Interview with Nathan Pendlebury
q) Well, first of all please tell us a little about yourself… Had you always planned on being an artist [or had you other hopes]?
a) Always liked to draw, even when young. I used to play a game I called "Squiggle" whereby one person would draw a squiggle or shape on a blank piece of paper, then the second would have to make a picture out of it. I always entered the local newspapers colouring competitions when I was a child too, and at primary school I looked forward to the school poster competitions we used to have.
q) Do you have a preferred medium to work on? Why?
a) I like both but prefer to paint on paper, it provides a much more vigerous imagery, and I prefer the way that paint handles as opposed to canvas. Recently though, I have grown to love my photography as much as my painting too.
q) How would you describe your style?
a) Urban Abstract
q) Do you go through any certain processes while trying to produce your work?
a) I tend not to use a sketch book, but keep all my images stored up in my head, that way they become more naturally selected. I get an idea and it stays with me until it is on the page. i always know what I am intending to paint, but I do vary the way I compile the overall image, and take things from other ideas to make a composition.
q) What are you working on at present?
a) Currently working on a large series of paintings on paper, which are mixed medium, and on two sheets of paper (different colours) which are then put together to make one image, somewhat of a collage drawing if you will. I am also in the process of a potential commision for a London art Firm which I hope will work out. I also have a two-man exhibition (with my father) on in Liverpool, and I am taking part in a group show in New York (showing my photographs). In fact I have exhibitions in April, May, June, July, August, October all of which are two-man exhibitions with my father. I am having September off as I am getting married.
q) What about recent sources of inspirations?
a) I am mostly inspired by Rauschenberg, Tapies, de Kooning, Kline, early Hockney and various poster and flyer designs I might see.
q) What are some of your obsessions?
a) I am in some ways a typical Virgo, I am tidy. But other than that I am not that bad, I try not to worry about things to much, I take a leaf from my Grans Philosophy when she used to say ‘Why worry about it, it doesn’t really matter’. And you know what, she was right.
q) Which galleries have you shown at and which galleries would you like to show at?
a) I have shown in most Liverpool Galleries (UK), like ‘The Dot-Art Gallery’, ‘The Cornerstone Gallery’, ‘The Liverpool Academy’, ‘View 2′, ‘Domino Gallery’, ‘Egg cafe’, ‘The International Gallery’, ‘Ullet Grange’, ‘Blackburne House’, ‘Gostins’ and also in Southports Atkinson Gallery (UK), and also was successful in winning a place in the 2007 Chelsea International Fine Art Competition in New York. I have future exhibitions secured in the ‘Portico Gallery’ (Manchester, UK), and also at the ‘Harris Museum & Gallery’ (Preston, UK). I am about to show in New York again, and would very much like to keep this up showing further in New York, and perhaps showing work in London, Berlin, San Francisco?
q) If people would like to contact you, how would you like to be contacted?
a) via email, via the website.
q) Do you have any suggestions or advice for artists that are just starting out?
a) Keep at it, don’t give up. Sometimes you may have to stop painting because you need to eat or pay a bill, but don’t loose the dream. I am 34, and am not successful, I work full time and can only paint in my spare time, but I have a dream still of becoming successful enough to paint full time.
q) Who are your favorite artists?
a) Rauschenberg, Tapies, de Kooning, Kline, early Hockney
q) What books are on your nightstand?
a) I don’t like to read in bed, I prefer to talk.
q) To what weaknesses are you most indulgent?
a) Dark Chocolate, cinema/films, music, television.
