Meet the Artist - Cherrie Mansfield

Name: Cherrie Mansfield

Nickname: Ches, Chesonator, Chief.  At school it was Plum and Prune.

Occupation: Strategy and Performance Manager at Wychavon District Council and artist.  I’ve not got the balance right between the two yet. 

What makes you laugh?

The antics of our two cats, Sid (short for Obsidian) and Sweet Pea.  They’re adorable and mischievous - nibbling at the parmesan as soon as our backs are turned, trying to liberate crisps from their hiding place, climbing into kitchen cupboards and the washing machine, swiping my husband on the head when he’s loading the dishwasher and sitting on anything we’re trying to give more attention to than them.

Sid and Sweet Pea

Scariest situation you’ve been in:

It was September 1996, in Chiapas state, Southern Mexico.  I was travelling with four friends.   Two of them were due to fly home that day, the rest of us were staying on for another week.  Having set off early and driven for several hours in our hired car along winding roads, up through steep jungle-covered slopes, we decided to take a break to stretch our legs and change driver.  

The ideal spot was a lay-by just off the main highway at a place called La Silva Negra (the black jungle) overlooking the valley below.  Whilst we took photos of the view, one of the guys went off for a pee.  The next thing we saw was him walking gingerly backwards up the path facing two masked men.  Dressed in camouflage clothing and black balaclavas, they were carrying three guns: two rifles and a revolver.

They backed us up to the wall and gestured to us to put our hands up.  They were clearly young and nervous which did nothing to ease the tension we all felt.  I was envisaging newspaper headlines at home: “Five murdered in Mexican jungle”.  At least they could only shoot three of us at once!

As armed robbers go, they were relatively polite, returning our passports and leaving us with some money.  They dragged my boyfriend’s backpack out of the car first.   They were about to turn back for another when they realised it would take both of them to lift the first one. They dragged it off to the forest leaving my boyfriend wondering what he was going to wear for the rest of the trip.  A quick hand movement was all the encouragement we needed to get back into the car and onto the road.

Just as we were leaving the small town about 15 minutes down the road, the brakes on the car failed.  We limped back to the garage we had just filled up at and explained we had problem with ‘los frenos’.  It didn’t take long to figure out that we didn’t have any brake pads.

Two near death experiences in half an hour were quite enough for us all, so we abandoned our hired vehicle in favour of two taxis.  None of us wanted to hang around so close to the scene of the incident, besides there was a plane to catch and some of us had to go in search of pants for my boyfriend!

Phobias:

Snakes.  Not just the nasty poisonous real live ones.  My phobia extends to pretty much every form of snake you can think of – stuffed, toy, photographs, on TV and in films.  I can just about cope with cartoon snakes in kids’ books if they’re not too life-like.  And the weird thing is that if there’s even a hint of a snake in a shop window, magazine or on the TV I’ll be the first to see it.  

Favourite Artist:

In my Studio

There are quite a few.  I’m particularly excited by some of the artists who were part of the ‘St Ives School’ in the 1950s, among them Sir Terry Frost, Patrick Heron and Wilhelmina Barns-Graham.  Barns-Graham’s silk screen prints are magnificent.  Frost was prolific, producing such exuberant and joyful paintings, collages and prints.  If he was still alive I’d do my level best to meet him.  I recently met his grandson Luke who led a course I took at Newlyn School of Art.  

Then there’s John Hoyland.  Author Andrew Lambirth describes his work far better than I can: “pictures which inspire the spirit, which liberate and fire the imagination. He describes imaginary worlds ... and encourages us by the beauty and effervescence of his colours to respond to them and contemplate their meaning.”

Henri Matisse must get a mention too.  I like his paper cut-outs the most.  He developed the technique further, using it to design the unique Chapelle du Rosaire de Vence, in response to the gratitude he felt towards his nurse Monique Bourgeois in the final years of his life. It is a profound space, combining the artistic and the spiritual.

Ooh, and I nearly forgot Jackson Pollock.  In terms of living artists, then it’d be Neil Canning, Barbara Rae, Tom Hughes, Antony Gormley and sculptor Edward Baldwin, who I shared an exhibition space with a couple of years ago.  

About you:

Partly Cloudy 20x20cm, acrylic on canvas board.
Photo credit: Jade Edwards

I grew up in Horsham in West Sussex, where my parents still live.  On my first day at primary school I expressed my creativity by scribbling on another child’s piece of paper!  There was also a sweet stealing incident, but we won’t say any more about that except that I am still a sweet lover and get very excited by old-fashioned sweet shops.

I studied geology and environmental biogeochemistry at universities in the north east of England.  When my first job after university proved to be uninspiring, I threw myself into campaigning with my local Friends of the Earth group and then left to go travelling in South America.  I’ve been back there since because my brother, Paul, now lives in Chile.  I’ve also travelled in Europe, Central America, Nambia and Vietnam.  In 1998 I was awarded a Millennium Fellowship to participate in an Earthwatch project in Sri Lanka, studying the social behaviour of toque macaque monkeys.

I live in Worcester with my husband, Peter and the aforementioned cats.  Peter’s an excellent cook so I am very spoilt.  He’s also an occasional collaborator in my artwork – cutting, sticking and framing, otherwise everything would be crooked!  He also claims he’s my agent, but let’s just say he’s not really doing much to earn any fees.  

I volunteer for St Paul’s Hostel in Worcester and I’m passionate about social justice issues like climate change, fair-trade, homelessness and human trafficking.

Cadmium is Bad Stuff 23.5x17.5cm,
acrylic on board. Photo credit: Jade Edwards

How did you get into art?

Looking back, I think the roots lie in my childhood, which was both creative and colour-filled.  Despite growing up in the ‘70s I don’t remember much brown, beige or avocado in our home.  But I do still clearly recall many of the colours from my early years: 

• At aged two and a bit, the bright yellow peeler my Mum was using to peel an orange not long after my brother was born.
• The little red painted wooden wheelbarrow I helped my Dad to transport manure from our front drive up the path to the back garden. 
• A pair of purple flared trousers I often wore to Sunday School
• The emerald green pedal racing car my brother and I played with. 

I showed an early flair for drawing.  One of my first pictures that attracted praise was a heron drawn in felt tip pen on shiny paper that Dad had brought home from work.  We didn’t have a TV when we were growing up so had to find other ways to entertain ourselves.   Whether it was colouring, copying Sad Sam pictures, painting by numbers with those ridiculously small pots of oil paint, making candles or performing home-grown plays with my friends in our front room, I usually had some sort of creative project on the go.

I studied art at school and created several unusual pieces.  There was ‘Pollution’, a painting and collage featuring computers, bits of litter and cigarette butts I’d picked up from the street.  ‘Metamorphosis’ was a somewhat lurid construction made out of an old sock and ‘Rise and fall’ was a snakes(!) and ladders board created with paint and PVA glue mixes.  Alas, I received little encouragement from my art teacher and after leaving school didn’t pursue art any further.

After university, frequent holidays to Cornwall reawakened my interest and inspired me to start painting so I went to evening classes at the local college.  It grew from there really.  I’ve continue to do short courses at the St Ives School of Painting and Newlyn School of Art.

My paintings are typically characterised by rich colours and strong textures, sometimes I find composition a little more challenging!  I enjoy the freedom that comes with painting and the exciting possibilities that a blank canvas or board presents when I embark on a new painting.  Sometimes I begin a new piece with a clear idea in mind, at other times colour is the starting point, and everything else flows from there. There are strong references to geology and the natural environment in some of my work.

I'm currently working on an ambitious project to create a series of 92 paintings, each one inspired by one of the naturally occurring elements in the periodic table. From hydrogen to uranium, that's a lot of elements to get to grips with, especially as my knowledge of chemistry is quite limited.   So I've invited friends and family to contribute to the project by choosing an element and telling me what it means to them to give me some inspiration. So far I’ve completed the five halogens and made a start on the lanthanides, so there’s still a long way to go!

Any art secrets or wisdom to share?

Turquoise and Feldspar 50x50cm,
mixed media on canvas board

I think creating art is as much about having the confidence to just give it a go than necessarily having all the technical skills or a formal art education.  People often tell me they could never paint and that I’m really clever to be able to create what I do.  I disagree and challenge them to give it a try.  What’s the worst that can happen?  They don’t like what they paint, throw it away and never pick up a paint brush again.  On the other hand, they may feel the excitement that I felt as a child when opening a new tin of beautiful crayons or a bumper pack of felt tip pens in every colour, and end up becoming an accomplished artist.

When I first started painting I expected to create work I was pleased with every time and was disheartened when I didn’t.  I soon realised that it’s as much about the creative process, or perhaps more, than it is about the end result.  For every painting I’m happy to frame and put on the wall or share with others, there are several in the discard pile.  

I’ve also learnt that knowing when to stop is vital.  In many respects I’m a bit of a perfectionist, but that doesn’t sit comfortably with my style of artwork. It’s so very easy to overwork a painting and I often do.  Frequent cups of tea are essential, providing a moment to take a breath, step away from the canvas and reassess.  

Finally, I try to apply the principle that something is usually better than nothing.  I often tell myself this when I don’t feel like going to the gym to motivate myself to go and do a short session.  It is particularly important when time is limited and I don’t have the luxury of several hours or more to paint and it’s a principle I need to apply even more than I currently do.

Anything else:

My work has been exhibited at venues in Bromsgrove, Evesham, Pershore and Worcester and has been promoted by Arthouse galleries, Surbiton. In 2013, one of my paintings was short-listed for the prestigious Cork Street Open and some of my work is due to appear in the 101 Abstract Artworks Art Has No Borders iArtBook.  

In 2015, I helped organise the successful inaugural Worcestershire Open Studios, which saw the work of 70 artists displayed at 27 venues over three days.  

Keep in touch with my work by subscribing to magenta and malachite, my monthly newsletter here.

www.cherriemansfield.com

        

Meet the Artist - Becky Newell

Name: Becky Newell

Nickname: Bexter, Bex, Becky or MUUUUUM!

Occupation:

• Artist
• Art teacher
• Director of Origin Arts Ltd

Scariest Moment: 

I once had to sing a solo to an audience - I was confident on stage at the time but singing, although I was trained, was not my first love. I was singing a beautiful song from 'Yentle' and the first verse went repeatedly “Papa can you hear me, Papa can you... La, la?”. I got up in front of the audience and suddenly felt this awful weight come over me - my heart started beating and cheeks suddenly burning. The pianist, a different one to the one I had rehearsed with, began. I started off “Papa..” And had absolutely no clue what came next. It was awful! I was forced to make the entire song up on spot in front of the audience. I can't tell you how many questions I asked poor ‘Papa’ by the end of my version! (Look up the song it's actually very lovely.) I thought I had vaguely got away with it when I got a round of applause and acknowledged with scorching red cheeks. However, a week later a bumped into the pianist when I was on the tube and he said “nice version of the Yentle song - I think you got away with it!” Cringe!

Biggest Fear:

Do you mean like a spider or on a bigger scale? I've learnt to get over my spider fear since being sort of trapped in a cowshed in the Dominican Republic with a roof full of tarantulas. Also, when you’re a mum you quickly have to become efficient with a glass and a piece of paper - I'm pretty stealthy with that now! Rather proud!

I became very ill in 2005 and it changed me entirely. I had possibly the worst migraine I had ever had and the day after my left side became almost paralysed, my speech slurred. I knew the words I wanted to say but couldn't say them! I couldn't remember basic things. It got a great deal worse, effecting my right side. I could only walk very short distances before it very slowly got better. However, I wasn't afraid. I have what they discovered to be Chronic Hemilplegic Migraine. It doesn’t sound very dramatic, I always think it should be called something far more impressive so that people realise the devastation it actually has on people's lives. For me, although it could have been devastating, it was more of a fork in the road between fear and peace. I walked down the right path, I think, and so fear isn't really part of my life.

Having said all of that, I absolutely refuse to ever do a bungee jump!

Favourite Artist:

Well, it can’t be favourite artist, it has to be favourite artists. And that has to be inspiring artists from all walks of life. Such as God, He's pretty creative. Spirituality, as in the meditative sort not the judgemental sort, plays a massive part in my life. Love is at the heart of things for me. I think that's why I am drawn to the energy of the sea, you can actually see the perfection of the process of energy in a wave. I’ve gone off on a tangent - that’s not to do with favourite artists, is it? But I do think God is an artist!

Then there is Kurt Jackson. When I'm at the end of a piece of work, I look at his work and then think, am I actually finished? The answer is usually no. Jackson manages to bring freedom and lightness together in his work. He manages to make everything look beautiful - even road works! I could talk for hours about how inspiring his artwork is and the effect his has on my own work. As well as, how much I love just being absorbed into the images he creates. I will consider myself truly successful when I can buy a tiny Kurt Jackson piece for my wall.

Frida Kahlo - I love that woman. I just love her. Her passion and commitment, her unflinching honesty. I think that's what art is about, it's not about if you can draw well or paint ‘nicely’, a great many people can do that. You have to be prepared to examine your entire self. Live and grapple with question marks. Enjoy the philosophy of life. Be willing to be passionate on a canvas and be generous enough to share that beauty.

Van Gogh, I think I empathised with his madness! With his struggle with the church and his differing relationship with a creative God. I found his life story interesting and therefore enjoy his work.

Blimey, there are so many artists. Artists I teach everyday, people that I meet who inspire me in my painting one way or another. Painting, for me, is often about the thinking, or sometimes about actively not thinking! Lifestyle and stories are often as important and inspiring to me as the work

However, if you were to ask me what I would hang on my wall? Kurt Jackson, every time.

About you:

I smoke and I shouldn’t. I'm constantly trying not to. I think love is at the heart of all things and laughter is the best medicine for anything. I adore movies, books and going to the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). The latter probably being the only thing I'm really narrow minded about! I fell absolutely in love with the RSC when I was lucky enough to go there for the first time when I was 16. I was spellbound by Anthony Sher and the magic of pictures coming alive. It was enthralling to me, and still is. Living in the midlands means we are lucky enough to be able to take advantage of treating ourselves to the odd trip to The Swan Theatre. I could go on for hours about Shakespeare. I love Shakespeare by the way. I saw Mark Rylance play Romeo and Hamlet when I was 18, it was incredible! He is a truly inspiring, creative person. He’s someone who makes me pick up my brushes and paint! I'm a big fan of his artistic integrity.

When I was growing up I wanted a career in Zoology, then for a long time I wanted to work in the special effects industry. It was a different age then and I was constantly told as a woman I wouldn't be strong enough to hold the cameras! Anyway, as a result I was directed to do backstage stuff so that I could get on courses at the BBC etc. for effects. Going to the RSC was a life changer; I changed direction to drama. My art teacher was livid. I took acting as a serious career path for many years however, I am now glad that I didn’t continue along that path, although I have to say it was wonderful fun whilst I did it. I never see it as separate to my painting but rather as an extension. I worked with some really talented, creatively intelligent, thought provoking and, yes, down right mad people and they profoundly shaped who I have become.

Paul, husband, and Jemimah, daughter, are my priority in life. I feel enormously blessed to be rooted with them. They give me the stability that allows me the freedom to explore creativity and spirituality. They give me the confidence and inspiration that I can do things, even when my speech is weird and I'm walking wonky, they are always encouraging, honest and funny. They inspire me to be the best I can be. I feel absolutely blessed to be with Paul. When Jemimah came along it was life changing in a way I could not have begun to imagine. I had not imagined that that much love could have existed. She is inspirational in so many ways... and funny! So funny. She had to be really with a dad like Paul!

I am an I.N.F.J (introvert, intuitive, feeling, judging), so introverted though no one ever believes me. I either do things with passion or not at all. For example, if I'm reading a book you won't get a word out of me; dinner will be late until the book is finished! Dinner gets burnt regularly in favour of a painting or project I'm doing elsewhere. I am immovable once I believe something strongly and feel injustice has been done. I am happy to join the protest and love to debate it with friends.  My friends are my family. Rarely are my true friends left behind. I am enormously blessed to have a wonderful family of close, varied, challenging and colourful friends that support me, keep me in check and laugh a great deal with me.

How did you get into art?:

That’s like asking how did you learn to breathe! I just did. I found a water colour my dad had done when I was very small and asked my mum if I could copy it. To be honest, I just drew everything and painted everything all the time.

I had a strict watercolour background; my dad was a very good technical watercolourist and was pretty insistent I stay within the technicalities. As I got older I started taking photos. I would build sets and make models to photograph to create unusual images. I had a wonderful and long suffering friend Claire Frost who would let me make her hands up to make them look like they where zombies. I would half bury them and photograph them. I thought it was cool and deeply edgy. I was also very fortunate to have a great teacher at school who never gave out an A (although, I finally got one out of him!). He was extremely encouraging. Before that though, I had had a primary school teacher who had really valued creativity full stop and put immense value on those of us in class that where creative beings as well as those who coloured neatly. We did some great things with him; improvisation, art competitions and we even had a colouring wall for when you had finished your work. He believed in self expression and that was something that really stayed with me.

My whole pathway of creativity has been about telling the story of whatever question mark i am looking at. I have explored many mediums; photograph, theatre, writing and art - essentially painting is the glue that is at the core of all these things. It wasn't until I was a little more confident in my own skin that I could really start to develop my own style and find my own creative voice.

I started to play around with my watercolours, abandoning all techniques, sticking what I wanted on a canvas to make my point. At about the same time Paul took me to an exhibition and it turned out to be the first Kurt Jackson exhibition I was to go to. It was breathtaking and I saw that he was already doing what I had independently started experimenting with. It was so exciting to see the lightness of touch and the way he had used such immediacy letting the moment speak for itself. When I returned home I began again with renewed confidence. I haven’t really looked back since.

My work has been published in books, in magazines and on C.D. covers! I've exhibited a lot in the past, although don't tend to so much now because of my illness. I have exhibited in Birmingham, Cornwall and Worcester. It’s been amazing to see how my work has been received. My pathway through creativity makes sense to me and I’m grateful that I have been so fortunate to have had so many opportunities to try out so many expressions. I think it really adds to the way I approach my work.

          

Meet the Artist - Jo Keeley

Name: Jo Keeley 

Nickname: Jo

Occupation:

Job 1) Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Technician

Job 2) Receptionist in the Physio Dept at Worcester Hospital

Job 3) Artist

  

Funniest Moment:

Usually with Emma, my daughter! Or with George the dog…  The last funny moment was when I dropped Emma off near to 6th Form on her first week and just drove off to work. Didn't look back... And she had fallen over on her face! People stopped and asked if she was okay, not quite believing that I just drove off and left her with a red face and sore knee! When she told me I couldn't help myself but laugh, it was hysterically funny to me but possibly not to others!

Scariest Moment:

Starting a new job of which I had to be trained to become competent at, as well as starting an MA in Fine Art at the same time!

Biggest Fear:

Failure, I absolutely hate failing. Failure has affected my career; being unable to gain a GCSE in Maths has stopped me going forward in any career, I failed 5 times… So that is my all-consuming fear.

Favourite Artist:

Not the easiest of questions because favourite artist is dependent on different aspects. Frida Kahlo is an incredible painter of suffering and survival, but Jenny Saville’s application of paint is sublime! There’s Francis Bacon’s work of aggression and sexual angst and excess, and Grayson Perry’s take on humanity. Sorry, for me ‘favourite artist’ has to be fractured into different aspects!

About you:

Single Mum and dog owner. I work in two jobs that add up to full time hours. I paint in mismatched pyjamas in the evening in my studio/office/bedroom! There is paint stains all over the house. I enjoy wine and food.

I am short and dumpy and dream of being 5 foot 4 inches and a size 8. Being short is frustrating as it’s difficult to tell your child that you are the adult when they are looking down on you. Growth has tended to be outwards not upwards! Have I mentioned that I enjoy wine? Which adds to the weight gain… so the dream of a size 8 is realistically staying a dream!

I attempt to walk the dog once a day, but Friday is the one day of the week where George is denied a walk as that is my one night without Emma and George. I race home from work, grab the wine from the local store, grab some food and then race to studio/office/bedroom to throw off the shackles of the working week and tumble into the mismatched pyjamas and get the paints out for a really lengthy painting session!

My attempts of being a parent are haphazard at best. No instructions popped out at the same time as the baby did, this is where God didn’t think the parenting thing through properly. I enjoy Emma’s teenage years as her way of dealing with any issues is to be quiet and withdrawn… until about 10.30 at night and then she comes into my bedroom and throws herself on my bed and vents. These interactions are on the whole very entertaining and once she has vented she is usually fine. I am exhausted, but content in the knowledge that she is feeling happier. Here is an example of one of Emma’s rants… on this particular day she had burst into tears at dinner and sprayed food everywhere! So I did think that that evening I would not have another trauma… I was so wrong

Conversation regarding Career choices:

Emma: OMG!! My life is over! I am just going to have to become a prostitute, there is no choice!!

Me: Sooo...No University? Just prostitution... Ummmm..

Emma: OMG!! Is there nothing you want to say!!!

Me: I have always said I would support in your choices in life, always! Therefore if you feel that your career path is prostitution... well... I can buy your first Red Bulb!!!

Emma: You are no support!!! And no parent would say that only you!!!

2 Hours later...

Emma: I have been looking at Universities!! 

Me: Oh... So no prostitution!?! Well weighing right side Prostitution... Left side University....No contest Love!! Uni it is!!!!!!!!

This is just one of many examples.

I will be so so glad when these exams are over.

I also suffer from depression. This is frustrating as I struggle to function and at the darker moments I struggle to paint, but depression doesn’t define me. I hate being middle-aged and having to wear glasses; not being able to read anything without having to put the blasted things on drives me nuts! When you get to your forties having to wear makeup everyday just to look vaguely alive is just plain unfair.

I am also a drama queen. I hate meeting new people as I don’t have any confidence, and my home is rarely tidy. I do try, but I think I have seriously pissed off the housework fairies because they never ever visit… actually I think George (Dog) has eaten them all!

How did you get into art?:

I failed my Art GCSE and when I attempted to go to Art College I got turned down 3 times. Due to this, it wasn’t until I was 28 years old that I decided to try again properly. I had always dabbled but never succeeded to go further. Husband had left me with a gorgeous 14 month old baby. I did a 2 day life study course and I loved it! Once again I applied to College… And I got in to do a BTEC in Art and Design, which was hard to juggle. During this time I meet an artist called Bill Talbot. The first time I met him he was involved in a community exhibition in Ticehurst and I went to meet this amazing artist. As I walked into the hall, I realised my period had started (whilst wearing white trousers!). I rushed over to this chap and introduced myself, waffled at him at 90mph, escaped within 20 mins and left him stunned by this mad, red faced woman who sounded like she had taken speed! It took me another month to pluck up the courage to go over to his studio. Luckily, we became great friends. He taught me to paint in oils and then love of painting really blossomed for me.

I used to go over to Bill’s studio whenever I could. He just let me use his paints and brushes and canvases. He also lent me books, this was a wonderful haven for me. One day I went into his studio and there was this huge pot of brushes. Bill explained to me that the formal way, or rather proper way, of using brushes was something I could not grasp at all. So, he had gone out and bought me a huge set of brushes! I have never been allowed to touch any of his brushes again. The way I apply the paint goes against all the laws of painting, so all brushes are ruined within minutes of me using them.

Anything else:

I originally lived in Heathfield, East Sussex. I moved to Worcester about 10 years ago to make a fresh start. I was lucky enough to be accepted to do a degree at Worcester University of which I gained a 2.1. I was then accepted to do a MA in Fine Art through the Open College of the Arts, an online correspondence course, which took 4 years to complete and that finished in November 2014.

Find Jo Keeley on Facebook