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Gill Bustamante artist
Sussex artist, art tutor and regular ingénu/e contributor Gill Bustamante is in her element in summer and is busy creating her gorgeous colourful canvases. She stops to chat...
Many of your paintings reference specific locations around Sussex, what draws you to this landscape?
I love the ancientness of England and Sussex, which being in the south, is where many invasions began. The Romans, Normans, Vikings, Saxons etc have all left their marks along with the residents and I love that much of Sussex still has preserved bits of former residents. Apart from that – I already live here and so it is easy to visit!
You seem to have a tremendous output, do you paint every day? And if so, do you have a specific regimen?
I paint two or three times a week usually for three to five hours at a time. I time it around whatever the weather is doing as I tend to go walking when the sun is out. Much of my painting occurs after walking somewhere and so the two things work in tandem.
You're a keen sketcher, why do you feel drawing is so important?
Drawing is a fabulous therapy. It trains the eye, calms the mind and helps you to focus in a way that normal everyday life does not allow. Computers, mobiles and other electronic media are continuously interrupting our thoughts and demanding our attention. It drives me nuts, personally. If you can ignore it all for a while and go look at things to sketch them, I guarantee you will feel better.
Your paintings reflect a love affair with colour, has that always been the case?
Yes. 'Dirty' colours like browns and muddy greens and black have their place and I am happy to wear them as they help me look thinner. However, I prefer to amplify the colours that are all around us rather than subdue them.
You originally went to art school in Brighton to study sculpture, why the switch to painting, and how has your artistic journey developed since then?
I switched to painting as there are only so many sculptures you can store in your attic without it caving in. I'm afraid it was logistical. Having left college, I did not have the resources to pay for storage, materials, transport of sculptures etc. Painting is lovely for very different reasons and at the end of the day, those with a creative nature are happy to use whatever mediums they can find to express what they wish to and I am no exception.
What advice would you give to your student self?
Stay away from drugs altogether as they reduce your energy and ability to see things (not the opposite as some dealers and the naive would like us to believe). And don't get your hair permed or let your cat sleep on your head (but that's another story...)
Gill Bustamante – Artist and Art Tutor www.gillbustamante.com
M: 07815 036576
