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Q&A with Nick White
© Costume and photo by Nina Fuga
Hello! My name Is Nick White and I am an Artist / Musician / Lecturer / Baker of Bread / Maker of lists and Breather of Air.
I do other things but those are the main ones.
Oh I am also in the band Owen & the Eyeballs. (The Musician bit)
Software / hardware
I use pencils, graphite, coloured pencils, pens, dip pen and ink, gouache, collage/ found imagery, print making. Basically anything I can get my relatively clean hands on.
I use a computer with all the necessary bits attached but I try to keep this to minimum as I tend to get sucked into a photoshop vortex. Whereby I find myself moving something a little bit to the right then a little bit to the left and then a little bit to the right... forever.
Ideal work environment
As a lot of my work is inspired by the media I use and the found imagery I have collected, my ideal work environment is where ever that stuff is. Luckily that stuff is all in my studio.
So the short answer is, my studio.
Work inspiration
Like I said I get a huge amount of inspiration from my collection of old magazines and books. It could be an image or a piece of text, which catches my eye that becomes a starting point for a piece of work. Also the actual process of working / creating inspires me greatly. That's to say when you get lost in a drawing or when you mix a really great colour of gouache or find the perfect image of a hand holding a hammer.
Again, short answer, Playing and Experimenting.
In contrast to the above I find that I get a lot of my best ideas when I am out of the studio. So when I am on the bus or train travelling to lecture or in the shower. Who knows what ideas I would have if I ever had a shower on a train...
Creatives you admire most
As I mentioned I love lists and therefore could list every single person who I admire or who inspires me but I will try to keep it shortish and into relevant sections.
For their ideas and playfulness - Tom Friedman, Matthieu Lavanchy and Nick Van Woert.
For their drive and need to create - Adolf W?lfli and Ferdinand Cheval
Mr Ben Newman has been a constant source of inspiration ever since Mr Tickner's art class in secondary school. Seeing his work develop over the years has been a joy to behold and his honest advice has always been greatly received.
Sam Rees for his crazy brain and my bandmates Andrew Rae, Jim Stoten and Owen Gildersleeve for creating such a glorious racket.
I would also like to list my family who are all hard working artists in their own right and who are as supportive a family you could ever want. Jackie White, Rico, Emrah, Sam and Laura.
Wow I am getting pretty darn schmaltzy. It sounds like I am writing my Oscars acceptance speech.
Sniff. Can someone please hand me a tissue? Thanks Kevin Spacey.