Sue Ninham
Sue Ninham Is from Adelaide South Australia, you can find her website at www.sueninham.com
Sue says she has always been making art,”I was an illustrator for about 18 years and then started to paint in 2002, my work is mainly watercolours and oils, my style is basically abstract”.
Interests you have other than art you feel are important to mention?
I am a mother and a teacher of Graphic design at Uni SA….I am also a Surf Life Saver ( Not that we have any surf! )
Does your work have social, political, cultural and or personal messages?
I find this one hard! It is personal in that it is intuitive. I am not trying to SAY anything. My work expresses how I am feeling and it is for anyone who is interested in Knowing.
What are you currently working on?
I am working purely in watercolour at the moment, exploring the life of a character that has started to emerge from the abstraction…Surplus Man. I am working very freely and cutting up the works that ‘ don’t work ‘ , shuffling them and sticking them together again. They are studies for future large works, ( maybe in oil ). I love the fact that I don’t really know!
What fascinates you?
Not knowing where I am going…the anxiety of being creative. 1950’s design and art….pure abstraction…human beings…and watercolour ( you never know what it is going to do )
One word or statement to describe your current works?
They are positive.
Now give us a more descriptive outline on your current works…
This character, Surplus Man, keeps cropping up. Mostly he is an observer of humanity. Sometimes he is escaping, sometimes he is the rescuer, sometimes he is angry. Surplus is too much of something, but the flip-side of that is that it also can mean there are leftovers. Mostly Surplus Man is separate from the rest. He is wise because of his alienation.
Why are you an artist?
I have an urge to do it and it brings me joy.
How did you get into art?
I have always drawn. I chose to be an illustrator, and enjoyed it immensely, but the restriction of deadlines and briefs frustrated me and I always wished I was painting what I wanted to paint. It didn’t satisfy the urge.
How important is art for you?
Incredibly! I have a family, which tempers what could be an addiction and keeps me on planet earth! If I didn’t, I probably wouldn’t know when to stop. When I am making art I lose myself a bit and I love the moments when it all comes together, mostly when there is no thought in it. Sometimes it can make my heart race.
What is it about Visual Art you find compelling?
The fact that it is never repeated (perhaps I should qualify that…GOOD visual art). It doesn’t matter how many people are doing it and for how long we can never repeat anything we have done. The results are dependant on so many variables!!
Your art education was…?
I have a Bachelor of Design… no formal visual arts education.
The craziest thing you did at art school was…
Crack a huge litho stone as I rolled it through the press. It wasn’t deliberate but in the history of the printmaking department, no-one had ever managed to do it. I wasn’t a rabble rouser, we left that up to the visual arts students. It was the height of punk and they were so good at it!!
Was your education helpful, or a hindrance?
My education was fantastic. I was at the Underdale campus of what is now the Uni of SA. I was there between 79 and 83 and it was free ( as in gratis )!! We were still the beneficiaries of Gough Whitlam and Don Dustan’s enthusiasm for the Arts. We had 24 hour access to the best equipment and facillities imaginable. We had a whole day of life drawing each week for god’s sake!! The teachers were on the whole inspiring, but it was the freedom that was the real educator.
Have you always been interested in art?
Yes apparently from the word go.
Is there any one thing that has given you a big buzz in your art career so far?
Every time the work is hung in an exhibition, I have the same buzz. It is always an amazing experience, terrifying but amazing. Sometimes you sell well, sometimes it is slow, but always it is satisfying to see the culmination of months of work, on show for people to experience. Usually I have already moved on creatively, but I am still attached emotionally and the context of a shiny gallery, lifts the work somehow.
What is your earliest memory of art?
I was brought up a catholic and I guess my first memory is of the paintings in our church of the stations of the cross and the bleeding statues. I know it isn’t high art, but in the mind of a child it is art of some kind. I spent a lot of hours scrutinising them. They were quite gruesome and fascinating. I was brought up in Sydney and also remember playing on the Henry Moore sculpture outside the Gallery of NSW!!!! Maybe that was the beginning of my love for Modernism.
Do you remember your first painting or artwork?
Yes. I entered a painting into a local art competition in Eastwood, Sydney when I was probably 8 or 9. I won a prize and the work was hung… That was it for me!
Was art a “thing” that was encouraged in your family?
Absolutely! There are no artists in the family, but my mother especially always made sure there was plenty of paper and pencils around. Apparently I was pretty persistent about it. Whenever there was doubt on my part as I got older, (usually triggered by the pressures of the school system…art was always treated as a playtime subject! ) my parents encouraged me.
Did the place where you grew up have an influence?
Yes. Sydney was my hometown. My father is an adventurous, curious man and we were always exploring the place we lived in. Not in an obvious way though. He would take us to places that were off the beaten track. It was the sixties and early seventies and Sydney was probably fairly conservative. He would take us on excursions to eat crumbed prawns in Chinatown, walks through Waverley cemetery, family Italian restaurants in Leichardt, The Domain to hear people rant from their soapboxes. I think his curiosity in humanity rubbed of in me in a creative way.
What or who inspires your art?
Miro, Motherwell, Rothko, Picasso, O’Keefe, Hockney, Crowley, Basquiat. Architects also, Neutra, Eames. There are others, but they are the main ones.
What caused you to choose the medium you currently work in?
I have always loved to paint in watercolour, a much maligned medium. I love the riskiness of it. Once it is on the paper, that’s it! It generally has a habit of behaving the way IT wants to. I also love its clarity. Oils are a totally different medium. I find them more challenging. I use them because of the intensity of colour. I am still learning!
Has your work changed much since your early efforts?
Yes. My work gets looser and braver as the years go by.
You know you are successful in Visual Arts when…
I think it is when you stop worrying about sales and the approval of EVERYONE on the planet and you paint entirely to please yourself!
What can you tell us about your planning and making process for making art, and has that altered over the years?
The big change for me came when I stopped planning the works as thumbnail drawings, transferred to the canvas and began about a year ago to paint straight onto them with absolutely no image in my mind. This has meant that the process has become more intuitive.
Does the “creative process” happen easily for you?
Mostly I don’t have a problem. Sometimes I find I can’t “see” the paintings anymore and I can become fixated with the detail. When this happens I get stuck and can become frustrated. I usually move onto a new work or leave the studio until the next day. I never lack inspiration.
Creative streaks do they come in waves for you?
The intensity of them does.
Do you get creative glimpses of urges happening ad how do you work with these?
I might jot them down in a sketch book, take a photo with my phone, print something off the net or spend time in the Uni SA library which has a treasure trove of Arts related books. I record them some how.
How important is the clarity of concept to you, prior to starting an artwork?
Less than it used to be.
Do you have a personal description of “Art”?
It’s so difficult…I think it is the act and then result of physically recording very personal feelings.
Have you had any commissions?
A couple. I don’t tend to do it because I feel like I did when I was illustrating…the same restraints exist.
How important do you think craftsmanship is to artistic creation?
Hugely important. Generally it is lacking in painting at the moment.
Do you have much contact with other artists?
Yes. I share a studio with 11 others and I have many friends who are artists. We support one another.
Any upcoming or completely new projects you want to talk about?
I am taking time off from exhibiting in 2009 to push my oil painting technique in a new direction.
Working towards an exhibition, is it a daunting task?
No, not really. Working as a freelance designer for so long, I am used to deadlines and am therefore pretty disciplined. I plan my time very carefully.
Tell us about your connection to your subject matter, way of working, concepts etc?
I find it very difficult to put concepts into words. The way I work it changing all the time. The hours I keep are dictated by my children’s routine and when the uni year is in full swing, by my teaching schedule. Generally I am in the studio at 9am and on a a good day will be able to leave at 5. I usually have a number of works on the go. I find that I just get straight into it. Sometimes I will spend time drawing if I am stuck on a painting or if it really isn’t happening, I will go to see an exhibition for inspiration. I also love to spend time in a good newsagent pouring through art, design and fashion mags, to see what is happening NOW. Subject matter is constantly changing also. Because I paint form , shape and colour, it is very intuitive and I might begin to make work that has sprung from a sub-conscious reaction to something I have seen that morning, or the colour of the clothes someone in the studio is wearing. I don’t know where it has come from until some time later when I retrace the day.
What has been a turning point in your career thus far and why?
In 1998 I went to Sumatra, Indonesia for six weeks, as part of an Artists working retreat. A group of us lived and worked in a hut on the edge of Lake Maninjau. I had never spent such a concentrated time making art. I came home absolutely convinced that I wanted to paint full-time.
If you could have any piece of artwork in your personal collection, what would it be and why?
Phew! That is so tough. I think it would have to be a painting by David Hockney. Any of his Californian pool series would do. Ever since Art school, I have loved his work. The pool series has always fascinated me. I love water with a passion, being in it, the ways it bends light, the rhythms of it. It is incredibly difficult to paint and draw, but Hockney did it . I love the way he didn’t copy it, he captured it. I also love how he managed to do it through the eyes of a Northern Englishman who had fallen in love with LA.These works are optimistic.
Can you name a favourite artist or three… and why?
Hockney, for the reasons discussed. Robert Motherwell, because of his work’s masculine freedom and power. Georgia O’keefe, because her work is secretive.
Have you had any “big breaks” in your career?
I am not sure what a “Big Break” is. Surely it is shifting all the time. The bar is always being raised. I guess it would be the first time a gallery was prepared to give me a show.
All artists seem to have struggles, tell us about any you have had.
I find the gallery system a struggle. It is a whole hurdle on its own. It is one thing to make the art that being the easy, enjoyable part!), finding the right gallery or galleries for my work is the thing I struggle with most. A needle in a haystack!
Do you keep an Art Journal or Visual Diary of some kind?
On and off.
What happens to works that “don’t work out”?
Sometimes I paint over them. A couple, haven’t benefited from that and sit in my studio, face against the wall.
One thing you wish you had listened to from an art teacher or lecturer?
I listened to everything they said. I had wonderful Teachers I respected them enormously, and still draw on their advice.
Do you have a personal philosophy, which underpins your work?
Exploration.
Do you aim to break the rules of basic composition, layout etc or do you ignore the “rules” and just create?
Neither. I follow “rules” that I know work. They are almost applied at a subconscious level, so often I am not aware that I am following them… within that I “just create”.
What sort of research and or reference material do you do for current works and has that changed over time?
I admit I don’t do a lot of research. I have my antennae up all the time as I find observation works best. Sometimes research is required, when I want to delve deeper. I go to the library, comb magazines, visit exhibitions.
Musical influences?
I love to work with music playing. I have an i Pod which I hook up to speakers or I used ear phones if I think I am going to drive the artists around me crazy! I have very eclectic taste and my mood dictates my choices on the day. The stuff that gets a hammering….Be Bop jazz, Radiohead, Reggae, Salmonella Dub, Talking Heads, Velvet Underground, Bjork, Doors, White Stripes, Bowie.
What sort of depth or meaning is there behind the work you do?
I really find it very difficult to articulate because I don’t see it that way. Because I was not taught to paint in an Art school, I also haven’t been taught to explain my work. I know people want this from artists, but I only seem to find it achievable when I am standing in front of a particular work of mine. I can then use it as a reference point. I usually remember the journey I went on with it. It’s a bit like looking at a family snap, and remembering where you were, who was there, whether you had a good time or not!
Do you hope the viewer will “get” what you are trying to communicate or do you feel compelled to spell it out to them?
I hope they will get it. Because the work is abstract, people sometimes” get it” and then some. They bring their meaning to it also. This always amazes me, especially if they are able to tell me about it.
How important is it to you that your work communicates something to the viewer?
HUGELY
What can you say about your work that might not be evident to the viewer?
The emotional struggles I may have experienced whilst making it.
What can you tell us about your creative development process?
If I am working towards an exhibition I usually have an idea or theme that I explore in all the works. This unites them visually, which can be important for a show. If, as is the case at the moment, I am painting with no deadline, I make as much work as I can. I am painting in watercolour at the moment, which is quick. I am finding that I am painting whatever comes into my head and the individual works converse visually with one another as I have them laid out around me. These conversations sometimes trigger new works as a reaction.
Has being involved in the arts proven to be a millstone or a point of elation?
Definitely elation.
Art is about entertainment, experiment, inventiveness or shock for you?
None of those words really fit but if I HAD to use one of them… experiment.
Respond to the notion “Art is a device for exploring the human condition”…
It is. When I am making it I am exploring MY human condition.
About significant moments in your life, the sort of things that changed things for you forever… perhaps altered your Art… Who how why what and where…?
I think having children did for me. They have made me realize how life moves very quickly. I had always wanted to paint but was too afraid. After kids I decided to face the fear head on. I didn’t want to be left wondering.
If you stopped doing art right now would you miss it?
Yes. It defines me.
What discourages you from doing art?
Nothing any more. I have had a lot of disappointment with it in the last couple of years, usually at the hands of some galleries, but it has made me even more resilient. I care less about being accepted, less “grateful” for the work being liked. I don’t mean that I am not happy when it is, just that I don’t need it as much as I used to.
Do you have a challenge knowing when a work is finished?
Oh Yeah!!! I struggle with this a lot. I am getting better, but I am one of those who tend to over work paintings. I worry them to death sometimes!!
What about the role of titles with your work, some hate them others revel in them, what about you?
Sometimes I love them. I have fun with it. Sometimes I have reservations. They can tend to dictate to the viewer what the work is all about, when you really would rather they made up their own mind. This is a particular problem with abstract work I feel.
Are their special aspects to the making of your work you want to share?
With my watercolours I would like people to know that the much-maligned medium is sublime! It is affected by so many external variables. The weather, the paper you use, how wet it is. You never really know how it is going to behave… It’s dangerous!
You know you have “made it as an artist” when…
I don’t really know what that means. Some measure it by how much money they are making. Others by who agrees to open their show. I guess my criteria would be that I love every moment I spend doing it, and that it brings pleasure to some.
The value of Visual Arts to you is…
I can’t measure it. It is invaluable.
Your first “decent” gallery representation, how did it come about?
I sought the gallery out, showed them images of my work and they decided to take me on.
Your first show at a “gallery” you thought was of value, how was the whole thing for you?
It was a very good experience (apart from them nerves). The work was hung well, I had a crowd at the opening and I made sales.
The business or marketing side of Art can be a challenge to some, what are your thoughts?
It is challenging for me, I have my website and I try to get press when I can. I tend to let the work do the work. This means that I do not have a very obvious profile, but I really think that you have to do it in a way you are comfortable with. If success and recognition take longer to achieve, I can accept that. I have thought about employing a PR company, which a lot of artists I know do, but maybe after I have worked through this phase that I am in with my work.
What is the most unexpected response you’ve received from a viewer of your work?
Opening night of a solo show in Sydney, before the guests and I had arrived, someone who was driving past the gallery, stopped and dashed in to buy one hanging in the window! Such a spontaneous reaction, was a thrill for me.
Have you had much connection post sale with purchasers of your works?
A bit. Mostly when people I know have bought them. When I set up my website “stranger” were able to contact me. Most galleries I have worked with will not let you know who has bought your work, so it ends there!
Tell us about getting caught in a creative “slump” and how you got out of it?
I haven’t had one.
Metaphors, analogies, symbols, stories, how important are they to your work?
Symbols are. As a trained designer, I use them a lot.
Is your art, “art for art sake…” or a matter of “art for commercial viability?”
A bit of both.
If you have been working as an artist for a while, how do you feel about earlier works that are in people’s collections / ownership?
I still like them. I can see how far I have come, but I am still pleased to see them. I don’t cringe like some artists do. They represent who I was at the time, I don’t regret them.
Name a book or books, which may have inspired your work as an artist?
A number of them. I have some amazing books that I refer to in my studio. The one that is most worn is one about 1950’s design and architecture. I don’t know the title.
If someone says to you “Oh your work is decorative and lacks any meaning…” your response would be…?
I get this from time to time from visual Arts trained people, usually of a certain age. I think my design background is not seen as weighty enough. Who knows, It used to upset me, but it really comes back to the whole “get it” question. They probably don’t get it.
Tell us about your studio environment (too big, too small, enough storage or not, the light, the position, how you found it etc)?
Great space. It is probably too small, but the light is fantastic and the ceilings are very high It’s in a grand old building in the centre of Adelaide. There are about 12 people sharing the top floor, we each have a partitioned or walled space to work in.
What would you say are the top three things that make you successful as an artist?
Being able to exhibit in galleries in Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. Making work, which people other than myself want to have and the desire to do it till I drop! .
Otto Dix the German artist said (in part)… “All art is exorcism…” Is that the case for you? If so how…
I have looked up the word to be really sure of it’s meaning. It is too negative a word to describe how I feel about my art. It is not an expulsion for me, it is an outpouring.
Art as a therapeutic device; do you think it is useful for this purpose and is your work in this category somehow?
Sometimes it is. Sometimes I can be in a dark place within and making art can pull me out of it.
Do the seasons affect your work or work habits?
In my present studio they do. Summer is particularly difficult. For example, I won’t be able to work this week as we have three days of 41 C and then four of 35 C forecast. There is no insulation and now cooling in our building. Apart from the physical discomfort, the watercolour will dry faster than I can paint it.
Some say a measure of an artwork is the ability for it to hold a persons attention or cause the viewer to come back after an initial glance and become captivated by the work, is that so for your works or an intention of yours?
Always one of my intensions. The people who have my works and speak to me about it retrospectively say that they are always finding new reactions to the work.
People around you (family friends etc.) what would they say about the way you work, the moods you have, your life as an artist etc?
My husband would say I am neurotic!!!! My kids say that talk about it too much. Some friends say I am disciplined. Almost everyone says I shouldn’t be so hard on myself!!!
Do you have a connectedness to other art forms?
I love sculpture, music and film.
When you get the urge to create art because something has “pushed your button/s” how compelling is it for you?
Very, but I can’t drop everything and dash in to the studio if it happens when I am out and about or at home. I might have to record the idea somehow.
What is one thing you need to have in your studio before you work?
Music usually and fresh air.
Are you a purist with your art materials or willing to mix things about?
I am a purist.
What or how do you respond to the term “starving Artist”?
I haven’t starved yet. I think that most artists know that you need to have a job outside your art to cover costs and get through the day to day stuff, until you are making enough money to support yourself. I think the starving artist thing doesn’t happen any more. Most artists these days see making art as a career and work very hard marketing themselves.
What moves you most in life, either to inspire or upset you that might be connect to your art?
The things I see on the news. There is plenty there and it keeps on happening. Unfortunately a lot of it angers me, but sometimes there is news that inspires optimism in my work.
Do you prefer a perfect smooth technique or a more energetic expressive technique and why?
I want to get to the point in my practise where I am confident with both.
Are there times of the day when you prefer to do your work?
I have to work during school, working hours. Occasionally I will work on a weekend. Never at night.
From your early beginnings at art school to now, how have things altered for you?
I have grown wiser and more confident…slowly.
How do you think art can change people or their perceptions?
Not all art can. At with a political message can. Art that pulls ideas and images together in a way that people are not used to seeing can. Art that uses shock can sometimes do it. Some people are very open-minded when viewing art, some will not allow anything to change their minds…especially art.
Have you won any awards?
Yes. I recently won a national watercolour prize.
Are you the sort of artist that seeks out promotional opportunities or one that shuns the limelight?
I tend to shun the limelight.
Technology (websites and social networking sites to name a few) has become an important marketing tool for many industries and individuals, what are your thoughts from a “You Inc” perspective and your art sensibility.
I think that websites are great because I can cast the net wide. I haven’t been very active with this yet but plan to next year, with a new body of work behind me.
When you create your work is it somehow an emotional relief as you do it or at the end?
As I do it. It is not always a relief, but an outpouring.
Do you aim to make “masterpieces” with the aim of being seen in the future as an artist that really made their mark in art history?
That is never an intention. If it happened that way I wouldn’t mind!!!!
What is your working routine?
I listen to music often, not always. Sometimes I crave silence. I start at 9 and work til lunchtime. I usually sit with some of the other artists I share with and we chat about how our work is going that day or just life in general. I then work in the afternoon.
What do you love/hate about being an artist?
I love everything and hate nothing.
The problem with the art scene today is…
The new pressure to be successful. I think a lot of the galleries drive this, dropping artists as quickly as they have snapped them up if they are not selling. Also the reliance of some artists who are coming out of certain Art schools on “Art Speak” to support what they have made. Long dissertations on its meaning, which can only be understood by those who are “in the know” PHEW Am I going to cop it or what?
What advice would you give to an artist just starting out?
I know it is a cliché…be true to yourself, be tenacious, and have fun!!!
Have you ever made an artistic pilgrimage? If so, where did you go and why?
Not yet. If I do, the first place I drop in would be Frank Gearry’s (sp? ) Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao Spain…for the art of course, but mostly for the building. Then it would be to Palm Springs and then LA to drive the neighbourhoods looking at palm trees, signage, buildings diners…all designed in the 50’s!!!!
Edited and compiled by Steve Gray Contemporary Australian Artist © 2009+
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2 Responses to “Sue Ninham”
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Sue lovely work, I can see the water-colour effects really seem to suit your style and way of working. Glad to hear you are so positive about art and the way you approach things.
Told you I live in the artistic state!
“Being fascinated by the anxiety of being creative…”
How deep!
Thank you for this extremely elaborate account. I admire the way you answered all these questions. Very interesting, informative.
I agree with your views on galleries - just been on Monday to an opening and spoke to the gallery owner - he will take on what he knows sells and will insist on artists to do what he knows sells.
Take it or leave it.
Not very impressed, I must say, but I understand him so well.