I also made frequent trips abroad to my fathers native Hungary,
encountering for the first time the larger than life ladies and gents who were probably
the earliest influence for the characters in my paintings.
Although I found school to be an unpleasant experience I
enjoyed art and music classes, so it was natural for me to pursue an artistic career. I
completed a foundation course at Harrogate College of Art where I studied a range of
subjects, including photography, sculpture and graphics. During this time I maintained a
lifelong interest in simple drawing, and always enjoyed the life class most.
From Harrogate I went on to study illustration at Cleveland College of Art. The same
interest in studying the human form continued and led to the development of the extreme
figures in my work. I left Cleveland, taking with me a HND with distinction and a handful
of paintings, but I didn’t yet know how to turn my studies into a job, so the
painting went on the backburner. In 1991 I set up a business called ‘Wild Thing’
hand making papier-mâché models, ranging from twisted newspaper sheep to 7-foot
giraffes. These were sold from a shop in York, and kept me busy for a couple of years
until I decided to display the work I had left college with. The ‘big girls with
attitude’ sold surprisingly quickly and encouraged me to concentrate on painting
instead as my chosen career.
Since then I have been painting non-stop. Along the way my partner took responsibility for
publishing my work as greetings cards until I found an agent who in turn introduced me to
Washington Green and the Halcyon Gallery in 1995. I have since had my work published as
limited edition prints, greetings cards and jigsaws as well as having various exhibitions
over the last 4 years.
IDEAS & INSPIRATIONS
Many things inspire me. Looking at great art is both a humbling experience and an
invigorating one, and generally fires me up for a new piece. Among my favorite artists are
the awesome Stanley Spencer, LS Lowry, Renee Magritte and I love the recent surrealist
paintings of Michael Sowa.
Occasionally I get sparks from film or TV, and I like to keep my eye on fashion and
interior design. These provide the latest ‘looks’, which I try and use to keep
my paintings fresh. Sometimes I am responding to social issues. For example, much of my
work has focused on turning around the negative relationship that women, in particular,
have with their bodies, thanks to the media presenting perfect airbrushed models for us to
live up to. Mostly though, I draw my ideas from simply observing people and human
behavior. If I am struggling with a blank canvas, I take myself off to a local town
centre, where there before me is an endless supply of imagery to work on. Often I need
only see a mundane scene such as the purchase of a bag of chips and I am on my way.
Another great source of inspiration is the wealth of embarrassing incidents that unites us
all. Who hasn’t at sometime been caught out by a skirt unknowingly tucked in the back
of your knickers, or accidentally spraying tap water down the front of your trousers! Need
I say more?
FROM PALETTE TO PICTURE
In my case, palettes are old saucers bought in bulk from the charity shops as I can
dispose of them at the end of every piece. I prefer to work on stretched canvas or canvas
board because I paint almost exclusively in oils. It is such a flexible medium and gives
the richest colour, nothing else has tempted me away for long, I love oil pastel but it
doesn’t lend itself to the detail I like to put in. I have worked in ordinary pastel
but I tend to reserve that for more somber pieces.
A typical painting begins with one or two very quick scribbles to determine composition. I
don’t do roughs or try out colour, as I am too impatient and like to get something
down on canvas quickly. I then draw an outline in pencil, and rather than paint one figure
or object at a time, I build up the whole picture in layers. It is possible to overwork a
painting and although I have rarely had to do it, I would rather throw weeks worth of work
in the bin than present something I am unhappy with. I almost never use reference, except
for maybe when I am painting animals, preferring instead to rely on imagination. I do have
a large mirror though, which is useful when I am struggling with a figure. If there is no
one around to model for me I can often be found posing ridiculously in front of it, hoping
that I can remember what I see when I get back to my easel. Most paintings take me an
average of one day per figure so a heavily populated piece may take a couple of weeks but
on average I do about 38 paintings a year.
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF SARAH JANE SZIKORA
I wake up every day and consider myself very lucky not to have the kind of job that
requires leaving home early and commuting to an office somewhere. A typical day starts
when my partner has left the house and I potter around doing household jobs until starting
work, at around 9am. If I am on day one of a new painting I maybe visit the library or
gallery and spend some time generating ideas. If I am lucky this can take a matter or
minutes or, if the horrible specter of artists block threatens to set in, I may need a
whole day or two. I absolutely love what I do and have no problem with my own company, my
3 cats provide enough companionship while I am working, although essential to healthy
production is a steady stream of tea, biscuits and radio 4.
On a good day I will work through to 5 or 6pm, then do the usual leisure things, cooking,
seeing friend’s etc. However, what is more likely is a series of distractions
including phone calls and visitors who consider me fair game for coffee and a chat. If I
am at a difficult point in a painting, I can find myself weeding the garden or organizing
my drawers and generally getting stuck in work avoidance mode. You have to be reasonably
self disciplined if working from home, so on these interrupted days I usually work late to
make up the difference, this means I will finish working at 8 or 9pm (luckily I am not the
type of artist who suddenly gets inspired at 3 o’clock in the morning!). At this
point I reward myself with a large G&T, then vegetate for the rest of the evening.
Cheers! |
