By
What does ‘Best Artist’ mean right now, in this
colourful era of vibrant individualism and multicultural achievements? Consider
one who is Buxton, Derbyshire –based and quickly becoming an expert in this
current issue, whose name reflects his varied collective unique background. Charlie Goff
–Deakins endures the essence of urban city art. Charlie
doesn’t just paint he creates a rhythmic technique that takes his work to new
heights with an electric attitude.
What caught my eye was his vivid attention
to bold colours. Capturing each emotion as if he was staring them in the eye.
He knows his subject and how to pack on the romance, while adding a slight
mystery element to the mix. I had the pleasure to get to know the chic artist
behind the unique portraits in this fun interview.
Heather Lisa Noire (BF) What inspired you to
do the kind of art you do?
Charlie Goff- Deakins (CGD) Before
I started painting, I used to draw all of the time and I always drew people. I
would go through magazines and draw random celebrities or people from adverts.
At school, the majority of our classes were drawing models that would sit in
the centre of the classroom so I’ve always been drawn (pardon the pun) to draw people!
I have had a go at other genres but the thing I love about painting people is I
try to capture their personality too so I always enjoy portraiture. I like to
also add a slightly abstract angle to my portraits too, which is what made me
start using splashes in my work and using less detailing.
Heather Lisa Noire (BF) What artists do you
look up to?
Charlie Goff- Deakins (CGD) The
more classical artists I look up to are Caravaggio and Di Vinci. I love
Caravaggio’s introduction of the chiaroscuro effect, using bold contrasts in
light to make the paintings come alive. Same with Di Vinci but I also like how,
despite mastering art, he also dabbled in other things like science and
engineering. The modern artists I look up to are Jack Vettriano, Duane Michals,
and Graham Swift, not to mention the hundreds of artists I admire after
following there work on Twitter.
Heather Lisa Noire (BF) Give me some
background did you go to art school?
Charlie Goff- Deakins (CGD) The
only art training I have is A level Art (Leaving Certificate in Ireland). I did
go to Art University but I only lasted 3 months! It was bad timing when I
started University but I left mostly because I found the teaching methods did
not meet my imagination of art uni at all! I envisioned cool and trendy artists
who want to encourage the evolution of their students’ style while exploring
different angels etc. However the methods were more “go to the library for 4
hours and be inspired” or “draw the pieces of paper I’ve just thrown on the
floor while I pop out for an hour or two for a drink”. As art is very
subjective and everyone has their likes and dislikes, the lecturers of all
people should be aware of this however they keep veering all of my class mates
to do the same style, the style they admittedly preferred. I’d come home and
feel so deflated that I didn’t want to pick up a paintbrush. I thought I’d
rather quit and figure it out for myself by playing around with the art I
wanted to do.
Heather Lisa Noire (BF) What are your next
projects?
Charlie Goff- Deakins (CGD) I have
a few ideas of new projects in the future. I’m currently working on one called “Selective Attention” where I explore painting
in detail only that which we subconsciously pay attention to while reducing the
amount of superfluous detailing. The next projects though, there’s a few ideas
in the brewing stage. One I was thinking of doing a series of portraits of the
same person in different personas to demonstrate how every person has many
angels to their personality or behaviour but this might not happen until next
year, if at all!
Heather Lisa Noire (BF) What’s your secret?
Charlie Goff-
Deakins (CGD) Haha, I’m not sure if I have a secret really. To this day,
I always hear what my first art teacher told me. He gave me 2 key pieces of
advice (probably more over the course of school but these two have stuck with
me!) 1. Always paint/draw what you actually see, not what you think you see,
try not to draw in a way that you think something should look. 2. In contrast,
he also told me to draw/paint what I don’t see. By this, I mean the negative
space around the thing you’re drawing, the space around the subject also plays
a part in shaping the subject as well as tone, positioning and composition.
Another secret, or piece of advice I always
tell emerging artists is to keep all of your work (to track progress) and more
importantly, keep making art despite it being a load of rubbish at the
beginning. If you keep doing it, you do get better. Perseverance separates the
best from the giver-uppers! Written By Heather
Lisa Noire.
 |
| "My portrait done for "Selective Attention Series" |