Interview 15
1. Please tell us a little generic stuff about yourself, like you name, where you live, married/children. All those living in your household. –
My Name is Linda Ravenscroft; I live in the semi/rural county of Cheshire -(famous for Lewis Carols Cheshire Cat and its cheese)- in the North West of England, I live with my husband of 22 years, John and our lovely daughter, Vivien aged 15 -
2. What type of formal training have you had that deals with your art?
The only art training I had was at the age of 16 when I attended school on an art taster course, I had the opportunity to try out all different art forms such as pottery, photography, metalwork etc!! Although I thoroughly enjoyed this course my life at this time was quite difficult and I had to find some employment, so I was unable to continue with any art education
3. Is there any artist(s) that has influenced you as an artist?
I remember going to the Victoria and Albert museum as a young girl and admiring many of the paintings and designs there, since then I can say that I was influenced by the art of the pre-Raphaelitism, and artists of the Art Nouveau period, such as Mucha, Klimt Aubrey Beardsley also the principles of the Arts and craft movement, William Morris, I love the idea that we should take pride in what we do and use our skills to produce beautiful things. Since I have been more beguiled by the fae I have also been greatly influenced by Arthur Rackham and of course dear Brian Froud!
4. How did you get your ideas to paint and do you ever use a model?
I never intentionally set out to paint fairies, I simply tried to paint what I was feeling or an image depicting something that was important to me, I have always painted beautiful female images so it was a natural transition for them to become fae like or angelic, especially as most of my messages are inspirational or hopeful and you can’t get more optimistic than a fairy, I am fortunate enough to be able to scribble and sketch images, although if you want a realistic pose I use photographs of my friends and family for reference.
5. What type of models do you use? Who are they?
I have many lovely friends who sit for me but my daughter Vivien is the perfect fairy model, she is just the right shape and size, and she doesn’t charge too much!! LOL
"THE EMERGENCE OF SPRING"
6. What is your favorite medium? What medium do you use the most?
I have always used pencils and watercolors since I was very young and still prefer to use them as often as possible. However, I also like using ball point pens, ink and acrylic paints for different effect, I haven’t gone the way of digital painting, I think I would miss the unpredictability of watercolor mishaps and besides I get such a kick out of the whole drawing and painting process, its great therapy!
7. How long have you been an artist? Did you ever want to be/do anything else than be an artist?
I always wanted to be an artist since I was very small – but never thought for one second it would be a viable career! I was unable to continue my art education due to financial circumstances and I worked as an office receptionist for 15 years, it was only when my daughter was born in 1993 that fate took over. She required several serious operations and many stays in hospital, so I was unable to go back to my reception work, I needed to be with her, so I figured the only thing I might be able to do from home was paint and draw – so I did, my husband John was more convinced of my talent than I was and would push me (feeling physically ill) through the doors of galleries to show my work, and to my surprise they loved it…. since then I have only looked forward.
8. If you could be granted one dream, what would it be? Please explain the reason why.
I know this will sound naff (as we say here in the UK) and a bit of a cliché, but I’m a live and let live kind of gal and my dream would be that we all take more care of Planet Earth, (our only home), become less greedy and like each other a lot more, no matter what color or creed we are from. For my self personally, I just want a better more hopeful future for my daughter and not to have to worry too much about paying the bills etc in my old age – oh and staying healthy enough to always paint and have a good life would be wonderful too!!
9. What advice would you give a young artist today? Elaborate please.
Goodness me!! My best advice would be to always paint from the heart, use your own personal thoughts to create your work, so that it is totally original to you and more importantly never give up, even if you only have time to paint as a hobby, I truly believe that practice makes perfect and I practice everyday!!
10. Your paintings are all done with the beauty of the earth in your backgrounds. Do you want to say anything to your fans about taking care of the earth?
I don’t intend to preach to anyone about the state of the planet, I think we all know how bad it is, but I will say that the little changes we can make, like recycling our glass or paper can make a difference, were not on our own (though sometimes we feel as though we are) there are millions of us out there trying to do something…so don’t give in!
11. Pets enhance many people’s lives. Do you have pets? How many? What is special about them? Do they ever inspire your art?
I adore my animals!! We have always had pets in our family and each one is special to us, part of the family you might say. Recently we had to say goodbye to our old dog Murphy he was 15, we got him just after Vivien was born, they were great buddies, and we miss him very much, as a consequence we are now spoiling our little pooch Anubis a little too much, though he’s not complaining!! We also have Bugsy rabbit, a corn snake called Drako and lots of fish, I also have a reputation for being a rescue center for strays, the local children quite often bring me foundlings, the funniest occasion was two little boys who said that they had found a baby duckling on the roadside, I peered into the box and saw the most ugliest duckling I had ever seen!!! It was a baby Wood pigeon, not a very pretty baby; however Percy pigeon made it to adulthood and is now back in the wild.
12. Did a teacher while you were in school encourage you to continue painting? Did you ever get in trouble for drawing or painting?
I do not recollect any particular teacher encouraging me to paint, they were all very helpful and enthusiastic, I don’t think that art was a viable occupation when I was at school, unless you were going to become a teacher, I don’t remember having any options put forward to me, I often drew pictures for my class mates, this made me quite popular at high school and I often had a crowd round me at lunchtime, I also had an office reception job where the managing director would allow me to draw at the desk providing It didn’t interfere with my work, he would check on my progress daily, and he even bought one of my originals too, which was so nice!!
13. What has been your favorite painting? What made it so special?
My Millennium piece “The Master Plan” painted for the 2000 millennium (18” x 32”) – this painting meant so much to me, it has such an important message.
In 1999 – my daughter was so young and was very concerned about her future; I had to paint this piece to stress the importance of working together on environmental issues, hoping Mankind would take greater care for the future.
This is the poem I wrote to accompany “The Master Plan” Piece.
They can both be seen together for the first time, in my New book “Enchanted the Fantasy and Fairy Art of Linda Ravenscroft”.
It’s the first time since I have been a published artist that I have been able to explain the reasons for the existence of my paintings and how they came to be!!
2000 years of life gone by.
Some now extinct, though we survive.
We’ve made the rules, we’ve made the moves, but can we keep the pace?
And so a game of strategy mankind will have to play
With daring, stealth and superb skill, defeat would be a bitter pill.
A new Millennium will be our prize.
The future must be saved for our children’s eyes.
And so we play our Master Plan,
It will be the Legacy of MAN!
14. What hobbies do you have, if any? How many hours do you think you paint a day? Do your hobbies involve your art?
I paint as often as humanly possible – it’s my work, my hobby and my way of escaping into another world, all rolled into one – how wonderful is that!! I also love to garden, make models, jewelry and all sorts of little crafts!!
I am rather a loner, enjoying my own company and I am fairly shy, though I do LOVE to meet people at the festivals and other fairy events.
15. Do you encourage your child(ren) to be an artist? Do they share your interes?
Most definitely, I think it is so important to encourage a child’s imagination; it’s one of those things that make them individuals. Vivien draws beautifully and is quite talented, though her real love is for writing, she has written several novels as a young girl, self publishing four of them at the age of 12; she is currently writing a teen fiction tale called “Wolfblood”. I would be a shame not to encourage such magic…who knows where it will lead!
16. Do you think living in England makes you closer to fairies and such? Are there any special stories about your little people that influence your art?
No, not really, many of my visions are from within and would follow me wherever I go, however I do enjoy and feed from the energy I get from some of our special places, such as ancient monuments, places of historical interest and from our trees!! They fill me with thoughts of great hope and wonder.
17. If you could go paint anywhere in the world where would that be?
I hate to be boring, but It would probably be Devon/Cornwall or Scotland, I’m not very good in hot places, nor do I like intense cold – and perhaps out of the three I would have to say Devon, some of the waterfalls and river walks are just sublime, with moss covered stones and twisted mossy trees, you can easily imagine that you are in another world.
18. Can you give an artist that is learning a tip on marketing your art and what is the best thing you can do to get your artwork known?
I can tell you my story, but of course everyone’s path will be different!
I began by doing the little craft fairs (when Vivien was out of hospital), taking commissions and selling work through galleries as sale or return items, then as I felt more confident I wrote to a large Publishing house, who looked at my portfolio and signed me up on a 5 year contract, which is when I first had images licensed in 1998.
I would suggest that if you are confident and happy with the quality of your work it might be a good idea to try a few publishers, always enclose an s.a.e. for comments and a reply, these can be invaluable, as many publishers will tell you how they feel about your work and may offer useful advice for the future.
Whatever it is you are good at – always try to
Linda xx
Thank you for allowing us to interview you. I know the turmoil in your home is driving you nuts and I can sympathize with you. It is very gracious of you to do this during this hectic time. However, we are really excited about this interview and have been looking forward to getting it posted. Your talent should be shared! Thanks again. Mystic.
Another Mystic and Cindy Interview... Let us know what you think and watch for Linda's New Book... Here is the Link to Her Site
|
