The Beauty of Bluesky - Martyn Warren
It's about time I said a virtual hello again and waxed lyrical about all the amazing talented folk out there, I include myself in this as I continue to try to be comfortable in being proud of my own creativity – see previous 'Best Laid Plans' post for context. It's funny, there are so many artists out there that because art isn't their 'day job', or maybe for a multitude of other reasons, feel uncomfortable calling themselves artists. My bottom line is always, do you create things from a true, honest place, (that doesn't involve stealing - big heavy judgemental stare at AI peeps here), then you're an artist! Here's the thing, there's no official board that can welcome you into the artist club, we have no membership cards or fancy certificates, (although that would be kind of fun), you just have to simply be and ta da you're an artist. I can't tell you the number of times I come across posts on BlueSky where someone says, 'I'm not an artist but here's some of my creative work' and I look at it, immediately double-take and think, 'What you talking 'bout silly? You most definitely are an artist!'.
You can probably tell that I love seeing how other people creatively respond to the world around them, it's never not inspiring and fascinating. In fact I've just taken part in a group project, #InverteFest, a thrice yearly event which encourages people to 'celebrate the overlooked invertebrate fauna around you and share the joys of discovery online.' There's actually still time to join in with the August edition which ends tomorrow, check out more info here. Every #InverteFest a stunning art book is created with submissions, from around the world, of people sharing their invertebrate themed creativity, this time I have a new piece of mine 'The Light Fantastic' which is all about the wonders of moths!
Alongside this, I'm also running a moth theme crowd-funder, for those of you of a fluttery disposition you can check it out here. But enough about me this is a maker interview blog post after all! So for today's featured maker I've gone with a suitably invertebrate themed creative, the incredibly talented Martyn Warren, whose exquisitely detailed pieces are nothing short of awe inspiring...
Martyn Warren studied illustration many, many years ago at Southampton Institute, gaining a first class degree and book deal for a silly parody book about the science of Velcro Cows (cows covered in Velcro that preyed on puffer fish). 'Following uni, I did a couple of illustration jobs, but soon had to get A Real Job that paid Actual Money, so illustration became a hobby. Drawing as a hobby meant I could do what I wanted and, having always been fascinated by them, I started trying to draw somewhat realistic insects about 5 years ago. I found the process tedious but rewarding, and am now slowly amassing a collection of drawings that I ultimately plan to collate into a self-published art book.'
If you could pick one piece of music to listen to as you make what would it be?
Picking 1 piece is almost impossible, but I'd go for something by Nils Frahm, perhaps 'All Melody'.
What is your earliest creative memory?
As a baby I imagined I was being chased by the Green Giant from those sweetcorn adverts, which feels pretty creative to me. But if we're talking art-wise, I used to draw dinosaurs constantly as a child.
What fires your imagination?
Comedy, usually, although this doesn't make its way into my artwork nowadays, which is incredibly unimaginative.
What's the best 'mistake' you've ever made? Creative or otherwise..
Throughout art school we were encouraged to make, and embrace, 'happy accidents' as much as possible, as they're a great tool for uncovering new creative possibilities. However, I'm pathologically opposed to mistakes in all their forms, and it's why I work digitally, as I make heavy use of the 'undo' feature if I get anything wrong. I'd love to be more open to mistakes, but my autistic noggin would rather not.
If money were no object what's the first bit of creative kit you'd treat yourself to?
A tiny art studio that I could place in the garden, surrounded by flowers and buzzing insects. Like all those rich Instagram artists have.
As it only seems fair, this is where I give every interviewee a chance to turn the tables and ask me a question...
Who inspires you?
Oh so many people, across all walks of life. But I hold a special place in my heart for those who are unashamedly themselves in their art, people who will experiment, play and embrace the 'wonderful mistakes' if they can. To put it bluntly the people who say 'f@*! the algorithm' and stay true to themselves even if at times it feels like you're working against the tide. In an age where we're constantly being force fed unethical, regurgitated slop it feels like a real beacon of light to see people freely expressing themselves in a unique and truly original way.
What's your favourite animal to draw?
After three everyone, let's all shout this together as I feel like this is a given at this point 1...2...3....BIRDS!
I hope you've all enjoyed getting to know the man behind the minibeasts! You can follow his creative adventures on BlueSky and visit his website and shop. If you're a creative with a BlueSky account who'd like to be featured by me here, you can do so by clicking here - it'll take you to a handy interview form I've set up where you can fill in your details.
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