Mary Naylor

An interview between myself and Ebors Programme Manager, Maryanne Royal

MKR: What is your background and how did you come to be a painter?

MN:  Since being very small I was always drawing, mainly horses and mainly to pass the time. My mum and dad were both excellent painters but my dad was pushed into a different career by his parents and I think my mum got sidetracked. This could be why they always made sure I had a pencils and paper around me. That developed into me taking art at school, again at college and then onto a Graphic Design degree. Looking back I feel like I was just trying to bide my time drawing until I had to turn into an adult. Somehow the two seem to have blurred somewhere without me noticing and at the grand young age of 31, during the maddest year of the decade I have officially gone freelance.
I love to paint because in between the idea in my head, the brush in my hand and the canvas there is a space for things I do not know yet. Little surprise reveals. That’s what keeps it interesting. Painting seems to be the medium I use most, but I do love to make digital work, jewellery and more recently fabric pieces.

MKR: What are some of the key influences and inspirations for your work?

MN: Sharing a studio space with my ex partner www.juan-villascusa.com was a turning point for me.  He has such a natural understanding of colour harmony. I definitely learnt a lot from him. His work is really something else. I think we also engaged in a little palette thievery both ways. With no fights because our work is completely different. 

 I am massively influenced by artists I discovered online such as Jordy Kerwick, Anne Sophie Tschiegg, Alfie Kungu, Joachim Lambrechts, the list goes on. We are so incredibly lucky to have all the corners of the world accessible at our fingertips. The instant connection between the artists through platforms like instagram is magical. It makes it really possible to delve and explore into particular movements or styles that you like and have never seen before. Like the equivalent of YouTube surfing. 
 I have tried to make a point of not just crushing on my favorite artists with the like button and robbing ideas, instead reaching out and seeing if they would like to collaborate. This year should hopefully produce two postal projects with a brilliant Dutch artist and a equally great French duo. 

MKR: How did you come to create this exhibition of work?

MN: This collection evolved rather quickly at first; Dirty rotter, Dot and La Cocina were all made on the same day that I had I finished a more realistic portrait commission.
An observation would say this was a highly visible switch from painting super consciously on the portrait to painting unconsciously for my own happiness. It was my last day before Christmas;  it felt like own clothes day in school again. The rest were made in the week I spent in the gallery preceding the exhibition. It was a super enjoyable experience. I got to really slow down and sit with my work, see how they could connect with the space and develop.

MKR: I notice a lot of playful or unconventional uses of colour in Nana, could you talk a bit about your ongoing relationship with colour?

MN: So I love colour, I think I could safely say colour is what I am currently known for. When people commission me their first sentence is usually:
"A  big colourful one like that big colourful one you did in Yakumama ."
 My theory is the more the better and clashing like nobody’s business, let them clash...but in addition to this I have an ongoing argument in my head, I often overpaint. I will notice a process photo of a finished painting and say to myself:
 "Christ! That was fine and finished way back then´"
 But it is too late, buried deep in eternity under layers and layers of paint and I kick myself. So I’m attempting to move in a new and more considered direction. Not forever but take a little control of my promiscuous behaviour with colour and spend a bit more time with individual colours.  See how they behave and shine purposefully rather than going  with gut reaction.
 With that in mind I held back a mighty itch to introduce more coloured paint to these canvases. I found other ways of incorporating it in a more temporary manner; Using coloured fabric, ribbon, paper, and coloured paint on the supporting walls I was able to access the combinations I wanted, while still keeping a strong simple palette base intact.

MKR: What is next for you artistically? 

MN: In the immediate future I have another exhibition in April with Oklahoma MCR. After that I am hoping to improve my practice and continue painting commissioned portraits, enter more competitions, go painting in other countries again (once it’s ok to do so), collaborate as much as possible, and finally make my disgustingly messy desk draw into an orderly filing system an accountant would be proud of.