Chérie Lubbock
Please can you tell us about your background and upbringing?
I am the eldest of 8 children and the household was always noisy and chaotic. My father wanted us all to work in the family business but I wanted to go to Art College. Finances changed and I felt obliged to help in the garage business. After I worked with him for 3 years, I decided to break away and go to university to become an art teacher as they refused to support my application to art college. I met and married my husband while at university and took a job in a junior school.
Did you make art as a child?
Yes, I loved making and painting as a child. I have always made things and painted since early childhood. Later, while on maternity leave, I set myself up with a ceramic kiln and exhibited and sold my ceramics but I didn’t earn enough to help support my family, so I returned to teaching. Finally, I retired and enrolled on a full time art course at West Dean and have never looked back. At last, I was living the life that I had been meant to live. It’s never too late!
What is your earliest memory associated with art?
One of my earliest memories associated with art is sitting and painting with a friend overlooking a mill in which she lived. This friend had her own set of powder paints in large containers and I was fascinated with the possibilities they offered.
Please tell us who or what has had the most significant influence on you as an artist?
My junior school teacher was an artist and he encouraged me to paint, allowing me to paint alongside him on the scenery for the school production. I was in heaven. I knew then that I was an artist and would always be.
Please describe your practice for us
I paint and make abstract pieces. I work intuitively, responding to found objects, assembling and combining these with things I have created. I work quite quickly and try to reflect the energy and joy in all my pieces. I often assemble and exploit happy accidents in my sculpture. I find it exciting to use a wide variety of mediums and love to explore and allow each medium to feed into the next, creating installations and bodies of work.
What is your artist muse? Your inspiration
There are many artists that inspire me including Rebecca Warren, Franz West, and Phyllida Barlow. These artists all work across many mediums, often using simple materials and have a rawness to their work that I admire.
What motivates you?
What motivates me is the desire to continually learn, move forward and explore what can be made out of simple materials, something that can speak to me in a way that makes me smile and brings joy to my day.
Please can you talk to us in detail about the creation process of one painting and one sculpture
When creating Rivers Edge, I thought about the sounds that a river makes and created marks that responded to this using acrylic, charcoal, oil pastel and graphite. This piece was not painted alone and I always work across several pieces at once, which takes the pressure away and gives me time to reflect yet maintain the speed and energy that I love. I make my own collage pieces using crayons or inks and found papers. I used these to lift a quiet area or calm an overly busy area of the painting.
Madcap Mamma was created from a scrap piece of wood that was gifted to me. I added legs using ply wood and had just become fascinated with balloons and how they deflate yet still hold a semblance of their former selves, much like the atrophy of living things. I added the balloon to the piece to mimic a head of sorts. I used some horse hair to give it a slightly risqué edge. Finally, I painted parts of the wood pink over white. It was important not to cover the whole piece in the same colour and a raw liveliness was my aim. The fact that part of my sculpture could change was interesting and so I used this sculpture to create an animation with another sculpture, both of which had a balloon as part of the piece. I then allowed the balloons to grow and shrink, move and to turn to create a conversation between the sculpture. The second piece had come out of an old tv, and I played the animation back through the tv screen returning it to its original space.
Please could you tell us about the piece of artwork that you are most proud of and why?
One piece of artwork that I am most proud of involved collaborating with another artist, using their pieces as inspiration for my own response. I overcame fear and intimidation to produce a whole range of works including using materials that I had never used before. This was displayed in an exhibition at the Kaleidoscope gallery and I was invited to give a short talk about the process.
What is the best thing about being an artist?
The best thing about being an artist is seeing a piece of art evolve, solving problems which challenge me to push myself further.
And the worst?
The worst thing about being an artist is the isolation that can happen unless you are proactive in avoiding it by inviting other artists to visit your studio or visiting theirs, discussing art and sharing ideas.
What advice would you give to those aspiring to make a living out of art?
I would advise aspiring artists to simply start, with no judgement. Surround yourself with a good supportive artist network and be open to opportunities that present themselves. Also important is to allow time for reflection and evaluation and be kind to yourself. Apply for open calls and take part in open studios. It is not easy to make a living out of art. Be realistic but optimistic.
What is the most important thing to know about you?
The most important thing to know about me is that I am happiest when making any form of artwork. I smile as soon as I open the door to my studio even when I have no idea what I am about to make or paint because I have learnt to trust the process.
Please tell us one unexpected thing about yourself
I love camping and often take our camper-van and tent across to France each summer. We usually only book the first couple of nights then see what adventures present themselves for the remainder of the time.