Enjoying the Process
We love that our work in the community means we regularly meet up with artists. Even more so when they are happy to talk openly with us about their art practices and strategies for managing their wellbeing. The next in our series of blog posts spotlights the rich palette of painter and printer Marcus Gilmore, and is a great example of how artists often evolve over time.
Like many creatives during the first lockdown of 2020, Marcus changed direction with his creative practice. After finishing a graphics degree in early 2018, he was sure he was working towards a career in graphic design, but time spent confined at home showed him he needed to pull himself away from the computer and return to more analogue methods of creating art.
A keen student of the arts, Marcus has always been drawn to the rich tapestry designs of William Morris, earthen colours of the Arts and Crafts Movement and natural fluidity of the Pre-Raphaelite painters. These influences can be clearly seen in his lino prints but he is also a keen painter too.
Left Lion Cover December 2024 by Marcus Gilmore
Inspired by natural and fantasy worlds
“Originally I got into making art from a pretty young age, so I think that innate curiosity of our world and wildlife has always been there since I was a kid. However, like most people over time my tastes, preferences and ideas have changed since I’ve grown as a human being - which is fine and good.
“I was heavily inspired by artists and fantasy artists like Alan Lee, John Howe for instance and their discipline and mastery of more traditional art mediums – watercolours, acrylic paintings and oils for instance. Budget wise, it can be bit tricky finding the right kind of materials, and tools can make a difference to the outcome of a piece of art. Finding the right balance in terms of budget/quality is usually the best approach.”
Painting and printing
“My preferred medium has changed quite considerably over the years, I think that has a lot to do with the fact I have quite a few changing interests! I’m partial to acrylic painting, lino printing (which is my favourite mode of printing) and drawing overall. They all kind of tie into each other so there’s plenty of overlap.”
Favourite piece
Wednesday Adams by Marcus Gilmore
“That’s a tough one! I think a painting I produced a few months ago which was created for fun called ‘Wednesday’ which is inspired by the Wednesday Netflix series. The image above shows a photo of the painting with UV lighting applied. I learnt quite a bit about UV paints and using it to highlight specific areas of the painting to give it another dimension and uniqueness.”
Art as meditation
“Art is pretty much a meditative practice for me. It promotes creative-problem solving, challenges your imagination, improves your story-telling (through your paintings or designs), and has so many other benefits overall. The many benefits of regular painting and practicing creative activities, they can marginally lowering your stress, and overall anxiety. Research suggests it could have a positive effect on developing conditions like dementia in later life too. So, I’m quite certain when I say that it definitely works, in helping mitigate me navigating and improving my own mental health!
“My fine motor skills have always been quite strong, but it’s something you have to keep using otherwise they will atrophy, like most muscles. So, creating any kind of art will enrich your physical and mental health overall in my opinion. An added bonus is that you’ll have created something much more precious, valuable and unique than anything artificial like AI generated imagery.”
Tiger by Marcus Gilmore
Enjoy the process
“Life is relatively short, so I’d encourage anyone to just enjoy the process and practice in dedicated uninterrupted study time and try different mediums and get a feel for what you most gravitate towards. Leaning into that and harnessing that feeling you get when you are in the creative flow is when peak-creativity and imagination come about.
“Focusing on your progress not others is also key to staying on course I’d say too, so it’s perfectly fine to not make linear progress at the start, so long as conscious active effort is applied. Then over time you’ll get more confident in your ideas, execution, planning and just producing a larger body of work.“
Self-care strategies
“I enjoy reading and studying a fair bit in my ‘down-time’ and nice strolls around nearby parks and Attenborough Nature Wildlife reserve, for instance. I’m partial to reading a bit of Stoic philosophy as well, reminds us that life is finite so just don’t take yourself too seriously. I also like to run, stretch and overall maintain a good balanced diet and have plenty of sleep (very important).“
Marcus Gilmore staying hydrated on holiday!
Well, thank you so much for spending time answering our questions Marcus, we are delighted to hear your enthusiasm for your creative journey.
You can find more examples of Marcus’ work on his website and socials
or contact him on
marcusg@live.co.uk to book one of his popular lino printing sessions.
We will back soon with another in depth artist profile.
Peace and paintbrushes
Debra Thortify
