I live in a big city and always visit different beaches often so I've done a few beach paintings. My first one, which is of the waves, I am so lucky that one of my followers from my art page bought it as a surprise for his girlfriend because she loves the beach. He thought it would be lovely for her to have in her home since she did not live near a beach. I've just finished a set of buildings too.
Jackson: Has the pandemic influenced how you make art or how often you make art? Have you lost any opportunities in the last year?
Camilla: Another good question! I definitely think so! I always do art whenever I can or whenever I just have to paint - or when a new idea comes to me and I just have to paint it out right away! I have definitely painted more than usual. Luckily I'd just stocked up on art supplies so I could have started my own art store!
I used my time to try something new and did a series of abstract collages and pop art collages. I have been very lucky to sell some work throughout the pandemic. I also donated money from sales to buy food and supplies for vulnerable people and safely and securely delivered them and sent thank you paintings as gifts to my lovely buyers for their kindness. I'm beyond happy I could help and doing it through art makes it super special.
I was asked to do an exhibition in New York City and haven't done it with the pandemic, which can't be helped. I'm sure something will go ahead soon and I am beyond happy to be asked.
Jackson: If you could meet any artist living or dead, who would it be and why?
Camilla: Oh, easy! Salvador Dali! I absolutely love his work. My favorite piece by him is The Persistence of Memory from 1931. I would love to chat to him about it and ask him some questions. I think it would be fun to chat with him and hopefully hear some of his ideas.
Instagram: @i.l.l.a.rt
