Interview with
Alison Jardine
Award-winning Artist & Author
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Alison Jardine grew up in Yorkshire, England and moved to Dallas, Texas with her family in 2003. She studied at the University of London (Bachelor of Arts), University of Texas at Dallas (ATEC), and the College of Visual Art & Design (CVAD) at University of North Texas (MFA, Painting and Drawing). She is a Fellow of the Hambidge Center for Creative Arts & Sciences in Georgia.
Alison works in a broad range of disciplines, including new media, sculpture and painting. Her work establishes a thoughtful juxtaposition between the beauty of nature and man-made, industrial materials. She was selected as a featured artist in Dallas’s Aurora festival in both 2013 and 2015, where she presented her physically immersive digital video environments. Alison has won several awards for her work, including Finalist for the 2016 Hunting Art Prize for Painting & Drawing, The Joann Elliot Bond Memorial Scholarship, Best in Show Award: Annual 500 Expo at 500X Gallery, The Henderson Art Prize, and Grand Prize winner: Art of Elan. |
The artist’s sculptural cement drawings were featured in New American Paintings (West edition: #126). Alison’s work has been exhibited across the U.S., including Dallas (Erin Cluley Gallery), New York, San Francisco, Connecticut and Georgia. She was commissioned to create work for a social media art project for the London Olympics in 2012, and her digital art has been featured in several art magazines and on television (CBS 11). In 2013, she founded the Dallas Arboretum Artist in Residence program.
Alison regularly writes and speaks about art, including at the Dallas Museum of Art as part of the State of the Arts panel discussions by KERA (public media for North Texas). Her forthcoming book, Make Great Art on the iPad, will be published this summer in both Europe and the U.S. (Octopus Press, Hachette, London).
Alison currently teaches drawing at the University of North Texas.
Alison regularly writes and speaks about art, including at the Dallas Museum of Art as part of the State of the Arts panel discussions by KERA (public media for North Texas). Her forthcoming book, Make Great Art on the iPad, will be published this summer in both Europe and the U.S. (Octopus Press, Hachette, London).
Alison currently teaches drawing at the University of North Texas.
Myrna Beth Haskell, managing editor, spoke to Alison about her 365 iPad Drawings project, her style and her work with cement, which she titles My Concrete Identity.
Tell me a bit about why some describe your art as “post-minimalist pop.” I haven’t heard that specific label before.
It’s a combination of the post-minimalist movement [a style that evolved as a reaction to Minimalism during the late 1960s and early 1970s] and the British pop movement. There is an element of everyday humor – jokes and gags – that the British are known for. My works have an esthetic where the power of negative space is a focus. I use simple, geometric iconic shapes. The light from the sun in Texas is such a bright, brilliant white. Some of my paintings express this over-saturated light.
Your cement paintings are unusual and have remarkable texture. When did you start working with cement, and what was the inspiration for using this medium?
I’ve been working with cement for about four years. It was an evolution, initially. My cement work was in direct response to living in Dallas, Texas. In England, I lived on the edge of a natural forest. Texas is just CEMENT. One day…well, I just poured a whole bunch over a painting I made, and I loved it!
Alison laughs and pauses for a moment.
When you’re an artist, you search for meaning as complex as human beings are. I was walking at night once and saw what I thought was a beautiful flower in a creek. I found out it was actually a plastic bag! You know, these are all over the place. Thousands of years from now, in the earth’s layers, they’ll be finding these man-made materials.
Alison often uses plastic bags as a mold for her work with cement. She also mixes the cement with charcoal, colored pigments and contact crayon. It’s a transformation of discarded, man-made materials into beautiful sculpture.
I mix in anything that’s powdery. I have to build tools to help me work with the cement pieces. There’s a wonderful element of chance. I’m working blind – by touch and guessing. The balance of control and chance is so exciting. You don’t know if the mold you created will come out as you intended. It’s like creating in reverse and by feel.
Tell me more about your project 365 iPad Drawings and the book which is coming out this summer. How did this work on the iPad change the way you approach painting?
In Paris in 2010, I saw an exhibit with iPad art by David Hockney that inspired me to work on the iPad. I completed one drawing every day for a year to see what skills I would develop as I went along. I spent only 30 minutes per painting, so there was no time to make them perfect. It was a way to relax and feel completely free in my expression.
I asked Alison if she found the process similar to stream of consciousness writing.
Yes. Exactly like stream of consciousness. As a teenager, I found it difficult to keep a diary because I was sure someone would read it. This was like keeping a diary in paintings, but I took the plunge and put it out there on Twitter and Flickr. I built up a huge following this way. By the end of the year, I could really draw on the iPad. Some of them are humorous. I was able to bring the British humor to my paintings.
Then, I was approached by a publisher to write a book about it. This was out of Alison’s comfort zone. You always have to do the things you’re most afraid of. The book will be out in August in the U.S. and England. It contains all the things I’ve learned, but it’s approachable for anyone. You don’t need experience. The book takes you through the basics, such as what is composition, to more complex skills.
Tell me a bit about why some describe your art as “post-minimalist pop.” I haven’t heard that specific label before.
It’s a combination of the post-minimalist movement [a style that evolved as a reaction to Minimalism during the late 1960s and early 1970s] and the British pop movement. There is an element of everyday humor – jokes and gags – that the British are known for. My works have an esthetic where the power of negative space is a focus. I use simple, geometric iconic shapes. The light from the sun in Texas is such a bright, brilliant white. Some of my paintings express this over-saturated light.
Your cement paintings are unusual and have remarkable texture. When did you start working with cement, and what was the inspiration for using this medium?
I’ve been working with cement for about four years. It was an evolution, initially. My cement work was in direct response to living in Dallas, Texas. In England, I lived on the edge of a natural forest. Texas is just CEMENT. One day…well, I just poured a whole bunch over a painting I made, and I loved it!
Alison laughs and pauses for a moment.
When you’re an artist, you search for meaning as complex as human beings are. I was walking at night once and saw what I thought was a beautiful flower in a creek. I found out it was actually a plastic bag! You know, these are all over the place. Thousands of years from now, in the earth’s layers, they’ll be finding these man-made materials.
Alison often uses plastic bags as a mold for her work with cement. She also mixes the cement with charcoal, colored pigments and contact crayon. It’s a transformation of discarded, man-made materials into beautiful sculpture.
I mix in anything that’s powdery. I have to build tools to help me work with the cement pieces. There’s a wonderful element of chance. I’m working blind – by touch and guessing. The balance of control and chance is so exciting. You don’t know if the mold you created will come out as you intended. It’s like creating in reverse and by feel.
Tell me more about your project 365 iPad Drawings and the book which is coming out this summer. How did this work on the iPad change the way you approach painting?
In Paris in 2010, I saw an exhibit with iPad art by David Hockney that inspired me to work on the iPad. I completed one drawing every day for a year to see what skills I would develop as I went along. I spent only 30 minutes per painting, so there was no time to make them perfect. It was a way to relax and feel completely free in my expression.
I asked Alison if she found the process similar to stream of consciousness writing.
Yes. Exactly like stream of consciousness. As a teenager, I found it difficult to keep a diary because I was sure someone would read it. This was like keeping a diary in paintings, but I took the plunge and put it out there on Twitter and Flickr. I built up a huge following this way. By the end of the year, I could really draw on the iPad. Some of them are humorous. I was able to bring the British humor to my paintings.
Then, I was approached by a publisher to write a book about it. This was out of Alison’s comfort zone. You always have to do the things you’re most afraid of. The book will be out in August in the U.S. and England. It contains all the things I’ve learned, but it’s approachable for anyone. You don’t need experience. The book takes you through the basics, such as what is composition, to more complex skills.
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To learn more about Alison and
her diverse artwork visit her website: 
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Make Great Art on Your iPad: Draw, Paint & Share
(Octopus Press, Hachette, London) can be preordered on Amazon HERE. |
To view Alison's iPad
work click the button below: 
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