Interview with

Anyone who went to Art Express and saw her wondrous work would know that Nell Pearson is an artist to keep an eye on

What is your name and where are you located?

Nell Pearson. Currently located In Lisboa, Portugal.

Where did you learn your craft?

I’ve done a few art workshops but mostly just fooling around. I still have a lot to learn.

What is your artistic medium of choice? Why that medium?

Watercolour and graphite pencils by default. I’m travelling around this year and they’re the most mobile. But of course now I’m dreaming of all the things I don’t have access to – oils, charcoal, gesso, canvas. That thick richness that’s so hard to get with delicate and light watery stains.

Have you always been focused in this particular area?

I think I’ve almost always been drawn to people. I remember drawing women in wedding dresses when I was a kid, and copying pictures of faces from magazines through adolescence. I think I want to paint things that are a bit more honest now, real people with real lives and real emotions. But always people. I’ve tried to feign interest in other subjects but its never sustainable. People are just too fascinating.

Whose work do you relate to most? Who inspires you?

Egon Schiele, Kilmt, Michael Taylor, Bill Henson, Tracey Emin, Cherry Hood, Del Kathryn Barton, Marlene Dumas, Basquiat. I’m also really inspired by music and by prose – Dylan Thomas’ images inspire me just as much as any visual artist.  And strangers. Watching and speculating about strangers is probably one of my greatest creative spurs.

Tell us about your Art Express experience.

Art express was probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I never expected I’d get as much coverage and appreciation for my work as I did through that. I mean, not many people ever get the chance to exhibit their work in the gallery of NSW, it’s a pretty special opportunity for an 18 year old. But on the same note, I kind of feel like I want to crawl back into my shell and learn some things before I go announcing myself.

What was the response like to your Paintings?

People were really kind and generous with their compliments. I got a few pats on the back, which was really nice. I mean really, that’s got to be the most gratifying thing for an artist, for someone to tell you that you’ve moved them.

What are you doing currently?

I just bit into a fig and it was so beautiful that I’m trying to paint it. But I keep getting lost in it, too many tiny seeds and things.

I’m not doing lots of art at the moment because I’m moving around so much, but I’m basically breathing inspiration – from other art, other cultures, ancient art and architecture, and all these amazing cathedrals that are as common here as Kmart. I think if I was as prolific now as I was in those few months when I did my major work, my art would be a bit different. I like to think it would be more wild and stormy, more raw and experimental. More figures and hands and layers.

The Whole Bill Henson Affair, over the top or on the money?

Usually when the public react like that it’s to some uncomfortable truth. Schiele was arrested because his drawings were interpreted as ”˜child pornography’. And he’s basically a god now. I have to admit I haven’t actually seen the work or read any of the articles because I haven’t had access to it over here but I won’t side with the public. I’ll applaud Bill Henson for doing something brave.

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