We’ve currently got some incredible artwork from Naomi Tipping on display so we sat down for a chat about all things creative!
Hey Naomi! We’re really excited to be displaying your artwork in the downstairs bar here at The Bodega. What can you tell us about your art style and how did that come into fruition?
I don’t really like the word “style” but if I had to describe my work, I’d say it’s busy, experimental and rooted in observational drawing. It’s always changing, it’s evolved a lot over 20 years of being an illustrator.
We really love the night-time drawing of the front of our venue. What links do you have to The Bodega and what was it like observing and creating on a busy night where there’s lot of movement?
I used to enjoy plenty of gigs at The Bodega back in the day, but now I’d much rather spend my time drawing people on their nights out! It’s a great place to draw because you can get a seat opposite and the queues are spectacular on a Wednesday. I always get chatting to someone on a night out which can be very entertaining. I like drawing the queue, often each person is a mash up of lots of different people that I see.
Has drawing from life always been something that’s intrigued and inspired you?
Drawing from life is my number one favourite thing to do. I can escape all the noisy thoughts in my head when I am outside with my sketchbook, completely focused on capturing something I can see in front of me on my page. My sketchbooks are a private place to experiment, with materials or techniques and often they are where my best work appears as there’s room to play, with no expectations. Drawing from life will often spark ideas for other projects and I’ll use characters or places from my sketchbooks in published work. You never know, The Bodega queue might appear in a picturebook one day!
You’re participating in the Three Materials Drawing Challenge; would you agree that sometimes limited resources can conjure more creativity?
It was brilliant hosting 100 days of the Three Materials Drawing Challenge this summer. It was great to see so many people joining in. I am very interested in what applying limitations can bring to my work. I enjoy having to work harder to make interesting work within constraints and often exciting things come from it. At the beginning of the 100 days, it was hard to produce drawings that I was happy with using just 3 materials, but I got used to selecting materials that worked well together quite quickly. Each material had to work hard, I liked picking things that mixed to make new colours and textures on the page. Anyone can join in with the challenge.
We’ve always got plenty of up and coming talent passing through our venue, what would you say to the young creatives in the city that are just starting out and want to have their work seen?
Be relentless in both the making of work and in getting your work seen!
Come and have a look at the display in our downstairs bar!
