It has been a while since my last blog
post, life has been crazy with work, trying to get fit, selling our house and
moving myself and my children into a new home, albeit rented for now and the
many other 1000 things we all have to do on a daily basis.
I've missed being here though but I do
keep up to date with the artists that have featured on my blog so far. I've seen some beautiful work and exciting
events for them, for example Jian Chen has opened her own gallery/shop in
Cardiff and it looks beautiful. Check
out her Facebook page for more information.
So, the artist I'm featuring this time is
a young man called Jamie Cameron he's in his twenties and he is from Aberdeen
Scotland. His artwork is
incredible. I love artwork with this
amount of detail, intricacy and complexity.
I think of myself of being the messiest
person with OCD you'll meet, Jamie's art appeals to the neat, definite, precise,
exact side of me often lost in the melee of wing it and see.
Here is a prime example and one of my
favourite pieces, I have never been to New York but love the pictures I've seen
of the old town houses almost as much as the Painted Ladies (haven't been there
either!) in San Francisco. Jamie has
captured the atmosphere perfectly here and the detail is just exquisite.
A lot of Jamie's work showcases the
beautiful architecture in his native Scotland such as the next two pictures
which are of The Tivoli Theatre in Aberdeen and the Royal residence at
Balmoral.
On Jamie's website you will also find a
collection of images entitled, Fantasy Architecture, this is genuinely the type
of artwork that I could just spend hours perusing. There is so much to see, my
favourite one is the Italian Hill Town, this is drawn freehand.
and a close up...
I'd love to know what's going on behind
every door and window (that could have something to do with my being nosey but
you know what I mean!) how much detail?!
I'm going to share a couple of Jamie's
recent work and then Jamie was kind enough to answer a few questions which I'd
love to share with you.
Please do check out Jamie's website, it's
such an interesting read. He does
showcase his work, there are also facts about what he's drawn and his drawing
process and art supplies used. I love
that it makes it feel like we're being let in on Jamie's world, makes it more personal.
I love classic American cars, my favourite
the '58 Chevy Belair in Aegean Turquoise, Jamie has a couple of favourites
too. The first is a picture Jamie has
drawn of the Lincoln Continental and the second is the Cadillac Eldorado.
The final piece of Jamie's work is
something he emailed over to me for me to see and share, I love it. I think it's the Marcliffe Hotel and Spa
which is near Aberdeen, the drawing is just beautiful, certainly makes me want
to visit!
So let's meet Jamie, the artist behind this beautiful work. As I said
he was kind enough to answer some questions and then below that you will find
the links to Jamie's website and his contact details. He does commissions so if you've got a
favourite building or somewhere that is important to you that you'd like
captured in Jamie's beautiful way please contact him.
Q&A
Hello Jamie, firstly tell us a bit about your art and what you do please..
I create highly detailed illustrations depicting architecture, fantasy
worlds and vehicles.
Having developed a love of traditional hand drawing while studied
architecture, I decided to capture some local buildings in my hometown of
Aberdeen, where we have a great selection of granite architecture! They started
off as very technical 'plan style' drawings, trying to be highly accurate in
the finer details, but gradually I've come to focus just as much on creating
interesting compositions as well as realistic details- a really well laid out
drawing can capture your attention from afar, before you even get close to it.
Although architecture got me into this form of drawing, I've found it
very well suited for all things technical: cars, boats, trucks, and all sorts
of buildings from single family homes to New York Brownstones, London
Townhouses, Art Deco buildings, landmarks, and more. This range has led to a
lot of interest from people wanting commissions, and I have met some really
interesting people this way- small businesses, people looking for a wedding gift
showing the Church where they were married, five star hotel owners, classic car
enthusiasts- all kinds! This variety combined with the fact that each drawing
is like a little world in itself makes it a very rewarding thing to do!
What is your earliest creative memory?
Creating miniature bases and hideouts with
my friend. We had them all over the place- outposts in the
bushes, excavated basement places, treehouses, riverside shelters- I think it
was the creation of your very own little world which appealed to me. We would
just use whatever was there- tree branches, mud, snow, tarpaulin, or a large pile of sand and some boulders adjacent to a
building site.
The freedom of using your hands and the materials nearby to
create a world of your own design was great fun- the framework was very simple,
but our imaginations could just run free, with immediate, real life expression
in built form. We used to furnish them with special finds and items we had
picked up and collected, it was almost like starting the world afresh! I think
my post-apocalyptic fantasy drawings are a more recent incarnation of this same
creative impulse.
A Future Hill Town - Architectural Fantasy
Do you ever suffer from a creative block and if
so how do you get yourself out of it?
I tend to be working on a range of
different pieces at the same time, so when one method or type of work starts
wearing me down, or I don't feel I'm giving it my best efforts, I'll just
switch to something else.
As a recent example, while I was working on the
drawing of Marischal College which is a real mammoth of a building, I was also
doing a small commission of someone's house, illustrating a quirky Brownstone
from New York City, and fabricating some Frank Lloyd Wright inspired glazing
for a small construction project.
When the process of scaling the template for
this complex drawing was becoming tedious, I would switch to soldering the lead
for my glass, or do a spot of shading on the New York Townhouse. I find
alternating different rhythms and types of work which require different methods
of concentration helps me recharge my batteries and get back the edge! Of
course, there are always times when one needs to just leave it and do something
entirely different, but I've found this approach works nine out of ten times.
Who inspires you?
I would say anyone who truly dedicates
themselves to something and manages to elicit awe and an element of disbelief
from their work will inspire me- if you spend your entire life perfecting an
art, whatever it is, there is a level of ability and accomplishment which is
immediately captivating and makes the outsider lean forward- it's this I
admire.
Since I'm quite a detail oriented person, things
which are very well ordered and have a feeling of the sublime really appeal- I
love the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright for its complete wholeness and
unity right down to the smallest part. The written works of Christopher
Alexander, namely 'The Timeless way of Building' and 'The
Nature of Order: An Essay on the Art of Building and the Nature of the
Universe' are immensely honest and accessible work which I think will give
anyone a fresh appreciation of the potential for beauty and variety in architecture.
His system of fifteen geometric properties of life is fundamental to the way I
approach anything design related, and has certainly inspired me.
As a passionate amateur at the piano, I'm
greatly inspired by the way composers and performers can completely entrance
you with their own worlds of sound- I love Rachmaninov, Scriabin, Sorabji, as
well as Oscar Peterson, Fats Waller, Art Tatum and many others. In all of
these, it is the desire to create something transcendent which drives me every
day.
What is your favourite piece of work that
you've created?
I'd have to say the drawing of Marischal
College and Greyfriars Church. This piece was a huge effort to draw because of
the detail and size, but I'm very pleased with the outcome. I think it manages to convey grandeur and a
sense of the intricacy of this building, and yet at the same time it's a
drawing of many different elements which have the potential to confuse the eye
if not co-ordinated well.
I did have to experiment with various
things, such as using pencil shading in a few key areas, and fading certain
parts to get the balance right between the unity of the whole and individuality
of the parts. After a lot of work the graphic quality of the drawing
finally mirrors the real-life character of the building in a way I'm happy
with. The original piece sold just a few weeks ago.
What
are your creative ambitions for the future?
I try not to look too far ahead! As long
as I'm responding to feedback, and improving my craft through constant
experimentation, trying out new ideas and exploring new avenues I'm just happy
to go wherever it takes me. I think this has to do with my general makeup which
is very micro oriented.
For me, the major part of the appeal is
not knowing where things will lead- as long as I'm always responding to new
thoughts and being creative I can count on a fun and interesting journey!
How
do you silence your inner critic ?
I think I have a lot of inner critics! One
that's trying to tell me to be more commercial, another to be more of a purist,
and a few others are just never happy, no matter what… I think they play an
important role, since they play out what the real life reactions will be of a
range of different people in my head, and this helps me decide where my real
priorities lie.
I don't think any person, let alone an
artist can help but be moulded by social interactions, reactions, comments and
feedback taken in tandem with their own creative intentions- it's just a matter
of where you want the balance to be.
Since I've always done this primarily for
my own gratification, I tend to focus on what I feel like doing firstly, and
everything else comes second. However as I've met more people and had more
feedback from customers, Gallery owners, (real life critics) I have been trying
out new things, experimenting with new techniques, offering different services
etc and this has been very rewarding.
If it weren't for some little voice, in
real life or in my head nagging at me to do this or that, I suspect I wouldn't
have tried anything new. Of course you will never appeal to everyone so you
have to balance everything with what you want to do yourself.
(Good
advice Jamie, for everyone Artist or not)
What
do you do when you're not being creative?
I'll read an interesting Autobiography or
listen to an audiobook. After giving so much of your own creative energy on a
work it's nice to take something in for a change
What
would be your 3 desert island craft/art items?
That's a hard one
really- I would absolutely have to take a piano with me, that's a given. To
leave the world and go on a journey through music is always rewarding.
For my second item, I'd
probably take a sketchpad- something to make visible the thoughts I have in
geometric form, as drawn lines in the sand or whatever would not be precise
enough.
Thirdly, I would say a
box of Lego- I used to love creating miniature fantasies using Lego, and it's
amazing how rich and vivid impressions can be conjured up by these little
plastic blocks!
Please
tell us where we can find your work and your social media sites.
Website:
www.aberdeen-art.co.uk
Twitter handle:
@Archittralart
Thank you for taking the time to show me your work Jamie and answering my questions.
Good luck with everything you do in the future and I am sure we'll catch up again one day to see where your creative path has taken you.
